How To Know If You’re Ready for a Longer Brand Photoshoot

Are you in Content Club and wondering if you’re ready to level up to a 45 minute brand photoshoot?

It’s a question I hear a lot. And the truth is, if you’ve never had a longer brand shoot before, leaping into it can seem intimidating.

You wonder if it’s worth the extra investment.  You wonder if you have what it takes to prepare for a longer shoot.  You wonder if your business really needs it.

It’s completely understandable. No one wants to put in the effort only to end up disappointed. I encourage you to explore the benefits of a longer session and analyze whether it might just be the best thing you can do for your marketing efforts this quarter.

• A longer brand session will result in more photos you can use in your marketing.  
• It also means more variety, as you’ll have more time to wear multiple outfits and create more conceptualized images.  
• You’ll have more time during your shoot to settle in and feel relaxed, which translates to better photos.

If you’ve been feeling like you’re ready for a longer brand session, you probably are getting close! 

To help you decide, today I’m sharing 4 ways to know if you’re ready to upgrade to a 45 minute branding photoshoot, along with examples from an extended session with Content Clubber Jaime Spencer.

The goal is to help you focus on optimizing your marketing efforts – without worrying about your content growing stale.

(And if you’re not ready for a longer photoshoot yet, you’ll know how to recognize it when you are!)

Let’s dig in.

4 Signs You’re Ready for a Longer Branding Photoshoot

Only you can say for sure whether you’re ready for the next step above the included 15 minute Content Club mini sessions. If it’s been on your mind lately, you’re probably in a good place to start researching your options. You may even find that you’re more prepared for it than most entrepreneurs who jump right in without starting off slow and steady with 15 minute minis.

To help you decide, here are a few tell-tale signs that show you’re more than ready to step in front of the camera for a more specialized and customized photoshoot that will show off your business even better and attract even more ideal clients.

Readiness Sign #1: You Want More Variety in Your Brand Photos

Science has proven that our brains process images 60,000 times more quickly than written information.  Studies have also shown that we only have 7 seconds to get our audience’s attention.  So, what does all of this mean to you?

It means that the photos and videos you’re sharing with your audience are critical to your business success.  Gaps in your brand imagery, like lack of variety, can easily mean the difference between making a sale and missing it. 

This is why it’s so helpful to have a wide variety of photo content you can pull from. 

When I first started marketing my own business, I didn’t feel I was ready for a branding session, so I pieced together a random mix of stock images from Canva plus a two headshots of myself.  That was all I had. It got old.  Real fast.

I felt like I never had anything fresh to post – because I didn’t.  I posted the same generic stock photos and the same two headshots.  Over and over.  My audience wasn’t connecting like I wanted them to.

That’s when I finally decided to invest in a longer brand photoshoot.  After that, I had a gallery full of on-brand images that fit my style, matched my brand message, and conveyed professionalism to my target audience.

That variety was the key that unlocked my marketing and allowed me to double my Instagram following in under a year.  

That, and consistency of the brand look and feel.  Let’s talk about that more.

Readiness Sign #2: You Notice Your Photos Lack Consistency

You may not feel it now, but your intuition about your brand image will almost always steer you in the right direction. 

If you feel like you’re just not putting your best foot forward with your online content, the good news is, improving the consistency in quality of your photos is one of the most effective ways to improve your image.  Here’s why:

Research tells us that when we read or listen to text, we only remember 10% of it 3 days later.  When visuals, like photo or video, is included, we recall an impressive 65% of the material 3 days later.  

We all want our audience to remember us.  We want them to know, like, and trust us.  If your photos lack consistency of quality, relevance, or overall appeal, you’re losing your credibility.

When you begin to show up consistently as the professional you are with high-quality content, you inspire trust in your audience.  They want to follow you.  They want to get to know you better, and eventually, they’ll likely want to buy from you.

Readiness Sign #3: You Want More Unique or Specific Types of Photos

Content Club mini sessions are great for focusing on one objective per quarter.  Maybe you need great headshots.  Or maybe you have a new product you want to show off.  A 15 minute session is sufficient for one objective.

But, maybe you’re ready to create more unique content.  Maybe you have a launch coming up and you need a specific set of photos that can convey a range of concepts.  You need a longer brand photoshoot session in order to make all of that happen.

A 45 minute session is enough time to thoroughly capture photos to meet three different objectives.  For example: Let’s say you are launching a new course.  You need three series of images:

1. Candid images that portray the work of you creating the course, and/or someone working on the course
2. Flat lay images focusing on the products from your course
3. Hero images that focus on a subject (you, or others) as the main center of attention

The time constraints of a 15 minute mini session won’t allow for us to capture everything above, but a 45 minute session makes this very achievable – and fun!

A Case Study: Jaime Spencer’s 45 Minute Branding Photoshoot

Jaime came very prepared to her session.  She brought props and outfits based on the content goals she’d set for Q1.  We had a blast during this relaxed session, and her gallery included over 90 images for Jaime to download and use forever.  You can click here to view the full gallery. Or, just look at the photos I’ve been sharing throughout this blog post. They’re all from Jaime’s one 45 minute photoshoot.  Notice the wide variety, the consistency, the storytelling-style series, and the quality we were able to achieve with the extended time a 45 minute session allows.

Readiness Sign #4: You Want to Post More Often

Don’t let a lack of quality photos be the reason you aren’t posting online as often as you’d like.  

How many photos do you need to meet your posting objectives?  2 a week?  5 a week?  Do some quick math to figure out how many photos you’ll need per quarter.  There are 13 weeks in a quarter.  If you want to post 3 times per week, but one of those posts will be a quote or graphic rather than a photo, you need 2 photos per week, or 26 photos per quarter.

So, how many photos should you expect from a 15 minute mini session?  What about from a 45 minute session?

Here’s a good rule of thumb:

When photographing a single subject, a photographer will typically capture 2-3 unique shots every 5 min.  The other images will be variations of those same shots, just different angles or facial expressions.  So, in a 15 minute mini session, you’ll get about 6-9 unique photos. 

In order to get 26 unique photos, you’ll need a longer session. The extra time allows you to shoot in different settings, wear different outfits, and capture unique concepts.  A well-planned 45 minute session will result in 26 unique photos that you post twice a week all quarter long and never repeat the same photo.

What Does a 45 Minute Session Include?  What’s the Investment?

I hope you’re getting excited about the possibilities a longer brand photoshoot can provide for your marketing efforts.  It’s a big level-up from a 15 minute mini session, but I think you’ll be very pleasantly surprised with the affordability and extra benefits of a longer session.  

Let’s lay it all out for you to see here!  A 45 minute branding session includes:

• Use of my studio for a full hour.  45 minutes for the shoot, plus 15 minutes to prep before and pack up after.
• Up to 3 outfits.  The one you come wearing, plus two complete changes of clothing.
• More props than we can fit into your 15 minute session.  Click here for prop ideas.
• All image downloads from your final gallery.  No need to choose favorites.  You get them all.  Expect 50+.
• Investment: $175 upgrade from the Content Club quarterly rate.  So, take your regular quarterly Content Club rate and add $175.  You’ll get upgraded to a 45 minute photoshoot instead of 15 minutes, plus you’ll still get the Friday 3-hour content creation workshop with all your Content Club friends!

Be ready for the following benefits:

• More variety of photos to choose from.
• Better quality photos from a more relaxed, slower paced session.
• More unique poses and angles.
• More consistency for your brand aesthetic.
• More photos to post more often without repeats.

Standing in between you and an upgraded photoshoot: The Doubt Edition

Usually, the biggest thing standing in the way of your wildest dreams isn’t something external. It’s actually self-doubt.

Some common concerns I hear from my clients are:

• I don’t have ideas for what to shoot. Read this blog for help on how to prepare for a shoot.
• I don’t have the room in my budget right now. How much money are you losing by not posting quality content right now?  Is your website repelling potential clients because the photos you have are outdated or not representative of your brand?  
• I can just wait until next quarter. What if your ideal customer is deciding right now who to give their business to?  What if something comes up next quarter and you can’t do it then either?  Or, what if I’m booked out?
• Another photographer is offering mini sessions.  I’ll just get more photos from them.  But, what about that consistency we talked about?  Will your feed start to look like a hodge podge of different photography styles? 

Does any of that sound familiar? You’re not alone.

When faced with a decision, I tend to overthink it.  Like, waaaaay overthink it.  I dream up every possible way it could go wrong.  If it requires an investment of money, I try to DIY it.  I try to take a cheaper route.  And I almost always regret it.

Testimonial

One of the best ways to address those common concerns is to hear from a Content Clubber who recently made the leap to a longer session.  Here’s what Jaime Spencer had to say:

“I loved doing [the 45 minute session].  I was so much more at ease and felt like I could have more content to switch up because of the outfit changes.  When I had more time I felt more comfortable in front of the camera and I walked away knowing I had quality content to share that represented me well.”

It All Comes Down to Your Goals

It helps to get clear on your “why”. Why do you want to grow your business in the first place?  If better photo content can help you reach your business goals sooner, why wait?

If you’d like to, but the timing isn’t right, that’s okay.  Just know it’s an option.  I’m here for you – cheering you on!  I want to help you succeed in your marketing efforts. Creating amazing brand photos for you is an honor and a privilege that I don’t take lightly.  So, thank you!!

Want some help on planning your 45 minute brand shoot? I am right here ready to brainstorm with you!  Let’s come up with some ideas to skyrocket your brand image and get your inbox full of clients ready to buy from you!

Click here to chat with me about it!