It might not seem important, but brand photography for your freelance or small business makes a world of difference in your company branding. Since founding my agency, MTC | The Content Agency, I’ve done three professional photoshoots for my personal brand and agency. I use these photos for various marketing projects like on social media, in email newsletters, on my website, or for blog posts. Many will ask: why do I need personal brand photos? Wouldn’t a stock photo work just as well? Personal branding photos are an important component of your business’s brand. It sets a tone, presence, and outward image of what your business is all about. So, yes. Personal branding photography for your small business is extremely important. In this article, you will learn how to successfully prep for your freelance business photoshoot.
Why is freelance business branding important?
Let’s start with popular brands. Like Nike and Apple. Their logo and slogan contain a million words, feelings, and emotions all within one glance. What do you want your clients to feel when they think of your brand? Trustworthness? Experienced? Or maybe — out-of-the-box? Progressive? The same can be said for your branding photography. Should you choose white space and clean-looking photographs for your website? Or should you choose photos that show you performing your freelance work? Because of the impact images can have on your business, it’s important to consider your freelance business photoshoot carefully. Every word, slogan, image, and color combination will translate into your freelance business brand — and at the same time your personal brand, because often in a solopreneur business, it’s one in the same. Your business brand is your personal brand.
So, choose wisely when considering the best brand elements to jump start your branding.
Photography by Tom
How to prep for your freelance business photoshoot
You’re ready to take photos of your business, but you’re not sure where to begin. Here are a few tips:
Begin with your customer
Both your freelance business and personal brand is a reflection of your ideal client. You’re in the business of making money, finding clients, and impacting people in your industry. When positioning your brand photos, think about your ideal client. What photography would build those brand words (like trust) between you and them? What are they looking for in photos that would entice them to buy from you?
Choose your photography style
You can choose from a million and one photographers—and if you live in a big city like Berlin, Germany, the number of choices is higher. Each photographer has a particular style and artistic angle. Start with you and your ideal client’s needs. Do they like content that is darker and moody in style? Soft editing or lighter editing? A realistic or mystical style? You can judge these styles by first reviewing the photographer’s portfolio, which can usually be found on their website or Instagram page.
Photography by Ana Torres
Make sure it feels right
A photography session is very intimate. When taking photos, you might feel unsure of yourself, not feel very pretty, or unoptimistic about the experience. These feelings can reflect in your pictures, and these aren’t the emotions that you want to convey to your future clients. You should plan to partner with a photographer that encourages you feel confident, bold, comfortable, and beautiful. They should be able to create the very, very best out of your photo session. And above all, it should be fun. Consider going for a coffee with your photographer before the official session to see if there is a vibe between y’all.
Consider reviews and testimonials
Listen to client reviews and testimonials. Even if you have known the photographer, or you’ve been on a coffee date — it’s hard to know a person in one sitting. Looking through reviews can be a part of your decision-making process. It’s a great way to get an outside perspective and insight into how that photographer carries their sessions.
Where will the photos live?
It’s a great question to consider as you plan your shoot. Most likely, you will be granted between 6 and 10 photographs depending on the photographer. Use that photo selection process wisely by pre-planning as much as possible. Where will those photos live in your business? On social media? A website banner? If it’s something like a website banner, maybe you’re better suited to take a photo with a lot of white space and room for text on the banner.
Plan and don’t leave your photoshoot to chance
To get the best photos for your money, help your photographer plan the session. You understand your ideal client best and what they’re looking for in a freelance partner. Brainstorm photographer poses and angles that make sense for your business. List your various business tasks, and think through what activities would show your freelance expertise. Pinterest is a great social media platform to use for inspiration. I plan all my photoshoots by creating a specific collection of photos to inspire the photoshoot. 
Plan your photoshoot
These are your six tips for planning a successful freelance business photoshoot. A photoshoot can be fun, and it can have a major impact on the marketing of your business. A good set of photos will build trust, authenticity, and spark a conversation with your ideal client. This is what you want! If done right, freelance branding photography can be very powerful for your business.
