Lead magnet ideas for photographers
A photographer’s best lead magnet solves the worry a client has before the shoot: what to wear, how to plan the wedding day around the light, how to look natural in front of a camera. Here are ten for wedding, family, portrait and commercial photographers, each a brief that opens in Chapbook as a starting point. Your own photographs go in, so the work on the page is really yours.
A brief to start from
A guide to what to wear for a family photo session: choosing colors that work together, patterns and logos to avoid, dressing for the location and the season, clothes for small children, and a checklist for the morning. No drawn pictures: I will add my own photographs. Reader: a parent who has booked a session and is dreading getting four people dressed. Voice: warm and practical, second person, no brand names and no talk of body shape.
Start from this brief10 ideas, each a brief to start from
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What to wear for your session
It’s the question every portrait client asks, usually by text the night before. A guide with your own photographs answers it once, and gives a booked or nearly booked client confidence.
Lead magnet Start from this brief: What to wear for your session
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Planning a wedding day around the light
Couples plan the day before they think about the light, then lose the portraits to a late ceremony. A timeline guide helps them, and shows the kind of planning they’d get by booking you.
Lead magnet Start from this brief: Planning a wedding day around the light
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How to look natural in front of a camera
Most people believe they’re not photogenic. Simple direction for hands, posture and where to look eases that fear and shows how you would be with them on the day.
Illustrated guide Start from this brief: How to look natural in front of a camera
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How to hire a wedding photographer
Couples compare portfolios and prices with no way to tell them apart. A fair list of what to ask, including whether they can see a full gallery, helps them and favors the photographers with nothing to hide.
Lead magnet Start from this brief: How to hire a wedding photographer
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A newborn session prep guide
New parents have a fragile baby, little sleep and many worries. A gentle guide on what to expect, and how safety comes first, is reassuring and tends to get shared in parent groups.
Lead magnet Start from this brief: A newborn session prep guide
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A headshot guide for a whole company
The person arranging team photos has to organize fifty people who’d rather not. A short guide they can forward does half your preparation, and brings in commercial work you might not otherwise see.
Brochure Start from this brief: A headshot guide for a whole company
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The heirloom photo workbook
Families have boxes of prints and hard drives they’ve never sorted. A workbook on what to save, label and print gives them a reason to think about photographs, and about you.
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A beginner’s guide to better family photos on a phone
Teaching your craft to parents doesn’t cost you bookings. They still want a professional for the big moments, and they’ll remember who taught them to take better pictures of their children.
Illustrated guide Start from this brief: A beginner’s guide to better family photos on a phone
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Stories behind a few favorite photographs
A portfolio shows what a shoot looked like. A collection of a few pictures with their stories shows how you work and why people trust you with their days.
Collection Start from this brief: Stories behind a few favorite photographs
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A pricing and process guide for inquiries
Half the emails you get ask how it works and what it costs. A short welcome guide answers those before a call, so the people who book already know what to expect.
Brochure Start from this brief: A pricing and process guide for inquiries
How to choose one
Read back through your inquiry emails and your pre-shoot texts. If people keep asking what to wear, write that. If wedding couples keep asking about the timeline, write that and include your own sample day. If you shoot for companies, write for the office manager who has to get everyone to the shoot on time.
Your photographs are the proof here, so use them. A photographer’s lead magnet full of drawn pictures would look wrong, so turn Pictures off in the brief. Chapbook drafts the words and sets the book, and your photographs go in through the editor.
Every brief here opens in Chapbook
Each idea comes with the paragraph Chapbook needs to start: the topic, the reader and the voice. The brief at the top of this page is a starting point, not a book we have already made from it: open it, change the client and the kind of session to yours, and add your own notes as sources. Chapbook then proposes titles and an outline for you to approve before anything is drafted.
Questions people ask
What is a good lead magnet for a photographer?
A guide to the worry clients bring before a shoot, like what to wear or how to plan a wedding day around the light. It should use your own pictures, so a reader sees your work while they read.
Can I use my own photographs in a Chapbook book?
Yes. Paste or drop your photos into a chapter in the editor, and upload your own image for the cover. Turn Pictures off in the brief so that Chapbook draws none and the chapters wait for yours.
Do I need permission to use client photos in a lead magnet?
Check your contract and ask the people in the photo, especially where children are shown. A lead magnet is marketing, so a release that covers your portfolio may not cover this use. Ask a lawyer if you aren’t sure.
Read a chapter of your own book before you pay for it.
The outline, one sample chapter up to 2,500 words and a watermarked cover are free: 60 Book Credits on sign-up, no card.