Whether you are a selfie superstar or want to avoid the camera at all costs, a brand photoshoot is for you. Whether you’re just getting started or deep into building your business, a brand photoshoot is for you. Whether you’re a personal brand or a corporate brand, a brand photoshoot is for you.

Once upon a time, it was the case that only the really established brands scheduled photos for their platforms, but now, it has gone mainstream.

If this is something you have been thinking about, but feel like now isn’t the time, let’s start talking about the Why, How and What of branded photoshoots. 

 

Why You Need Them

 

No matter what your niche is, this world has become VERY visual. From Instagram to your website to promotional print materials to Pinterest, there seems to be a never-ending need for visual content. If a picture is worth 1000 words it’s time to start thinking about what your brand is saying. 

Image Bank

So many brands limp along taking photos as needed. Not only is this an exhaustive way to create any kind of content, but it can often lack consistency. 

If in order to post on Instagram you have to think about what content you want to share, then create an image to accompany it, odds are you aren’t going to have an easy time producing daily posts. And even if you’re able to produce daily posts, there is likely to be a visual dissonance in your feed from day to day as you attempt to recreate an on-brand image over and over.

A brand photoshoot gives you a bank of images to draw on. Rather than having to conceptualize a new visual asset every day, you’ll have the ability to select an image that fits your caption or form a caption based around an image you know is relevant to your brand. Not only that, but you can schedule a full month of posts and save yourself time and the daily task of starting from scratch.

Start-Up Assets  

Typically, in order to get your brand off the ground, you need at least some images. Whether it’s for use on your website or profile pictures on social media or business cards, you tend to need a few personalized visuals to get started.

Why not stock photos?

Stock photos are certainly a piece of developing your brand, they shouldn’t take center stage though. You and/or your product should. If you’re designing a living room you pick out furniture, rugs, decor and paint for the walls. Stock photos are your wall paint. They aren’t the thing that holds the whole brand together, it’s just an accent.  

Intentional Visuals

When you plan for a photoshoot you’re deciding on the things that are most relevant to your business. You’re being intentional about the visual assets rather than hoping to capture your message through stock photos and random pictures you’ve taken over the years. This intention will make them more powerful and more impactful.

 

How to Plan

 

If you’re ready to give your brand the visual step up it deserves, you might be thinking about how you get started. If you’ve never done a photoshoot for business purposes, it isn’t quite like dressing your family up for holiday cards. It takes a lot more planning. 

Pro vs. Amateur

Ideally speaking, you’ll be able to hire a professional and get the highest quality results. A professional can:

 

• Stage and pose the shots
• Create ideal lighting
• Provide high-quality editing
• Deliver high res images (ideal for using everywhere)

That being said, not everyone is financially prepared for the investment. And that’s okay too. Everyone has to start somewhere. If you’re going to approach your brand photoshoot in a DIY fashion, you’ll just have to take on a lot more of the responsibilities. (We talk more about your photography options below.)

Setting

Decide where your photoshoot will take place. If you’re a baker you’ll likely want to be in a kitchen for your photoshoot rather than a meadow. If you sell hiking boots, you’ll probably want to be in the mountains instead of at the beach. 

But it may not be just any kitchen or just any mountain. Do some research on locations, find out if you need any kind of permit or paid pass to photograph there and determine if that space is conducive to photos being taken. Just because a place is pretty, doesn’t mean it’s an ideal match for your brand.

Props

Even if you are the face of your brand, you still may need more than just your face. Whether it’s flowers in your hand, your laptop at your desk or your bicycle in the background, there are things you may want or need in the shot with you. Sometimes it’s just for variety, different colors of coffee cups, scarf or no scarf, a hat. If you want to give yourself the most amount of materials out of your photoshoot, the images need to be as varied as possible. 

Planned Shots

One of the most valuable aspects of a photoshoot, but one of the easiest elements to forget, is planning for the photos you want. If you want a close up of just your eyes or an image of you jumping in the air, you need to think about how you get that. 

Use Pinterest or Instagram for inspiration. Most of us aren’t trained models with a laundry list of poses in our arsenal, so to get the shots you want, you need to plan for it! Save the shots you’d like to get and do your best to replicate them during the shoot. This will also help give you some variety so you get as many usable images as possible out of the photoshoot. 

And even if you don’t intend to be in the shots and you are shooting product alone, you need an idea for what you hope to capture: the mood, the lighting, the vibe are all going to be enhanced by a plan.

 

Options for Executing

 

There are multiple options for how to actually make the photography happen. None of them are wrong, you’re simply dealing with levels of professionalism and budgets when deciding who or if you want to hire someone. 

Niche Photographer

If you are in a specialty arena that demands a particular eye, a photographer that is trained in that particular field is the ideal selection (and likely the most expensive). Food photography, nature photography, product photography are all examples of specialized photography. 

Local Photographer 

If you are looking for a more general set of headshots and lifestyle portraits, then you can likely pick any local photographer with a strong portfolio. They will have a good idea about locations and backdrops that fit your brand. Make sure their visual style matches yours, see if you can find someone who has worked with brands like yours, but otherwise, trust in their ability to help you pose and set the backdrop.

Amateur Photographer

It’s okay if your budget for a pro just isn’t there yet. You can go with a newbie or a family friend who just does it for fun and likely still get some good shots. That being said, you’ll likely need to take the lead to set the stage.

Friend with a Good Camera Phone

Guess what? You don’t even really need a professional camera. It’s ideal, but it’s not required. If all you can manage at the moment is to hand your sister your phone and have her take some shots, then THAT IS ENOUGH! You don’t need to go broke on your first brand photoshoot. The point is that you come to the table with some intention and walk away with usable visuals. 

Find A Selfie Stick

And ultimately, if it’s just you, yourself and no one else, you can do a photoshoot alone with a selfie stick, a tripod or even just some books stacked on a nightstand propping up your phone. You get to start wherever you are comfortable. There is a steeper learning curve and a larger dedication of your own time, but ultimately, you’re trying to get a collection of photos that you can use across your platforms rather than be stuck in the day-to-day creation process. 

Valuing your visuals, planning for the images you’re putting out, and producing the highest quality content you possibly can is the goal. How you do it is up to you. When you do it though should be as soon as possible.