Professional Photography for Yoga Instructors

Yoga Photography

Yoga is an ancient form of exercise that focuses on strength, flexibility & breathing to boost physical & mental well-being. Many yoga practitioners are deeply invested in the exercises as well as the theories & beliefs behind them & may be wondering what role photography plays in such ancient traditions.

For starters, yoga photography is an excellent way to visually celebrate the beauty of this ancient practice. The movements are an art form in themselves & photography provides a way of capturing the poses, the feelings & the emotions.

But perhaps more importantly, as a yoga instructor, not only are you teaching others the transformative power of yoga, but you are also running a business. And just like any other entrepreneur, running a business comes with added responsibilities. In the same way that being a photographer is not just taking photos, being a yoga instructor is not just practising yoga. 

You need to market your business, to advertise & get new clients. Photography is a key part of this, so here I am going to explore the importance of professional photography for yoga instructors.

Creating a great first impression

In today’s social media-obsessed world, the photos on your website & social pages are often a potential client’s first introduction to you. What do these photos say? How do they present you & your yoga business? What kind of first impression do they give?

Do the photos portray someone who knows & understands their craft? Someone who’s skilled & practices yoga with good technique?

You want to look your best in your photos & project knowledge, expertise & friendliness. And as a business owner, you need to come across as a confident professional who’s been teaching yoga for many years.

High-quality professional yoga photography showing you & your brand in the best possible light will help create the positive first impression needed to engage potential clients.

Capture the real you

You want the photos you use & share on socials to authentically show the ‘real’ you. It’s very easy to stage-manage & create images that look impressive but are disingenuous in nature. You need your photos to project genuine confidence & trust. If your photos do not match your real-life manner & character clients will not engage with your services, or even worse will leave a negative impression.

In order to attract the right client, you need to be yourself. You shouldn’t pretend to be someone you’re not in your photos, or for social media likes. Clients need to know that they will feel comfortable in your class & authentic photography is a great way of reassuring them that you care about them & are invested in helping them develop their own yoga practice.

Kindness & compassion are qualities that will be valued. You want your photos to convey friendliness. A smile will help. You will come across as warm & approachable which will more likely result in a positive response.

Using authentic images helps a client build a genuine connection with you before they have even spoken to you.

Show your expertise 

Professional photos are a great way to show your skill, knowledge & mastery as a yoga teacher. Illustrating poses with good technique & confidence in front of the camera will help project your expertise. This gives you authority & demonstrates to clients that you know what you are talking about.

But, it’s also important that you show poses that are reflective of your own practice & the classes you teach. Whilst it’s tempting to do more advanced poses during your shoot simply to show that you can do them, you want your images to appeal to your target client, not intimidate them as being too difficult for them to achieve. 

Showing the simple with good technique displays as much skill as the complex. The more the viewer can picture themselves doing your yoga classes, the more likely they are to hire you.

How can professional yoga photography be used?

So we’ve established that a professional yoga photoshoot can help create a great first impression,  capture the real you & show your expertise, but how can the photos be used to help you build your business? Here are just a few suggestions:

On your website

Pages with images or videos draw, on average, 94% more views than their text-only counterparts (source). Use the photos to illustrate your services, your classes & show who you are on your About page to engage with potential clients.

On social media

When you consider that 1 billion people use Instagram every month & this only puts them in second place behind Facebook you begin to see the importance of social media marketing.

It’s not enough anymore to simply share a snap on socials & hope to have an impact. To grab the viewer’s attention your posts need to be carefully designed & crafted. A photo on your phone simply doesn’t have the same impact as a professionally taken photo.

Blog posts & magazine articles

Reading information, people typically remember only 10% of that information three days later. Pair the words with an image & people retain 65% of the information.

Printed brochures & marketing collateral

Creating a consistent visual identity across all of your business & marketing collateral. From social media to print.

Online yoga platforms

The last year has seen a boom in demand for online yoga classes & as a result, the photos you use are even more important than before. A visit to your website is likely to be the first impression someone gets of you, not seeing you in live action at the studio. 

Ready to invest in your yoga business?

Contact me to have a chat about how I can help you stand out in the yoga industry.