Creating Content for Brands – DIY Photoshoots

Creating content on social media is a great thing, especially when you share things you are passionate about with your audience. Sponsorships and social media campaigns help to fund all hard work a creator puts into their content. When you partner with brands that supply products or services that improve your own life, it’s easier to create content that will show the brand in the best light.

Getting started with paid partnerships can be exciting but it’s helpful to know the basics when it comes to filming content and knowing the types of equipment out there for doing your own photoshoots. While it helps to ask a buddy or partner to record photos or video of you promoting a brand, it’s helpful to know how to set up a brand photoshoot on your own. Best of all, you can use the camera on your smartphone, a mini tripod set available in shops such as Amazon, and basic knowledge of good lighting and use of space to create the best content yet!

When your social content looks great and you enjoy the process, it really comes through on your profile which puts you in a position to attract even more brand partnerships. In this article, I also get real about overcoming shyness when filming your own content in public locations and learning how to care less about what people think.

Difference Between A Sponsorship And Social Media Campaign

A sponsorship is when a brand offers you money in exchange for promoting their products for a certain period of time. Sponsorship deals can be 6 months, a year or longer. An example of a sponsorship is a company like Morgan Stanley or K-Swiss sponsoring a professional athlete to wear their apparel or display their logo. Sponsorships also typically require the person to create content on social media per the requirements directed on the contract. Typically sponsorship contracts are up for renegotiations at the end of the calendar year. 

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Campaigns on social media are typically shorter-term. Most often, especially with micro influencers, brands pay a content creator per post. Once you build rapport with a brand, they may ask you to create more content for them in exchange for them paying you for more posts. Per-post paid partnerships are the most common way that content creators can make money, however it pays off to think big and dream big to one day signing with brands for longer-term sponsorships!

Equipment

The equipment that I use for getting footage for brands are a mini tripod and clipable phone holder and ring light. The clipable phone holder with ring light is great for when I’m recording video at my desk or when I’m recording a video testimonial for brands. For the latter, I like to record in my kitchen and clip the device on the edge of the countertop. The ring light I have comes in 3 settings, cool light, yellow light and a mix of both with buttons to increase and decrease intensity.

Using the 10 second timer on my iPhone is my go-to for taking photos for social media. I use this feature for both brand campaigns and fashion photoshoots that I like to do, myself. I think it’s a great skill to do your own photoshoots, even with just using your phone, as you become aware of your best angles and best ways to pose with respect to where the light is coming from.

Those of us in places like Arizona are blessed with ample bright light throughout the year. When you’re not in a warm or sunny climate and need to get footage, investing in a ring light is your best bet for when you need to record indoors.

DIY Brand Shoot Example

To demonstrate a DIY brand photoshoot, I’ve selected 2 brands and 2 products to record footage of. The brands are Lady Parts deodorant from SweatBlock and a top made custom by SW Chainworks.

To get footage of both products, I wanted to pick a place outdoors and with minimal people walking by and disrupting the shoot. The the top I wore from SW Chainworks is a bit sexy, so I also wanted a location that was a little private. Since I live in an apartment complex, there really is no spot with good lighting that is private.

I also wanted to shoot in the morning. Golden hour is most photographers’ favorite time to do photo shoots, however, with me not being a morning person and me not wanting to deal with traffic in the afternoon, I did this photoshoot around 9:30 a.m. 

For the location, I picked a nature trail that I knew had plenty of covered tables and plenty of space to work with. For equipment, I only brought my mini tripod to hold my smartphone and made sure that my phone was fully charged. There’s nothing worse than getting to a photoshoot spot and feel like you have to rush because your battery is dying. 

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For the Lady Parts footage, I chose the conservative outfit of jeans and a sweater. A conservative yet fashionable outfit is a good go-to for most brands, if you’re ever stumped on what to wear when recording content. For the chain works top, I wore the same jeans and wore an undergarment for support. For footwear, I chose my trusted Calvin Klein white sneakers, although most fashion designers prefer that female models wear strappy high heels when recording content in their pieces or dressy shoes/boots for men. Since I know this particular fashion designer personally and this was a more casual shoot, I opted to wear my sneakers.

I made sure to take a couple test photos for both products to test the lighting. For taking photos, I set the timer on my phone to 10 seconds then quickly take my position and pose. For the Lady Parts product, I wanted to make sure that the front logo was facing the camera. I wanted an action shot, so I took a photo of me pouring product onto my hand.

For your first photos of a shoot, it’s best to smile, especially when you’re promoting a skincare brand or family-friendly brand. If you are doing your own fashion shoot, it’s still best practice taking the first shots of you smiling. Then after reviewing the photos, make adjustments if you want to try different poses that are more high fashion and editorial.

Next, I made sure to take photos of the products without me in the frame. I always like to do this as it gives the viewer something different to look at, whether you are publishing a photo carousel or video on Instagram or TikTok. While posts with a person’s face or body typically receives more views and engagement, it’s also good to take photos of products without your face in the frame. The brands I’ve worked with typically ask for a photo with me facing the camera and holding the product, and a photo with only my hand holding the product in the frame.

After I have the photos or video for a brand, it’s always easier to create the caption once I have the visuals. Brands typically give you a document with the content that they want mentioned on the caption along with profile tags and hashtags. While doing campaigns for brands is great, you don’t want to totally lose your unique identity that your followers love seeing from your posts. Try to incorporate your personality into the footage while still adhering to the requirements of the brands. 

Filters & Perfectionism

Just like this section, less is more. There’s no such thing as perfection. Embrace the things that others may label as flaws. Love yourself unconditionally and know that people will relate to you, just the way you are.

For editing my own photos, I like to just use the settings on my iPhone. I usually select the Auto setting, increase the brightness, adjust the contrast to my liking, and increase saturation to intensify the colors. Rarely do I use the preset filters on iPhone or Instagram, but sometimes I do use the black and white filters and Vivid filter, sparingly. Every creator has their own aesthetic, so go with what’s authentic to you while taking into account that brands often prefer a natural look from creators.

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Getting Real About Camera Shyness And Nosey Onlookers

When you’re facing your phone, make sure you are looking at where the camera is located. For iPhone, that’s the top edge of the phone in the center. My tip for smiling on the first couple photos also helps to overcome shyness. This will especially help if you are recording a testimonial video for a brand. Try to relax, take deep breaths, smile while talking and have fun. Brands recommend that creators take their time while filming videos of you talking as they don’t want it to seem like you are rushing. Taking your time also helps you to sound less nervous. 

Recording our own content can sometimes test our self-confidence and make us feel self-conscious, especially when we’re filming in public. When I did this photoshoot, I chose the nature trail knowing that it was a popular place during peak hours. That’s why I chose to film around 9:30 a.m. on a weekday, as most people are at work or school during that time. If I chose to film during golden hour in the afternoon, I would have felt way more self-conscious as the location would have been busy.

Now, there were a few people who walked by me as I was filming. I had my tripod on the table and stuff spread out, so it was obvious that I was recording content for social media. In this day and age, most people are used to seeing younger people record TikToks and take timed photos of themselves and friends, but when you find yourself feeling self-conscious, it’s important to know that the opinions of strangers are irrelevant. You are there to do a job, basically, it just so happens that it doesn’t really seem like work.

All that matters is that you feel good about yourself, have good things to say and show about the brand, and do your best to follow their guidelines. At the end of the day, you and your followers will be the ones who see the final results and you’ll forget about the stares and looks that you may get from strangers, or even people you may know.

Whether you are new to creating content for brands or want to add variety to your profile, these tips will help you take your own beautiful content and hopefully give you more confidence in front of the camera!

Disclaimer & Credits:

While I was paid to try the Lady Parts product and was able to model the SW Chainworks outfit for free, this article is not sponsored content for the two brands. This is not sponsored content for the other brands, stores and online retailers mentioned in this article.

Affiliate links in this article may generate a commission for the blog owner. Making a purchase or creating an account via these links help to fund this blog and is much appreciated. The blog owner is a customer of Chase Bank. This is not sponsored content for any brand or company.

Photos provided by Jan Crystal, Unsplash and WordPress. Tripod photo from https://unsplash.com/photos/black-smartphone-near-shore-H65vLv6Wc7c