27 Prompts to help you plan your personal brand shot List

I’m about to lay it down, ladies. This post has been a long time coming and I’m so excited to share some of these ideas with you to help you as you plan a photoshoot for your business. Knowing what to plan for a personal branding session can feel overwhelming at times because you’re starting with a blank canvas. I hope that this list will help you to plan your upcoming content creation and give you ideas you need to start showing up as the face of your business.

But first, let’s go into why you’d want to put the effort into creating this content for your business.

Why you need personal branding images

I want you to imagine all the times you end up on a website created by a person you’ve never met before. As the world moves their businesses online, this is likely happening more and more. The first time you see their branding and their website is your first impression of them. Studies show that you get seconds before someone starts stereotyping you, and changing that first impression takes much longer. It’s important to make sure that when someone lands on your website or interacts with you on social, you’re creating an incredible first impression.

Now, as a business owner or influencer, you aren’t here just to make a great first impression, are you? You want to run a successful business too. The authority and trust you create through your personal brand and online presence will help you to run a successful business. Building trust and authority can come from your online presence. Showing up in a way that builds a relationship with the people you want to work with goes a long way when you’re selling a product or service.

Want to know how we build trust and set you up as the authority in your field through pictures? We create images that show you doing the work, being professional, and approachable.

Beyond that first impression, images are one of the best ways to build relationships online. People feel connected with you when they see you show up consistently. This has become even more important as COVID is forcing people away from in-person interactions. Showing up with new and exciting content is a lot easier when you’ve created a plan for a library of images to choose from.

This list I’ve created is here to help you brainstorm ideas for content that you’d like to share over the next year. So when you start putting together a shot list and a plan for your photographer to look over, you’ve got ideas.

You can download and save yourself a version for when you’re ready.

This List Has A Side Benefit.

One thing I want to mention before I start listing ideas, is that stepping in front of the camera can be hard. I’ve done it many times and watched others do it thousands of times. The hardest part of standing in front of the camera is knowing what to do. (That’s why I’m heavy on the coaching in my shoots.) So a side benefit to creating stellar content during your photoshoot, is that having something to do, will make you feel less awkward. Walking through the motions of an action is helpful. When I can see my clients getting nervous, I make them interact with a prop or walk, and it helps tremendously.

1. Your products or services in action.

This is the one most people gravitate towards, and there’s a reason why! This is a big trust builder with your audience because they get to see you in action doing the thing you’re asking them to pay for. Brainstorm some ways to visually show this, even if your work is visually more vague. If you’re an accountant, you may not want to pose with a bunch of spreadsheets and checks, but sitting in front of a laptop can certainly get the point across. This is why so many people have laptops in their branding images. If you’re creative or sell products, this is a lot simpler. Just plan out your work or products as the props you’ll bring to your session and have a plan to interact with them.

2. What makes you different?

There are so many businesses marketing online that this one can be really powerful to add to your shot list. What makes your business different from all the other businesses out there? Maybe you’re a realtor that also offers to find movers for you, creating images that allow you to talk about this unique offering could go a long way in your marketing online.

3. Your Origin Story

Telling your story is a great way to show people who you are, where you came from and to help them to connect with you and your brand. If you have a great story about your businesses beginning, try thinking of ways to capture a piece of that story in your images. That could be memorabilia like a key to your very first office, or your very first product.

4. Flashback

This is different from your origin story. This is anything along your journey that you could share visually. This could also work as a before and after. If you’ve improved something in your business you could use an older photo and capture a new one showing the improvement.

5. Your Why

Why have you chosen to do this work? For me, I’ve blended my desire to work with women and my love of photography so capturing an image with a camera and a client could be the perfect way to lead into a conversation or post about my passions leading to my profession. Think about how you could communicate the “why” in your business through an image. This is a really helpful way to market your business. When people understand your why, they are more likely to resonate with you.

6. Your Workspace

This is an easy way to capture a day in the life! These types of images can be used all over the place. You can use these in ads, blog posts, on your website. If you don’t have a photogenic workspace, consider finding another space that would look great and fit in with your branding.

7. Books you Love

If you’ve built part of your business on an idea from a book, want to share an idea you love, or just like to show people what you’re reading, this can be a simple shot to draw upon. Just pack up some of your favorite books and pop them open during your shoot.

8. Publications you’ve been featured in

Have you been featured in any printed publications? Bring one with you to your shoot. You don’t have to pose with the publication, but sharing an image of your story or feature in a magazine is a great way to build authority in images.

9. Your marketing materials

If you give your clients a guide or mailer that you’d like to talk about or show off, consider bringing it to your photoshoot for a flatlay. A flatlay is an image shot from above that captures content like props. These can be really simple and last you a long time.

10. Upcoming holidays

Is your business built around any holidays? Do you have any special promotions that you offer on any holidays? Consider this one in advance. It’s great way to have your content ready to go when the time comes for you to start marketing.

11. Upcoming launch

Going along with the last idea, it’s a good idea to consider any upcoming launches that you have when you’re planning your personal branding photoshoot. Taking the time to create any images you need for ads, promotions or landing pages will help you to have what you need when the time comes. If you know you’re launching a new product sometime this year, consider the image you could use.

12. Sneak Peek

This is a way to build excitement! When I announced that I was launching a new course to help entrepreneurs plan their branding shoot, I posted a picture of myself with confetti that got people excited about what I was working on. Consider how you can build anticipation with an image for your shoot.

13. Behind the Scenes

Go behind the scenes in your business to capture a detail you’d like to talk about with your audience. This could be the way you choose to do things, or your process with your clients. What is your client’s journey with you?

14. Your Routines

Are there things you do all the time that you could share with your audience? For me, this is walking to brainstorm, or journaling in the mornings. Think about things you do every day that you could share. This could be as simple as drinking a cup of coffee! You’ll be resonating with those that share your routines.

15. Your inspiration

Are you working on a project, or do you have a part of your business that was inspired by something else? This could also take the form of your inspiration for wanting to succeed every day. Maybe your family is your inspiration. Maybe it’s wanting to be your own boss or travel. These are all things you can share to help people to understand you and feel more connected with your story.

16. The tools you use to do your work

What are your tools of the trade? Consider bringing some of these as props for your photoshoot. Mine is certainly a camera, but there are many other tools I could also bring to drive home the work that I do. List out some of the things you work with regularly.

17. Education

Everyone loves a good quick tip and a good how-to. Think about the questions that you get asked on a regular basis by your audience and demonstrate it in an image.

18. Your daily to-do list

This is another behind the scene options to show what your every day is like. Create an example of your to-do list and bring it to the photoshoot for a flatlay.

19. Share one of your big goals

Is there something you’re working really hard to achieve that you could talk about in a post?

20. Announcement For This Year

Are you moving to a new building this year? Bringing on new staff? This can help you to share what’s going on in your business.

21. Introductions

Do you have a team? Consider bringing them to your photoshoot so that you can create content to introduce them to your audience. This can be easily done as a team photo or you could stretch it by doing an introduction of one person at a time. It will also help to have everyone update their email signatures and elevate your entire brand.

22. A Relatable Failure

These can be hard to share, but if you’ve failed in a way or had to pivot it can make for a really great story that really connects with people. This also leads me into the next idea.

23. Different emotions

Not gonna lie, this can be really funny to capture at a photoshoot, but sometimes you need more than just a smiling photo. If you’re communicating a failure, or disappointment those less than overjoyed shots are great! I’ve also had clients who’ve asked for angry images or sad images because they’re running an ad that talks about how something needs to change, and they’ve got the solution.

24. Post about a freebie or content upgrade

If you’re giving away a freebie or content upgrade to get someone on your email list, consider showing that in an image. I have quite a few guides and printables that I offer my clients and could print these out to show in an image that I then use to promote that freebie or content upgrade.

25. Celebratory Images

These are SO much fun to create. You can post celebratory images any time you have a humblebrag, achievement, or even as a thank you page for your clients. These can be as simple as you overjoyed, confetti, wine, champagne, dancing, or balloons.

26. Your personal life

Give your audience a peek into your personal life by capturing images with your family, or at your home even a pet. These images will show that you’re more than just a business and help you to build those relationships with your audience online.

27. Pointing Pictures

These pictures can work really well for any kind of content that you’d like to make in the future. I love seeing what my client’s create with the blank space. A great tool for adding text in your personal branding images is Canva. Consider getting a couple of these at your photoshoot because you’ll never know when you’ll need them.

Hopefully seeing these prompts will help you to create a shot list that really helps you to market your business through your personal brand images. If you’d like to download the list and add some of your own ideas, grab my free guide!