7 Simple Steps to Plan a Perfect Branding Photoshoot
Hello there!
I have taken many great headshots of people, only to find out later that they have not been used anywhere outside of their social media profile pictures. Get this: people have spent hundreds of dollars getting these shots of them done, but are not being using them as widely as what they were made for!
Want to know why? Stick with me, I’ll tell you in a minute, because there is an incredibly simple answer to that question.
If you are an entrepreneur like me - you are constantly finding yourself in a launch mode. And for every campaign you’re building - You KNOW that you need new photos! And the reasons for that are:
You need to grab your audience’s attention and stand out above all the digital noise out there.
At same time you need to appeal and relate to them on personal level.
The old photos are either outdated, or were never taken at all.
May be you’ve lost weight or changed something about the way you look - and need to show your NEW self.
Or may be you want to appear more prominent in your campaigns and are trying to relate to your audience by showing them who you are and telling them your story - in a compelling way - so it is easier for them to remember you.
In the worst case - you have hired a photographer, got the pictures done, and they are NOT what you have expected. Being back to square one can feel pretty discouraging.
But you have no idea how to even begin to approach all that. What you would typically do is - find a decent headshot photographer, and tell them “I need new headshots! What do you charge?”. They give you their package rates, you end up hiring them, and they take great photos of you. In the best case - without a solid plan - you will end up with a good series of shots. But as soon as you try to use them you realize that the photos you got don’t really go too well with your website design, or with your brand’s message, or that you needed different formats - e.g. full body shots with some props, instead of just a cropped head and shoulders kind of an image. Or more vertical photos.
Add to that the fact that in the last decade - photography has come very far. And so did our perception of what’s interesting. What is grabbing people’s attention and what makes them want to find out more? The imagery has to flow well as a cohesive story that connects all the elements of your launch campaign, including the copy. It also is the main representative of your brand in all your social media and advertising efforts. Have you ever heard that nothing stops people in their tracks faster than a powerful image?
In order to avoid the situation where you have spent a lot of money on new photos and can’t really use them, or end up re-designing everything to match these photos (they are great photos after all!) - you simply Must Have a Solid Plan for your photoshoot! Because planning is the most important step towards getting the right pictures done.
It sounds simple for sure - just make a plan and follow through the implementation of every single small element of it. But how do you do that?
I have planned MANY photoshoots and for me it’s a breeze.
To help you guys - I wanted to create something as simple as possible, that will be of great value, and I want to offer it to you. Use it any time when you are planning your shoot - with me, or any other photographer.
I created a simple to use PDF - it is called “7 Steps to Plan your Perfect Photoshoot”. Grab it right here:
This list will help you to always be prepared for any photoshoot you need to have. And it will save you a lot of money, because you’ll be able to achieve all your photography goals in a minimum timeframe, with minimum effort.
You can print it out, or simply use as a reference - it's up to you. Use it to make a perfect plan with your photographer and you will always get better results than you wanted from your branding photoshoots.
I always welcome and appreciate your feedback or comments!
Cheers,
Irina