Barcelona Brand Photographer

View Original

How to Do A FaceTime Photoshoot

How To Do Photoshoot By FaceTime During Lockdown, Branding Photographer in Barcelona


Being a branding photographer in Barcelona during a total lockdown isn’t easy.

My friend needed some new photos for her social media and website and I’m always eager to shoot, no matter what.

We decided to do a FaceTime photoshoot.

I thought I would show you how to stay creative and use every moment to create cool content for your social media or just spend some dope time with your friends and family capturing beautiful moments of togetherness during this weird time and by the way have lots of fun.


Virtual Photoshoot Through FaceTime In Time of Lockdown, Branding Photographer in Barcelona

First of all before you start shooting be clear on what you want.

The best way is to prepare an inspirational mood board on Pintrest, just to visualize your vision.

Natalia had a clear vision of minimalistic portraits. She also wanted few pics of her while she was working from her home office in Barcelona during total lockdown provoked by Covid-19. As it goes about the rest, she gave me a lot of freedom, so I could experiment a bit and play around with some angels.

How To Do Photoshoot Through FaceTime During Lockdown, Branding Photographer in Barcelona

How To Do Photoshoot Through FaceTime During Lockdown, Branding Photographer in Barcelona

How To Do Photoshoot Through FaceTime During Lockdown, Branding Photographer in Barcelona

How To Do Photoshoot Through FaceTime During Lockdown, Branding Photographer in Barcelona

How To Do Photoshoot Through FaceTime During Lockdown, Branding Photographer in Barcelona

Second important thing: prepare the props you want to use.

Boost your creativity, it can be everything what you have in your place: starting with laptop, notebook, a cup of coffee ending on mirrors, fruits and flowers.

A key to successful FaceTime shoot: find a spot with natural light.

Your backdrop can be a white wall next to the window, your sofa just next to the entrance to the balcony, colourful coupboard or a table where you usually work. If you want to experiment more you can use some colourful textiles as a backdrop.

You need to find a parter who is also eager to have some fun.

Remember that the quality of the pics is not amazing. That's how it is and we can't change it. Here what counts is an experience, a fun and productive time spend with your friend. It's cool to have new content and it's great to challenge yourself and shoot. This kind of an exchange could be good for both of you.

One more thing, as there are many limitations, and you can't correct the photographed person by coming closer, you need to be super precise with all the given directions.

FaceTime Photoshoot in time of lockdown, Barcelona Branding Photographer

FaceTime Photoshoot in time of lockdown, Barcelona Branding Photographer

FaceTime Photoshoot in time of lockdown, Barcelona Branding Photographer

Technically you don't need much!

The best way is to shoot on your phone. If you're an android user (as me) you can connect with your partner in crime by Skype or Zoom and then you take screenshots.

(click here to see the whole instruction how to do a screenshot on Widnows or Mac)

If you have an an iPhone, it's so easy to shoot with FaceTime.

There is an onscreen button to take a photo.

Here is a manual:

  • it has to be iOS 11 or later
  • You have to have FaceTime Live Photos enabled (Settings>FaceTime>Live Photos – turn on)
  • You need to have your phone set to upload photos to iCloud
  • If you changed any settings you'll have to restart your devices (this one is super important, I lost some pics by not following the last step)

How To Do Branding Photoshoot Through FaceTime During Lockdown, Barcelona Branding Photographer

FaceTime Photoshoot in time of lockdown, Barcelona Branding Photographer

FaceTime Photoshoot in time of lockdown, Barcelona Branding Photographer

FaceTime Photoshoot in time of lockdown, Barcelona Branding Photographer


The self isolation time and pandemic boost my creativity and engaged me to find new ways of my artistic expression.

By the end of the 6th week of confinement Natalia, super talented photographer and my friend, wanted to shoot, I had some ideas. We did a virtual photoshoot by Skype, this time the role has changed. Becoming a model I could understand more the new challenges and limitations.

You can check out the whole gallery here.


Together but alone, supporting each other and waiting for a new world.

If you have any questions let me know. And if you are interested in creating some stunning content by virtual FaceTime photoshoot or soon in new reality I would be delighted to talk about your project. Just shoot me an email at: julia@juliamalinowska.com

Or find me on Instagram: @jul.malinowska