Instagram Hair Photo Hacks for Hairdressers

Mia De Vries is an OG Colour Queen, Industry Disruptor, Salon Owner, Balayage Educator, Glitter loving Hair Painter and the Creator of the Secret Fox online education. Mia De Vries has been working on the tools for almost 25 years, which just that alone gives her a wealth of industry knowledge. 

She divides her time between working with clients and the roles associated with being the Salon owner of The Secret Fox and running the multi-award-winning online education platform for hair and makeup professionals, streaming live masterclasses to help hairdressers perfect their craft in a fun community with accessible education you can watch from anywhere in the world. In fact, The Secret Fox is renowned for being the Hair and Makeup Industry’s secret weapon. 

Mia is also an incredible iPhone photographer of models as well as what she lovingly calls us regular folk “the norms”… and let’s face it, most of our clients are the norms with little or no modelling experience. But we expect them to showcase our incredible hair and sizzle in front of the camera when we ask to photograph them for our Instagram.

We are going to discuss how to help your clients get comfortable with that scroll stopping Instagram pose you are longing them to know how to do, plus how to stay inspired and more! 

Show notes for episode 52 of the podcast

mia's top tips for taking scroll stopping hair photos

Mia has an incredible ability to take the perfect photo of every model or client every time. This does not happen by chance. She and her educators and salon team have taken years of practice to create strategies that work for everyone, including as Mia describes us non-models as “the norms”. Everything you need to know before your next photo session at the salon is listed below:

• The most important aspect is lighting
• Natural lighting is the most flattering light on the skin and faces and shows the true colour of the hair
• Ring lights can blow out the colour, however, if using a light clearly share that in your caption to avoid people thinking you have filtered it
• Know the background – keep it on brand. Keep it tidy!
• Avoid mirror walls, unless you can ensure all angles are perfect
• Avoid using media walls unless it is a red carpet event photo in front of the sponsor's wall. This is a dated salon concept that looks too busy and distracting on Instagram feeds. Salon backgrounds always look better for salon photography! 
• When you take a photo of a client, make sure you are looking and checking the photos as you take them – keep checking you are getting what you are looking for and direct the client/model if not to do something else
• Always have a comb and hairspray in your hand ready for the photo styling
• Some clients are happy to take selfies with your camera at the salon with their fresh hair. Give them your phone and let them do their thing. Some clients might like you to stand there and hold a mirror for them to see what's happening and others like privacy
• Make sure if you are asking a client to take selfies for you that you let them know your business is hairdressing and the hair needs to be the hero of every image. Often selfies crop the hair out of the photo, so to avoid that just let them know what you need.

  CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD YOUR PODCAST FREEBIE – it's a mini ebook full of poses. Save it. Download it. Print it. And show this to clients when you photographing their hair at the salon. Let them choose a pose they feel comfortable with. 

the secret fox tips and links

I love being a member of the Secret Fox and have learnt so much more than just hair skills. I love their branding and business skill webinars and the ability to watch replays or interact live with the class presentations. Discover the top 3 reasons to join the community (and NO, I am not paid to share this):

• The Secret Fox host members-only live training on Facebook to help you perfect your skills and grow your salon business
• You can study from anywhere – The trendsetters, style makers, ultimate industry creators, we bring them right to your phone, tablet or computer
• Every month they invite a world-leading guest expert to provide masterclass training that'll keep you on top of your game