What to Expect in Your Personal Brand Photography Session

Personal brand photography is a must-have for anyone who wants to ensure they’re being portrayed in the best possible light. So, whether you’re an entrepreneur looking to build your personal brand or just someone who wants to make sure their pictures on social media are all telling the right story, it’s essential to be aware of personal branding photography.

Planning for the Session

The first phase of a personal brand photography session is planning. It involves determining the goal of the shoot and working with your personal branding photographer to choose outfits and locations for the session.

Determining the Goals of the Shoot

As you prepare for your personal brand photography shoot, it’s crucial to think about what you want to accomplish.

• What do you want your brand to look like? This is an excellent time to revisit your brand statement and clarify its meaning.
• Who are you trying to reach? What are their needs, interests, and goals? Figure out who they are and how you can help them with your personal brand.
• What kind of content will you be creating for this shoot? Knowing this will help you determine how best to prepare for the shoot.

Outfit and Location Selection

Once you’ve determined the goals of your shoot, it’s time to think about the outfit and location you want to incorporate into your session. Make a list of outfits you love and want to show off. If you have multiple items that go together well, this can help create a cohesive look for your shoot. 

Location selection can be just as crucial as outfit selection. Think about what kind of vibe you want your photos to convey, and choose locations accordingly. Of course, it can be tricky to choose outfits and locations if you have no experience with personal brand photography, but this is something your photographer can help you with. 

During the Session

Once the planning phase is over, you’ll engage in a pre-shoot session with your photographer.

The Pre-Shoot

This is where you discuss the shooting style and what you want to get out of it; it’s also a chance for your photographer to learn more about you. This helps them figure out what props and styling they will use to ensure the photos are true to your brand.

Posing and Expressions

When it comes to posing and expression, there are a few things you can do to make sure that your brand photography session goes smoothly. 

First, think about the kind of impression you want to give off. Are you an energetic person? Try being more active in your poses. 

Second, think about what emotions you want to express through your photos. Are you excited about something new in your life? Try smiling broadly and looking happy! 

Third, practice makes perfect–the more time you spend posing for photos, the better you’ll become. Make sure that all of your pictures look natural by practicing different poses in front of the mirror before the shoot day.

After the Session

Finally, the photographer will send you a link to the private gallery where you can select your final images. The images will be available for download in high-resolution and low-resolution formats, and all of them will be watermark-free, so you can use them however you like.

Looking for information on branding photography costs and good headshots for businesses? Check out our latest posts!

How Much Does Branding Photography Cost?

Branding photography can be on the expensive side–an average branding photo session can cost you upwards of $2,000. However, it can help your business stand out from competitors and serve as an excellent marketing channel to boost your overall revenue. 

What Is Branding Photography?

Let’s first clarify the concept of branding photography. What differentiates normal photography from branding photography?

Well, branding photography aims to build your brand and features your:

• Brand colors
• Brand persona
• Leadership team
• Products or services
• Office

It also tries to portray your vision, mission, and work ethic to the world. However, because these three cannot be really objectified, they are not must-haves for branding photography.

If you have an idea about how you can help your audience visualize these aspects of your business, that’s great! But if you don’t know how to represent your mission or work ethic visually, don’t sweat it–that’s where an experienced photographer comes in.

With that said, branding photographs may include headshots, team pictures, product pictures, social media images, blog images, and candid photographs of your workspace and in action.

Check how good photography can help you build your brand.

What Do Branding Photography Costs Look Like?

The following factors affect the pricing of your branding photography:

• Photographer’s expertise: A beginner photographer might charge you less, but an expert that has worked with many different brands before will charge you a  bit more.

• Photographer’s equipment: Some photographers charge by equipment. Expensive gear can mean more costly photos.

• Venue and props: If the photographer is arranging venues for the shoots and props that sync with your brand’s vibe, be prepared to pay extra. Props can also include outfits, which can cost up to $300.

• Number of images: Usually, one photo session means at least twenty finished images. However, the exact count differs from photographer to photographer, and the more images you want, the more you should expect to pay.

• Photo editing: Sometimes, photo editing is costlier than the photography session itself. So, if a photographer is including photo editing in their package, expect to pay more.

• Other services: Other services that may be included in branding photography are short videos, gifs, custom memes, and other visual content. Some photographers also charge for planning the shoot with you or setting up a consultation meeting.

In addition, there are three ways photographers charge for branding photography:

• Hourly rates
• Sessional rates
• Per photo rates

The average hourly rate of a brand photographer is around $250 to $500. Session rates can be around $1,000 or more, with one session usually sixty minutes long. Some photographers also commit to half-days per session.

When it comes to per-photo rates, you can expect to pay $50 to $150 per finished image. This makes the per-photo pricing model the most expensive one. 

Overall, if you want a decent brand photography session that involves high-quality equipment, an expert photographer, photo editing, and at least twenty images, you should expect to pay $1,000 or more. If you include outfits, venue, props, and other services, the price may easily exceed $2,000.

At a glance, this may seem expensive. But if you think about it, it might be a wise investment, because:

• You’ll pay this amount only once (until you rebrand yourself)
• It will bring you more business

Why Is Branding Photography Important?

You might wonder what you can expect from a branding photography session. Why do people spend thousands on branding photography when you can simply use a few stock photos? Well, here are three reasons why branding photography is important:

• It sets up a great first impression, which helps build trust if you’re a new brand.
• It makes your brand more human, which allows your customers to relate to it.
• It gives consistency to your brand image and makes it easier for people to recognize you.

Photographers create brands by adding their unique perception to each image they capture. They can also help you to choose colors and aesthetics or direct you in how to represent your brand, and they may suggest how to improve the representation you’re going after.

More about expectations for your personal brand photography session.