How to Create a Moodboard: Essential Guide for Portrait & Brand Photography
How to Create a Mood Board: Essential Guide for Portrait & Brand Photography
A really simple way to get the creative juices flowing.
How to create a moodboard the easy way
You’d love to know how to create a moodboard on your own but if truth be told, you’re not really sure what it involves? Moodboards made by design professionals can look amazing. Their simplicity makes them look so easy – but if you’re wanting to make your own it can feel more daunting a prospect than it actually is. Want an easy way in? Read on!
Why would you make a moodboard?
There are two great reasons for making your own moodboard. Firstly, they are a great planning tool for any photoshoot – be it brand, styled inspiration shoot or a portrait shoot. Secondly, they’re a really simple way to get creative juices flowing – even for those of you who don’t think you’re creative.
You don’t need much in the way of tools – despite all those pantone colour charts and unaffordable magazines you read about needing. A pile of any old magazines, scissors and glue will do the trick – or just grab your laptop and skip the old fashioned method.
Honing your vision and refining it are sometimes the hardest part – but honestly, once you’ve got started and trust in your gut, you’ll be wondering why you’ve never done this for every visual project in your life!
Why and how a moodboard helps you plan a branding photoshoot – elsewhere on this blog.
How to create a moodboard the old fashioned way
Making your own moodboard is a really great way to get the creative juices flowing, and for that reason I recommend at least doing your first one the old fashioned way, with paper, scissors and glue.
The tools you’ll need to create a moodboard for your next photoshoot
- Old magazines / catalogues, freebies, newspaper magazines, recipe mags etc.
- Fabrics of different texture and colour
- Colour or paint swatches (visit your DIY store /send off for colour cards)
- Scissors
- Glue or sticky tape
- A3 piece of card / two A4 pages OR
- A pinboard and pins work just as well.
Envision your photoshoot
Think in overall terms of how you want to look. If you were to put it into words, what 5 words would describe the look and feel to someone else? If you were a main character in a book, how would you describe yourself? Now let those words be your guide in choosing what to cut out and place. You might want to write those words onto your moodboard.
Choose your pieces
Cut out colours that speak to you – do they represent a mood, a feeling, a theme or a brand colour?
Moving onto textures, how do they make you feel when you touch them? Soft and comforting? Luxuriously soft? Wispy and full of movement and flow? Are your fabrics bold and outspoken?
Images that tell a story
Now pick out images that tell a story or represent a feeling for you. Thinking of how you want to look, what inspires you, what images show power, or comfort or soul or character? For your brand photography, what images tell stories of your purpose, what you sell and who you sell to?
It can help to think less figuratively so perhaps you’ll look at locations, poses, clothing. You might pick out images for their lighting style or for their energy: sense of stillness or movement. Don’t worry if that’s a step too far though, just be guided by what speaks to you.
Position and Refine
Now start placing your images, colours and fabrics on the ‘board’. You should quite organically see your choices coming together and be able to group them by type.
Refining your choices is a lot easier when your space is physically limited to a piece of card. Try not to overload your board. Once you see something coming together, edit your selection by uniting your images through colour or light or mood.
Once you’re happy with how it looks and what it tells you / somebody else, stick it all down! Now, how did you find the process?
Creativity comes from looking for the unexpected and stepping outside your own experience. Computers simply cannot do that.
– MASARU IBUKA, FOUNDER OF SONY
The cheat’s way to create a moodboard online
1. Create a Pinterest account
Pinterest is like an image search engine and a virtual moodboard rolled into one. It’s great for inspiration and for planning, and something I recommend using if you’re sharing a moodboard with others. You can set up a joint board so your ‘team’ can pin ideas to the same board. Private boards also allow you to restrict who can see them (ie. only you/ those you invite).
2. Set up a board and then separate it into sections.
Pinterest has a great tool to separate each board into subsections – let’s call your board ‘portrait shoot board’. You’ll need to know the overall look; then add in a section for outfits 1 and 2; locations; props; hair; makeup; poses. Now instead of grabbing magazines, search some of your favourite sites for inspo, or just search Pinterest itself (although be wary that the algorithm after a while will only show you similar things to what you’ve already pinned – it’s not a failsafe option for diversifying).
3. Refine and edit.
Nobody wants a moodboard of 150 images – that says nothing to anybody. Once you’ve got your images, refine it down to five or so per section. Ideally, think like it’s a large piece of card – how much can you realistically fit on a couple of sides of A4?
Words of warning
Use your moodboard as a guide, not a copy list
Making your own moodboard is a wonderfully creative way to plan your photoshoot. However, it is very easy to get caught up in wanting things to look exactly like your moodboard does. My words of warning would be to use it as a springboard for inspiration and planning, but don’t expect an exact replica in your photoshoot as not only does it dampen creativity, it’s also just not realistic to expect a carbon copy of someone else wearing something different in a different setting / lighting scenario. Let your and your photographer’s creativity flow and you’ll be pleasantly surprised at what comes out of it.
In summary:
Planning a moodboard yourself is such an accessibly creative task to get your ideas flowing. If it’s your first attempt, the physical task of cutting and sticking pictures is the best way to get creative and learn the process. Grab your tools and start thinking of textures and tones, positioning what you’ve found and once you’re happy with it, stick everything into place. Remember to refine your virtual moodboard if you’d rather stick to a sharable screen so that the final piece is something that summarises your overall vision.
How did you find it? Let me know in the comments below.
