One of the most important components of marketing is content. Content can come from many different places – your customers, stock photos, your team, a professional photographer, and more.

Laying the foundation a great content shoot

One thing that can set you apart from other small businesses is having a collection of high-quality, intentional photos, and that’s what we’re going to dive into today.

Having a well-rounded, thoughtful inventory of photos can make it a lot easier to create posts and content for not only your social media but also for your website, ads, and newsletters.

We often hear from our clients that capturing content is one of the most overwhelming pieces of running a social media strategy.

It’s the biggest reason small businesses either forgo posting on social media or start looking for someone to help them with it.

If you’re not ready to give up or outsource this work just yet, we’ve got a few tips to help you plan and shoot social media content quickly and conveniently!

Planning a photoshoot

Making a detailed, intentional plan is the first and most important step. First, establish the goal of your content creation. Is there a specific product or service you want to show off? Do you need more photos for your website? Do you just need general marketing photos for/of your business and/or new headshots of your team? 

Once this is established, take an inventory of your resources. Take a look at your business and its goals, and decide if you want models or your team to do the modeling for you, if you have a space to shoot, and if you have the right props.

Here are a few guidelines to help you navigate the photoshoot:

• Your content shoot location needs good lighting. If you want natural light, the best times for this are either right before sunrise or right before sunset. A cloudy day or a shaded area can provide good lighting too. You do not want direct sunlight – this will cause glares, shadows, and wash things out. 
• If you don’t have the means to take photos outside, you’ll need artificial lighting; this means studio lights, or even a Ring light will work. 
• If you’re planning on general marketing photos to promote your business, you need to have a mock (or real) working space set up, with all the supplies you normally use.  
• When in doubt, shoot where you conduct your business – it may force you to spruce things up a bit but showcasing where your products are made or services are offered can keep things simple, affordable, and increase engagement.
• Using your own team as models is the easiest way to go. They know your brand better than anyone else. 
• Some people don’t enjoy getting their photo taken, so think of ways to get them excited, such as lunch/dinner being provided, including them in the planning process, or playing fun music to make them more comfortable. 
• If you are running your business without others on your team, focus on yourself, your products or services, and your customers…
• A great way to create a marketing opportunity out of a photoshoot is to use your own customers. Invite them to participate in your photoshoot and let them keep what they wear or use for the shoot. This will create goodwill, and if your participants post about it, that’s free coverage of your business!

Once you have these details decided, a shot list is a great next step. This is a detailed list of every single photo you need, and there is no such thing as being too specific on this. Here is an example: 

After you have your photoshoot plan and details worked out, it’s time to decide whether you want to hire a photographer or take the photos yourself.

Hiring a Photographer

Hiring the right photographer is extremely important, and there are a few ways to find some great, local options.

First, you could ask around to your peers and/or friends if they have a photographer they have used in the past that they liked and had a good experience with. Personal referrals can quickly provide you with a few great options.

You can also do a search online or on social media. Most photographers showcase their work on Instagram, TikTok, and or Pinterest. Not only will you find a photographer but you’ll also get a good sense of their shooting style.

Speaking of their style, it is extremely important that you select a photographer whose editing style you love because most photographers do not send you the raw or unedited photos. What you see on their social media is what you’re going to get. If you want unedited photos that you can edit yourself to match your feed, make sure to ask if this is something they can do.

Once you have found a photographer you like, their social media or website should tell you how to reach them, and this is most likely going to be through direct message, email, or a form on their website.

Make sure to reach out in plenty of time; it can take a photographer a few days to respond, and some can be booked up months in advance, so give yourself time!

Taking Your Own Photos

You can also film like a PRO using an iPhone

If you’d rather stick with taking photos on your phone, that’s also a great, inexpensive alternative. 

Deciding to use an iPhone to capture content leaves a lot of room for creativity.  You can use portrait mode, play with small details, explore different angles and perspective, and you can also change the exposure and aperture like you’re using a professional camera. See that you can master mobile filmmaking in just minutes?

Shooting with an iPhone also allows you the convenience of having the photos immediately, moving them around easily, and the chance to play with new editing apps, such as VSCO, Tezza, or Lightroom. 

Here is an informative article we like on making the most of iPhone photography.

Final Words – Convince yourself that you can be too a great photographer

Photoshoots can be extremely fun, and it can be a great team-bonding activity while generating amazing content for your business.

You get out of it what you put in, so spending time planning and researching will yield great results.

Once you have the first one planned and executed, you will be able to see what worked and what didn’t so that you can easily replicate this as often as you need.

As always, if you have any questions on planning a content shoot or the importance of content creation for social media, don’t hesitate to reach out to us.  We are here to help you thrive as a small business owner!