Wanna know the number one way people get a vibe for your brand? PHOTOS! Your branded photo sessions are the key to communicating the niche, tone, and topic of your podcast to your audience. But, these are not photos you take with your iPhone in your cousin’s vibey backyard pool. This is more than just a trendy social media post—it’s marketing! You need well-edited, professional photos with perfect lighting and staging that SCREAMS your brand.
But, even if you get right on hiring a photographer, they’ll still need some help capturing your vision. You need to provide the inspo for your branded photoshoot—but what’s the vibe??? Today, we’re dedicating our post to podcast photo session ideas. Here are some full-proof photoshoot themes that’ll have new listeners queuing up your podcast:
12 Podcast Photoshoot Ideas
The Literal: Show yourself recording your podcast.
This one doesn’t win the award for “most creative,” but it’s definitely effective and gets the message across. Just grab a microphone and pose like the gals of Freckled Foodie, Probably a Podcast, and Work Party!
Just make sure your expression matches the tone of your podcast, and let your photographer or graphic designer make the pictures pop with your brand colors and logo.
The Vibey: Let’s see snapshots of you just hanging out.
Many podcasts out there feel like a hangout with the show’s hosts. Podcasts like this are super casual and relatable, so the hosts can’t help but reel you in with their cool and quirky personalities.
Turn all that into a photoshoot like What We Said, Creeps and Crimes, and Food Heaven. Just find a cool place to hang out, wear something aesthetic, and chiiiillll.
The Editorial: Be amazing in a cool location or with a model attitude.
Want to be a model??? Just go for it. Practice that model stare-in-the-mirror ANTM-style (minus all the problematic stuff), find a cool location, and start voguing!
You’ll look sexy, elegant, and totally intriguing—which is exactly what you need to get people listening. Get inspo from our girls at Everything is the Best, ILYSM, Life with Marianna and The Bitch Bible.
The Relatable: Let the world see you in the middle of the action.
What’s your blog all about? Show yourself doing your thing! Have a cooking show? Show yourself cooking like What’s Gaby Cooking. Is your podcast about dogs? Snap a pic with you loving on some pups like The Dog That Changed Me!
We also love the way Kelsey Kreppel did it with her brand shoot for Circle Time. She’s on a teacher’s desk with a few motivated props to capture the essence of the show. #Perfection
The Play on Words: Make everybody laugh with a funny reference.
Your podcast name may be all you need to find your flawless brand shoot theme. If you can make it a play on words, do it! It’s funny, engaging, and definitely tells people what the podcast is all about.
Barely Filtered got naked for their shoot. Ride went literal with their name. The Toast poured a few drinks. And, Relationsh*t’s whole shoot went, well, down the toilet. A little potty humor might be exactly what you need for an eye-catching brand shoot.
The Professional: Get those headshots ready.
Okay, maybe you don’t want people to laugh when they see your brand photos. That’s fine! If you need something more the vibe of a buttoned-up business owner or respected Ph.D. graduate, go with headshots.
You can see how Raising Good Humans and Being Bumo did a pretty straightforward professional shoot for their shows.
The Scenic: Be one with nature and snap some pics.
Maybe you just need some sun. Cloudy outdoor lighting creates SUCH a picture-perfect moment. If your podcast has any earthy or eco spin, take your shoot outside!
That’s what Mind. Body. No Soul. did and it really works!
The Whimsical: Give us something fantastical and eye-catching.
What gets us more interested than something totally fantastical??? (I mean, aside from a TLC drama about people meeting and then getting married very suddenly.)
Anyway, capture your listener’s imagination and sense of wonder by getting whimsical with your shoots like Scheananigans and Good Guys!
The Representative: Take pics just doing what you do.
For this one, ask yourself what your listeners will know you for. For Justin Anderson with In the Chair With Justin Anderson, he’s known for hanging in Beverly Hills, repping his boisterous personality, throwing back a few olive martinis, and doing BEAUTIFUL blow-outs. What does his photo session show? Just that!!
Amanda Hirsch from Not Skinny But Not Fat, on the other hand, is known for reading and watching all the celebrity hot goss. Her brand shoot represents that super well!
The Natural: Capture your real reactions and emotions.
People love podcasts because they’re often super organic and personable. Render that same vibe by giving your photographer some real reactions to things that are funny, enlightening, joyful, or exciting. It tells your listeners how they’ll feel when they listen to your show!
The Product: Put the focus on an item or setting.
Maybe your podcast isn’t about you, but it’s more about a thing or place. Whatever your focal point is for your brand, do a photo session showing that thing!
Just remember, this image has to leave a lasting impression on your future listeners. We think The Shine Series does this really well!
The Branded: Make it all about the color and tone.
This final one is pretty simple! Make your shoot all about your brand’s tone and color scheme. Dress the part, pose the part, and let the staging and graphics department take care of the rest.
This works well for lifestyle podcasts that are pretty broad and just need to be aesthetic to catch listeners’ eyes. Here are some of our podcast besties doing this type of photo session:
- + Friend of a Friend
- + Get the F*ck Out of the Sun
- + Him & Her
- + The Blonde Files
- + The Papaya Podcast
Make sure your photo shoot perfectly represents your brand!
Alright, podcaster extraordinaire, what’ll it be? What photo session inspo are you taking with you to your professional photographer? Whatever you choose, we hope it gives you a ton of listens and helps your followers connect with you!
For more podcast tips, check out the Dear Media blog. We’ve got all the need-to-know info on podcasts, life, and the latest trends.
