Hey loves, Cassie here! I’m so excited for today’s highly-requested blog post giving you a behind the scenes look at our latest Bucketlist Bombshells branding photoshoot in Bali, Indonesia!

A LOT of hard work goes into planning a successful branding photoshoot! Everything from before, during and after the actual day of the shoot…it’s not all looking pretty and drinking cappuccinos in paradise! #letsbereal

If you follow us Instagram and our IG stories, we ran a Q&A to find out what your biggest questions are when it comes to hiring a photographer and planning your own branding photoshoot for your business!

Let’s just say, there were lots of juicy questions…

Why Invest In A Branding Photoshoot?

First things first, why should you invest in a branding photoshoot in the first place? Well, the short answer is that the visual representation of your business is essential to your business’ success!

You need professional and aesthetically pleasing images for marketing your online business. This includes things like your business website, your social media accounts, marketing campaigns etc.

By having a branding photoshoot, you’ll elevate your business to look more professional! That also means more clients and more revenue for ya, girl!

Q: How often do you shoot for content? 

We typically do a branding photoshoot with a professional photographer about every 6 months. We use these images for things like Facebook ads, new marketing campaigns, our website etc.

Finding the Right Photographer

Well it should be no surprise that a successful branding photoshoot must start with finding the perfect photographer! We found our photographer Derek Simpson Photography, a few years ago as a recommendation from a fellow business owner. We suggest that you do the same!

Ask for recommendations from entrepreneur friends or in business Facebook groups, like our own Bucketlist Bombshells Community! 

After reviewing Derek’s website and past photoshoots, we loved his photography style. We contacted him to set up a meeting to get to know each other and discuss our photoshoot vision.

A few lattes down, and many laughs later, we clearly were a business match made in heaven 😉 

Q: What is the most important thing you look for when hiring a brand photographer?

We look for 4 main things: 

• Their portfolio to make sure we like the style of their work
• Our connection to make sure we feel comfortable and vibe together 
• The number of final images we’ll receive
• That they clearly understand our vision and photoshoot goals!

Tip: It’s a good idea to find a photographer that specializes in “personal branding photography”. They’ll have experience shooting and capturing you for your business. Be sure to meet in-person or online to make sure you feel comfortable with your photographer before hiring them!

Creating Your Photoshoot Vision 

This step is always super important! We’re absolutely clear about what the goal of a particular photoshoot is. For example, sometimes the goal is to get specific website images, or other times it’s to shoot images for Facebook Ads.

This always helps us make sure we walk away from the photoshoot nailing our original goal in the first place! #winning

Our goal for this particular branding photoshoot was to get a mixture of images for Facebook Ads, plus a few images we needed for our website!

For example: Here’s one of the original images from our photoshoot…

…that we now use in Facebook Ads campaigns!

And another original image from our photoshoot…

That we now use as a website banner on our Destinations page!

Tip: We recommend creating a board on Pinterest to gather inspiration for your photoshoot locations, props, poses, vibe etc. 

Planning Your Branding Photoshoot 

Once we confirmed the photoshoot, we setup an official Creative Catchup meeting with Derek.

This gave us a second opportunity to discuss the finer details of the photoshoot and share our photoshoot vision with him. 

During our meeting, we discussed things like: 

• Our objectives and goals for the photoshoot
• Our plans for the final photoshoot images 
• Location ideas
• Props
• Timing & other logistics

After this meeting, this where it gets down to the nitty gritty of planning: 

We create a Branding Photoshoot Brief and plan everything from the hourly photoshoot schedule, to choosing specific locations, to choosing the exact outfits we’re going to wear.

Planning your own branding photoshoot? Download our Photoshoot Brief!

Q: How do you choose locations for your photoshoots?

For this branding photoshoot, we scouted out new cafes in Bali because we typically work from coffee shops or coworking spaces when we’re traveling around the world so it feels natural for us to be photographed in our element.

Derek provides location recommendations based on our vision, and we also research coffee shops on Instagram for cute backgrounds, angles etc

For example, here’s a shot from our branding photoshoot taken at the popular Coffee Cartel Bali! 

…And another location switch to snag a few shots at another cute cafe!

Although the majority of our shots and time was spent in cafes, we also added a few other locations to the mix, like our Bali villa (home decor goals!), a local workout studio and the beach for some fun travel shots for our new Destinations page. 

For example, here’s one of the shots taken at one of favorite workout studios in Bali…

We always coordinate our outfits based on our brand colors and the specific location (i.e. you don’t want to be wearing a white top in front of a white background).

If you have very specific shots you want, definitely add these to your photoshoot planning too. For example, we knew we wanted a shot of us sitting at our living room table with our microphone for our new Press page and for promoting podcast episodes that we’re guests on.

Here’s the original photo from our photoshoot…

And the final image that’s now used on our Press page!

Tip: Your business branding will change and evolve over time, so don’t stress about getting it perfect in the planning phase! Simply go with what will work best for your business right now.

Your Branding Photoshoot Day 

Ok, onto photoshoot day! Our Bali photoshoots always start very early, meeting with Derek around 6:30am so we can shoot in the cafes when they’re less crowded, there’s beautiful morning light and we can beat the heat (Bali problems!). 

As important as it is for us to stay on schedule, we’ve realized it’s just as important to go with the flow on shoot day. We always love the images where we genuinely feel relaxed and joyful — which Derek always helps with too because he has such a positive, upbeat personality (thank you Derek!)

Photoshoot day is always a rush of energy, and so much freakin’ fun! Derek guides us with different poses in each location, and we do our best to not overthink posing, just do what feels natural and have fun with it!

We reference our Branding Photoshoot Brief throughout the day to make sure we get in all the shots we want, which saves so much time and stress on the actual shoot day — hallelujah!

Planning your own branding photoshoot? Download our Photoshoot Brief!

In a nutshell, we order lots of coffee that we don’t end up drinking, we laugh at each other, our coffee mugs and thin air a lot, and we’ve learned to have no shame in looking “extra” in public.

Q: How long are you on shoot for? 

Our photoshoots typically last about 6 hours total from initially meeting up, switching locations, taking a quick lunch break, outfit changes etc.

Tip: To get out of your head if you’re feeling nervous on photoshoot day is to think about your big business WHY. Think about how your business positively effects your clients, the value you provide and how the clients you serve will be impacted!

Editing Your Branding Photoshoot Images

Once our branding photoshoot day is over, Derek always send us a few sneak peeks which we love and gets us so excited to see the whole album! Then, we receive our final edited photos from Derek within 14 days of our shoot!

Q: Do you get the photos unedited so you can match them to your aesthetic?

For photo editing, we have a custom Adobe Lightroom preset that we use for all our images on Instagram and our website, so Derek edits using our preset, does his pro editing magic and delivers the beautiful final gallery via Pixieset – like this…

TIP: Before hiring your branding photographer, make sure you’re clear on how many final images you receive with your package!

Using Your New Brand Images 

Once we have our new photos, we’re going to town utilizing them! We use them across marketing from Facebook Ads to website banner images and more.

I LOVE this part because I feel like this is where the images are really brought to life! The true value of having a branding photoshoot lies in telling stories, in showcasing your brand personality, in selling your programs or products, and so much more!

For example, here’s how we used one of the images from our photoshoot to design a Facebook Page cover and Instagram Stories graphic to promote a live Q&A…

Q: How much does a brand photographer cost?

Firstly, the cost to hire a photographer varies, so it’s important to get quotes to find a budget that works for you.

In general, the more experienced, popular and in-demand the photographer is, the higher the rates will be…just like most services! You can check out Derek’s pricing here, he also flies around the world for shoots so there’s that.

Therefore, we recommend investing in at least one brand photoshoot to use in your business for a whole year! Seriously great bang for your buck 😉

As we like to say, “This is a business you’re building, so it’s important for you to look like one…”

Well, that’s a wrap ladies! I hope this will help you as you plan your next (or first!) branding photoshoot for your own business!