Summary: In this episode I explore how a professional photoshoot can transform your fitness business marketing, with practical steps to plan, capture, and use high-quality photos that attract the right clients.
5 things you’ll learn:
- Why professional photos are one of the most effective marketing tools for fitness businesses.
- How to choose photo subjects that reflect your target clients and build connection.
- The types of scenes and interactions that create powerful, versatile images.
- Why staged photos deliver better marketing results than spontaneous action shots.
- How to plan and run a photoshoot that maximises time, efficiency, and usable photos.
Done well, a photoshoot can be one of the most powerful marketing tools for your gym. The right type of photos can give potential clients a glimpse into your business, and can transform both your website and your social media presence.
Great photos are an important part of all the websites I build for fitness businesses.
This guide will cover some of the considerations for a photoshoot, including examples of the sort of photos you're looking to acquire from a photo shoot I ran for my business (you can find these at the bottom of the page).
Firstly - it's highly recommended that you use the services of a professional photographer with professional equipment. The difference in quality is noticeable, and brings a new layer of professionalism to your business. If you're using a professional photographer, this guide might help to give them some direction on what you're looking for.
Photo Subjects:
The subjects of your photos should match the types of people you're looking to attract to your business. We're not looking for perfect, airbrushed models here - we want real people. We want your target customers to look at the photos and think 'those people look like me'.
Well in advance of the photoshoot, you want to contact some of your current clients to ask them to appear in the shoot. We're looking for at least 12 people.
Make sure you've got a broad representation across different ages, nationalities, skin colours, shapes, sizes, genders, sexualities etc.
You want to get any staff you have to be available for the shoot.
If the shoot is for a website, it's also important to get photos of the people who you'll be featuring in testimonials and client feature stories.
Photo Subject Matter:
As mentioned, the photos themselves should be of people who match your avatar (target customer).
They should be working with your staff (ideally in a one-on-one capacity, like hands on technique corrections etc). They should be smiling, laughing and having a good time - while still working hard. The more interaction the better (between staff and client, and between client and client (if you have multiple clients in each photo). Fist bumps, high fives etc are great.
We want photos of all the services you provide. If you offer one-on-one coaching, get photos of that. If you offer small group training, include multiple people in you photos, but there should be one person who is featured in the image - the others are just there for context. If you offer any sit-down consults, make sure you get photos of them.
Photo Composition:
As tempting as it it to have a photographer roam around during a class, or following a PT around during their session, these 'action shots' never come out as well as staged photos. With this in mind, the best approach is to stage the photos, and take multiple shots of each 'scene' - each being slightly different. This will give plenty of options to choose the best shot.
We want these photos to have as many uses as possible. To help with this, the subjects shouldn't be shot from too close. We don't want them filling the frame. This will allow use to 'cut in' the photo to get both portrait (vertical) and landscape (horizontal) images - based on what we need to use them for.
Lighting is really important - we want the photos to be light and bright, with natural lighting being ideal.
Be aware of what else is in the scene. We don't want busy, untidy backgrounds. Keep things clean, simple, minimalist.
Planning the shoot:
To ensure as many uses as possible, plan to have around 12 subjects, with three to four scenes each. For example, one scene might be pushing a prowler, one might be doing a deadlift, one might be doing a dip. Getting 10-20 photos of each scene should result in a choice of 2-3 good shots to choose one great shot from. You'll end up with 36-48 great photos from your entire shoot.
Here are some examples of potential scenes that a strength and conditioning facility might use:
- Air squat
- Deadlift set-up
- Deadlift lock out.
- Barbell front rack position.
- Bottom of a front squat.
- Air bike.
- Rower.
- Bottom of overhead squat.
- Ring row
- Russian KB swing
- Prowler push.
- A group of 3 people people training together.
- Dumbbell bench press.
- Coach and client fist bumping.
- A bunch of your members chatting and talking (maybe while sitting around / mobilising etc).
Where possible, costume changes between scenes will ensure the photos don't end up looking like they were all taken on the same day (even though they were!).
You need to be super organised, with all exercise equipment pre- set up before the photographer arrives. Five minutes for each scene, three scenes, equals 15 minutes per 'model'. 12 models means a total of three hours. You'll probably need to pay the photographer for four hours to allow set-up, pack down time. Your models don't need to be there for the entire shoot, as long as they're there for their allotted time.
You should create a run sheet / shot schedule which will look something like:
- 9am: John with PT prowler push.
- 9.05am: John with PT deadlift.
- 9.10am: John with PT dip.
- 9.15am: Sarah and John rowing.
- 9.20am: Sarah and PT front squat.
- 9.25am: Sarah and PT KB swing.
- etc.
A well-planned photoshoot can elevate the way people see your business, creating a professional and approachable first impression. With the right preparation, you’ll have a library of images that showcase what you do best and attract the clients you want.
Your action steps:
- Hire a professional photographer to ensure your fitness business photos look polished and trustworthy.
- Select a diverse mix of clients and staff who represent your ideal customers.
- Plan multiple staged scenes that showcase your services, interactions, and client enjoyment.
- Prepare equipment and create a detailed shot schedule to keep the session efficient.
- Use the resulting images across your website, social media, and marketing campaigns to strengthen brand presence.
