At the start of each year, many people pick a “word of the year” — a small but powerful intention like focus, connection, or gratitude to guide their mindset and decisions. It’s a beautiful idea: naming your intention so you can truly live it.
But holding onto one single intention for an entire year can be tricky. What if, instead, your intention could be something shorter-term? Something that shifts and adapts as you do?
This idea is especially relevant when preparing for a branding photo session or headshot shoot. And it’s one of the most powerful things you can do before you even think about what to wear or where to go.
How Do You Want Your Photos to Feel?
Pause for a moment and ask yourself that question genuinely. Not “how do I want to look” — but how do you want your photos to feel?
Do you want to come across as confident and polished? Warm and approachable? Relaxed and authentic? Joyful and energetic? Quietly authoritative? Creative and playful?
There are no wrong answers. But naming that feeling — really sitting with it and owning it — becomes the secret ingredient that shapes everything else. It influences the kind of light we look for, the locations we choose, the clothes you wear, the pace of the session, and the way we interact on the day. It helps your images become a genuine reflection of you rather than a generic set of professional headshots that could belong to anyone.
This is something I ask every client before we meet. It’s part of my branding questionnaire, which you’ll fill in before our planning call. And during that call, we’ll explore your answers together — not just ticking boxes, but really talking through what you want these images to say about you, your work, and the people you want to reach.
Ready to show up with authenticity and confidence?
Why Intention Changes Everything
Here’s what I’ve noticed over years of working with entrepreneurs and business owners: the clients who arrive at a session with a clear sense of what they want their images to communicate always leave with stronger, more cohesive images.
Not because they’re more photogenic. Not because they have better outfits or more interesting businesses. But because they’ve done the internal work of deciding how they want to show up — and that decision radiates outward in every image.
When you know you want to feel warm and trustworthy, you naturally lean toward softer light, more relaxed locations, and a pace that gives us time to connect before we start shooting. When you know you want to feel bold and energetic, we might choose a busier environment, brighter light, more movement. The intention shapes the whole session without you having to consciously think about it on the day.
It also gives you something to come back to when nerves creep in. Instead of wondering “am I doing this right?”, you can ask yourself “does this feel the way I want it to feel?” — and that question is always answerable.
How to Find Your Intention
If you’re not sure where to start, here are a few questions worth sitting with:
How do you want your ideal client to feel when they land on your website or social profile? What do you want them to think about you in the first three seconds? What words do you hope people use to describe you and your work? If you could choose one thing your images communicated above everything else, what would it be?
You don’t need a perfectly polished answer. Your intention doesn’t have to be a single word — it can be a feeling, a phrase, a short sentence. “I want to look like someone people can trust with something that matters to them.” That’s an intention. “I want to feel as confident in these photos as I do when I’m at my best.” That’s an intention too.
And it’s something we’ll continue to explore and refine together during our call and on the day of the shoot. Setting the intention upfront simply means we start from a stronger, more honest place.
Intention Shapes the Practical Decisions Too
Once you have a sense of how you want your images to feel, the practical decisions become much easier to make. What you wear, where we shoot, what props you bring, how you style your hair — all of these choices can be filtered through your intention.
Wearing something that feels aligned with how you want to come across will help you feel more confident on the day. Choosing a location that genuinely makes sense for your work will help you relax into it. Bringing props that tell your story will give you something to do with your hands and something to talk about.
I’ve written separately about each of these decisions if you’d like to go deeper:
- What to wear for your professional headshots — how to choose outfits that feel like you and photograph well
- How to find story-driven props for your portraits — props that add meaning rather than clutter
- What location should I use for my brand photos? — choosing somewhere that fits your brand and makes you feel at ease
- The Importance of Visibility for Entrepreneurs — why showing up visibly in your business matters more than you might think
And When You’re in the Session
On the day, your intention becomes a kind of anchor. When the nerves arrive — and they usually do, at least briefly — coming back to how you want to feel is more useful than trying to remember how to stand or where to look.
I’ll be there to guide you through it. We’ll move, we’ll talk, we’ll take our time. But having that intention clearly in your mind gives the whole session a direction that no amount of posing tips can replace.
If you’re curious about investment, you’ll find full details on my branding pricing page.
