Want to collaborate with your favorite brands?
If you love taking photos of your kiddos and you're ready to start working with some of your favorite brands, we have some tips for you!
1. Content is king // Make sure you have quality content. This doesn't mean that you need to shoot on a professional camera, but you do need to make sure your photos are clear and well lit. Cameras on phones these days are great too, you just need to make sure you're providing the proper settings to use their full potential.
-Take your photos in well lit areas, preferably with natural light but if you have alternative light sources those can help too!
-If you're outside try to avoid shooting in areas where the background is too bright and your kiddos get darkened and distorted. Try and shoot either in direct sunlight when it's not too harsh. Or go in the shade but have your kids facing where the light is coming from in order to help light them up.
-editing: a little bit of editing can go a long way. You don't need to photoshop but some slight tweaks can really help your images pop! We recommend downloading Lightroom and playing around with the settings until you find your style. Try not to make them too far off a natural look. We aren't a huge fan of presets unless you really adjust them on each photo to make sure they look right.
2. Shoot photos of clothes you already have. You don't need to spend a lot of money when starting out to buy clothes. Use pieces you already have and love and add accessories to help really give them your own personal style.
3. For younger kids who are harder to keep still, use props they can hold and entertain them. For babies you can use small toys and for toddlers a sucker or something they can snack on will often do the trick. A fun one is to even put some crackers or small snacks in their pocket for them to grab because the hands in their pockets is a fun photo op.
4. Look at the brand pages that you'd like to work with and see what type of content they post. If you stay in line with their style and take great photos you have a much higher chance of getting reposted and the potential to work together.
5. When you feel like you're getting your content and style down, start to reach out to brands! Maybe they all won't say yes right away but you may be surprised by the response you will get. Even if they say no you may get some valuable feedback and learning experience from it. Lots of small shops also host brand rep searches so you can keep your eyes out for those as well and make sure to apply!
-A media kit isn't necessary but can really help you stand out! If you aren't very tech savvy you can even use some simple templates on Canva to create one. Include some cute photos of your kids to show off their style and you can also add their name, age, sizes etc. to help us get to know your kiddo better!
6. Support the brands you want to work with! If you're going to reach out to them, make sure you are already following and engage with their posts so they can see that you truly are a fan of the brand.
7. Lastly, start building your community! Connect with other brand reps and brands you love. Support one another and you will continue to grow together.
We hope these will help all of you who have been wanting to work with more brands, whether you're just starting out or you're a pro rep. We look forward to seeing you all thrive in this space!
-The Young + Rad team
[Featured rad kid: Landon @coco.jackson]