Chances are you have a Pinterest account. You may be pinning images of interior spaces you love, craft ideas for your kids, fashion inspiration, or DIY projects to reference later. I use Pinterest for a lot of personal inspiration too; but, I have also found Pinterest to be a helpful tool in my business both for myself and my clients. If you are planning a photo session, there is one more board you may want to add! In fact, it is something I suggest all my clients do. I even ask them to share their board with me so I can see what they have in mind.

 

create your board

First thing is first. You need to create a board strictly for the purpose of planning your session.

If you already have pins saved to other boards that you would like to use to inspire your session, be sure and re-pin those to your session board.

organize your board

Once you have created your board, you’ll want to add sections to help you organize and plan for the more detailed aspects of your session. To do this, simply click on the “+” sign above your board title (circled below) and select “add section”.

Your sections might include:

• wardrobe
• hair
• makeup
• props
• poses
• and location

You will use these sections to store pins addressing the particulars.

Some pins won’t fit well within a specific section. These are usually the pins that depict an overall mood or theme that you want your own portraits to portray but that don’t necessarily have the same details you are looking for. For those pins, just save them within the main board and don’t worry about specifying a section.

 

Get to pinning

This is the fun part! Start searching for pins to add to your new board. Don’t be scared of over doing it, just save anything and everything you love.

If you want to really be an overachiever, add descriptions!

After selecting a pin to save, add a description by clicking the little edit icon (circled in the photo above) and you’ll be able to personalize that field. This is a great way for you to detail what exactly it is that you like about the pin. For example, do you LOVE her floral dress or are you pinning this because you like the lush, rural setting?

For my clients who opt to create Pinterest boards to inspire their sessions, I make sure and read the descriptions to learn more about why they chose specific images. So, not only could this help your own planning process but it will certainly help your photographer too; after all, they don’t know why you saved a particular image unless you tell them!

 

Narrow it down

As you get further along in the process, you may look back at something you pinned before and decide it doesn’t quite fit your aesthetic as well as you thought. You can choose to do one of two things with that pin. You may choose to delete it; but remember, that is permanent and you run the risk of not finding it again if you change your mind. My preference is to create another section titled “rejected” and simply move the pins into that section.

To move a pin from one section to another, click the edit icon on pin you intend to move. You’ll then be presented with a menu to edit that pin. Using the drop down menu, select the appropriate section for the pin or create a new section in which the pin will be placed.

Your new Pinterest board will help you nail down just the right outfits, color scheme, and hair and makeup styling for your session. It will also help your photographer gain a better understanding of your aesthetic preferences as well as the mood you are looking to capture. While the images pinned won’t be replicated, elements displayed throughout your board will be utilized to create portraits entirely unique to you.

Now get to pinning and be sure to connect with me on Pinterest. Just click the link below and you’ll be taken to my profile where I have organized my boards by session type- be sure and check out the board relevant to you!