Salon studio success depends heavily on digital marketing, that is why setting up your salon studio for a photoshoot is so important!
Read along to find out more about the set up you need in your salon studio…
The first thing anybody thinks of when setting up their salon studio is the decor! What is going to make it look like the salon of my dreams? The aesthetics of our studios is very important to us, and it should be!
Our spaces are a direct representation of us and we spend a lot of time in them so we should take pride in making it look the best we can. Let’s be honest though, they are usually a little-cramped feeling. Not very often do I hear salon studio owners say “I just have so much space I don’t know what to do with it all!”. Figuring out the most important pieces of equipment to make room for and finding unique ways of doing it is the fun part of decorating a salon studio.
The decor in our salon studios is what sets the tone for our clients visit and it should be done with not only our target client in mind but with branding as well. Creating a brand means making every part of our business cohesive, so why would we leave this part out?
Our salon studio’s decor, our website, our social media profiles, our business cards, our emails, our own personal style, and attitude!
It all has a part to play when it comes to creating a brand and no matter what stage you are in.
Owning a salon studio, you should always be working on this. If you are not working on your brand currently, I am here to tell you… you definitely should be!
Pictures to use online can be very expensive and are something you will always need more of. By learning how to do it yourself, you are doing one of the easiest and most beneficial tasks of being a salon studio owner!
This doesn’t mean you will be responsible for ALL of the pictures that you will need for your online presence. In fact, I highly recommend hiring a photographer to come in and get a few basic pictures of you and your space for your website to have on hand! However, having the ability to take a quick before and after of your clients is an invaluable skill to have.
Knowing the right tools to invest in will make your life so much easier!
First of all, make sure you have a camera or phone with a camera that can take good quality pictures that you are able to upload onto your computer and edit.
I personally do have a Connon DSLR camera(this one here) but prefer my iPhone 7S because I love its easy editing options and that I can airdrop it onto my mac for editing anytime!
Very convenient but definitely not necessary!
Secondly, you need to make sure you have an area in your salon studio dedicated to taking pictures in front of. This part you can get creative with and make your own.
A couple of things to keep in mind when deciding on this space:
- Is the area clean?
- Is there any clutter that will distract from the hair?
- Does it’s lighting change throughout the day?
- Do you like it how it feels?
- Is it easy and comfortable for you and your client?
In the example below the best area was in front of the sliding glass doors but facing a big window. This was a big wide area that the client and hairstylist could easily move around in. By adding a small backdrop like this one here above the sliding glass door it was a very efficient way of keeping a consistent and clean photo shoot area.
Now the background is always the same and it is simple so the focus remains on the client’s hair.
The next thing you must must MUST have in your salon studio to create beautiful professional style images yourself is a LIGHT!
Light is what makes your hair and client pop! Anything it is pointed at is instantly illuminated and made to stand out! Which is exactly what we want the hair to do when our potential clients are scrolling their Instagram feeds or checking out our gallery on our website.
The Ring Light is without a doubt a must-have and this is the one I choose to use!
I decided on this one because it came with a sturdy stand that has attachment options that come in handy for other projects but it also has a filter for changing the lighting and has an adjustable intensity setting. It also comes with a carrying case so you can take your light on the road!
Fourthsies on our list is a place to edit your pictures so you can enhance your image and add a personalized watermark!
I use a website called canva.com to edit all of my images. Seeing as we are hairstylists and the point is to show off our haircuts and colors we don’t want to do much to the actual picture itself.
That’s why we invest in the lighting and locating the perfect backdrop!
We also don’t want to appear misleading by putting filters or heavy edits on our work. It almost always looks slightly off on different devices anyways, so, best to just stick to making sure your cuts and colors look on point, to begin with, and stay away from filters.
With an editor like canva.com however, you can add text overlays to your pictures. I highly recommend you add a watermark to every single picture you post online so your images can’t be stolen. This website lets you do it all for free, or for a few dollars you can have their premium version. With their premium version, they will create a portfolio for you including your brand’s colors, fonts and will let you create folders for your images for quick reference later on! You can also create images with transparent backgrounds so you could make a logo and use that on your images instead of a boring text!
With their premium version, they will create a portfolio for you including your brand’s colors, fonts and will let you create folders for your images for quick reference later on! You can also create images with transparent backgrounds so you could make a logo and use that on your images instead of a boring text!
Even more, ways to create cohesive branding for your salon studio business online so that your audience can become more and more familiar with you!
When you create a space like on Canva that helps you make branding SO convenient it’s hard not to just do it!
Adding your exact logo as a watermark and keeping the color shade perfectly consistent is so easy to do with Canva and I promise is one of the easiest business moves you will make.
Okay! So, let’s recap…
Taking professional pictures of your clients in your salon is a MUST!
Things you will need:
- Clean Backdrop
- Camera/phone with a camera
- Light
- Online Editor
Can you believe that taking your own pictures is actually this simple?
If you are currently looking for more ways to Step your Salon Suite’s Customer Experience check out my article HERE.
If you are needing help when it comes to learning how to speak to your ideal client or even if you aren’t sure who your ideal client is and creating goals for your business and actively working towards them, you should definitely check out my 5 Day Workshop, Attracting your Ideal Salon Clients and Mastering Momentum! I know this 5-day workshop will not only be used once but over and over as you and your business continue to evolve and uplevel!
Have anything you’d like to add to create a photoshoot worthy salon suite? Please share in the comments below!