How to Get the Personal Brand Photo Shoot of Your Dreams

You’ve put in the work to polish your personal brand into a sparkling diamond. 

You’ve clarified your why, defined your content pillars and honed in on your ideal client. You’ve got brand colors and bold typography that “scream” you, and now you need photos that tie it all together.

The photo shoot portion of building a personal brand can be daunting for many entrepreneurs. There are all the moving parts to consider:

-Theme
-Location
-Props
-Outfits
-Hair
-Make-up
-Shot list
-Image sizes

Then there’s finding the perfect photographer who doesn’t exceed your budget. This becomes harder if, like me, you’ve always dreamed of a fantasy photo shoot for your personal brand.

But wait, there’s more! If you‘re prone to fear of judgment, imposter syndrome or a tendency toward comparison, you might decide you need to hit the gym, do a month-long juice cleanse or pop a few units of Botox into the old forehead, and then you’ll be ready to put your best foot forward.

It’s a lot.

But it doesn’t have to be. 

Ai Brand Images for the Win

I’ll admit I was hesitant to embrace AI . . . until it saved my personal brand photo shoot from the dumpster fire it was in danger of becoming. 

A few years ago, I learned the hard way that some photographers dislike having zero control over the artistic process. But when you can see the outcome you envision in your head, it’s hard to let go of the reins. With AI, you don’t have to. 

Standing Out is Easier Than Ever

The #1 goal of personal brand photography is to make you stand out in a crowded market. 

Many people opt for office scenes comprised of desks, laptops and house plants that evoke an air of professionalism. I’m not throwing shade at the people who crave this aesthetic, but it will make it harder to stand out.

Still, AI can get you there.

But what if you’ve always dreamed of a personal brand photo shoot that lets your freak flag fly? What if your inner child who loves fluffy petticoats and the color yellow is begging for its moment in the spotlight?

Some of the most innovative professionals I know use super fun visuals in their marketing to communicate their quirks, AKA the aspects of their brand personality that make them unusual. I once hired a coach because her marketing centered around her alter-ego, a character that was always emerging from clouds of colored smoke driving a purple convertible. 

Call me crazy, but we buy with our emotions. And while a character shoot might not be everyone’s cup of tea, no one can argue that that kind of imagery stops the scroll.

Personal Brand Photography Pricing

I’m not going to pretend that you can open a free AI image generator and crank out amazing branded images in five minutes. Anyone who has ever been disappointed with their ChatGPT results knows that there is an art and science to prompting.

Furthermore, the images in this post were created using a proprietary workflow that uses between six and ten different platforms and apps, many of which are paid subscriptions.

But consider this loose estimate of some of the costs that go into a personal brand photo shoot:

Photography Fee

This is typically between $1000 and $5000+, depending on the photographer’s location and experience level, and may not include usage fees on the photos. Consider also whether the photographer will need to rent additional equipment to capture your vision. Will you want additional photos beyond what’s included in the package? All of these factors will add to the price.

Location Fee 

Will you need to rent a space for your shoot or travel a long distance to your ideal location? Are permits required? If you’re shooting in a studio, will there be sets involved?

The sets alone for my shoot that never materialized cost upwards of $1000.

Props 

Do you need to rent or buy props to tell your brand story?

One creator I know set her photo shoot in a mad scientist’s laboratory, which required beakers, test tubes, specimen jars, a bunsen burner and a smoke machine.

I happen to be obsessed with peacocks. But can you imagine the headache involved if I decided to actually “rent” some?

Your Look 

Will you need to hire a wardrobe consultant to help you look your best? Do you plan to rent or purchase different looks? 

A stylist may charge between $500 and $900 to do your hair, and a makeup artist would be similar. The higher end of the scale represents staying for the duration of the shoot and applying touch-ups.

As you can see, it’s not at all unrealistic to expect to pay upwards of $5000 for personal branding photography. If you have the money, the time to manage such an endeavor, and the wherewithal to put in the reps to be camera-ready, there is no question that such an effort will pay dividends in your business’s future. 

But if you worry that you might shell out your hard-earned cash a possibly still not get what you dream of, here’s what you can do instead.

Better Alternatives

Option #1

The good news is that you can learn how to leverage AI to do this yourself for a fraction of the cost of a professional shoot. In The Secret AI Society, you learn how to design your own brand, create personalized imagery to accompany it and build a website from scratch — if you’re so inclined. Not only that, it comes with an action plan to turn these skills into a side hustle should you discover it’s more fun than your day job. 

But not everybody is ready for that kind of commitment.

Option #2

If you’re in the latter camp, you can hire professionals to create your vision for you—again, at a fraction of the price. Simply reach out to The Secret AI Society with the specs for your project and get a variety of proposals within 2–3 business days.

I’m beta-testing offering this as an add-on to my copywriting services, and for a limited time will be taking on clients at deep discounts while I build my portfolio. Click here to inquire.

Option #3

If you have the luxury of time or like dabbling in creative endeavors, consider exploring some of the AI image creation platforms yourself. Dall-E has a limited free version, as does Leonardo AI. The basic plan with Midjourney costs $10/month, but plan to spend some time learning the art of prompting to get decent results. You’ll discover right away that each platform has strengths and weaknesses, which is why it may benefit you to use several in tandem.

The process will be easier if you have the graphic design skills to make minor alterations, but Canva has made photo manipulation much easier than it used to be and offers a free version with a lot of functionality.

Your Turn

What do you think of AI brand imagery as an alternative to traditional personal branding photography? Is it something you’d like to explore for your own business?

Does it sound fun to do for others as an additional income stream?

Let me know in the comments!