Choosing the Right Photos for Your MBA Essays

Are you applying to Chicago Booth or NYU Stern this cycle? If so, you’ve likely looked at the essay questions. You may already be thinking about how daunting it is to choose just one (in the case of Booth) or six (in the case of Stern’s Pick Six) pictures. These photos need to help differentiate you to the admissions committee. When we all have thousands of photos at our fingertips, the MBA photo essay can seem particularly overwhelming. We would like to help you think more strategically about which one(s) to choose and make scrolling through your camera roll much more enjoyable.

Why MBA Programs Ask for Photo Essays

In this AI age, it’s not surprising that admissions committees are viewing historical photographs as one option for gaining a window into an applicant’s past that isn’t computer-generated. AI can generate photographs, but most applicants are not likely to be that overt in their AI usage. So, it’s one channel for admissions committees to catch a glimpse of the applicant “in the wild.”

Given that the other content requested in essays by both Booth and Stern is largely professional in nature, the choice of photograph(s) becomes much more important to telling the non-professional elements of your story! If you’re interested in discussing how to choose photos that fit together optimally with other elements of your application, please reach out for a free consultation.

Types of Photos to Look for 

To start narrowing down your photo selection, we recommend identifying potential photos in a few key categories. These categories can be particularly valuable for getting traction with the admissions committee.

Active Pursuits

The first is: Active Pursuits. This can be a photo of you competing in a marathon, teaching a yoga class, or coaching a youth sports league. Participating in a Tough Mudder or golfing with colleagues also works well. These photos are most compelling when the viewer feels like a spectator getting a behind-the-scenes look at your participation. They tend to be even more powerful when they simultaneously demonstrate your role in a team or as a leader in action.

Travel

The second is: Travel (but only the right kind). Keep in mind that MBA applicants are a notoriously well-traveled bunch. Simply providing proof that you traveled, for example with an image of you standing in front of the Eiffel Tower or the Taj Mahal, isn’t likely to differentiate you. Here are some real examples of photos that can achieve the desired outcome:

• Volunteering at an orphanage while traveling in Kenya
• Taking Thai cooking classes alongside explaining your interest in building out the Cooking Club on campus
• Exploring high speed rail across Europe when also discussing professional goals in the infrastructure space

Instead of reflecting on the most impressive places you have visited, think about where your travels align with the passions and goals you are sharing in your applications. This helps bring your interests to life.

Extracurriculars in Action

The third is: Extracurriculars in Action. If you’re lucky enough to have documented photos of you doing the community work you have touted on your resume, help bring it to life! This could include any of the following:

• Speaking at a board meeting for a non-profit you volunteer for
• Leading a community service initiative (like packing meals) for your firm
• Tutoring an underprivileged high school student
• Posing with a speaker you brought to a club or organization to enhance peer learning

Most applicants don’t have the foresight to capture these moments on camera. If you do have them, they will certainly help you stand out.

Categories to Avoid (in Most Cases)

We consider very few overarching topics to be totally off limits when choosing photos. However, two broad categories generally miss the mark. They rarely demonstrate the memorable moments and experiences that will truly differentiate you. In our experience, picking photos that truly “work” within these categories is more the exception than the norm. We won’t tell you to avoid them entirely. We will simply warn you to proceed with caution if you venture into these familiar realms.

Family and Friends

Many applicants initially deem photos with family and friends as their most important. While hugely important in life more broadly, these won’t score you many points with admissions officers. Admissions officers often focus more on the friend or family member than the applicant. In addition, most applicants naturally highly value their relationships with family and friends. Even though these photos are often heartwarming, they rarely achieve any valuable differentiation.

Now, if you have photos with family and friends that also touch on the aforementioned desirable categories, they can absolutely still work. For example, we had a client who highlighted a photo of a standing monthly golf game with his grandparents. He demonstrated an active pursuit he’s passionate about while shining a spotlight on his close-knit relationship with his grandparents. They had been entrepreneurs who taught him valuable business lessons. You can certainly kill two birds with one stone here, and when possible, that can be a great strategy. But overall, generic photos with family and friends will have far less meaning to the admissions committee than they will to you, unfortunately.

Large Group Photos

Admissions committees also tend to find large group photos flat, especially when you appear as just one of many. For example, if you are one of 25 club members in a group photo after a debate session in college, you won’t appear special or unique. Even though the experience may have been memorable to you, the admissions committee will see that you had the same involvement as many others.

What Time Frame Works Best?

It’s tempting to include photos from your childhood, especially because you were likely particularly adorable back then. That said, the metrics admissions committees use tend to have a recency bias. If you have one photo from childhood that foreshadows your future professional goals and you want to include it for NYU as one of six, it could be valuable. On the whole, though, choose photo(s) from the past three years. This gives readers a good read on who you are now.

How Do I Pressure Test My MBA Photo Essay?

Test your photos with friends, colleagues, or an admissions consultant who are not emotionally attached to the moment or experience. This is the best way to determine if a photo will have the intended impact on the viewer. They can gauge whether the photo stands on its own and communicates the sentiment you are aiming for.

What About the Captions That Accompany the Photos?

For the Stern Pick Six, besides a 3-sentence introduction to all of your photos, you are only asked to include a one-sentence explanation for each. Make sure you provide context to the reader about where, when, and why the photo is taking place. If possible, help contextualize how the experience shaped you. It’s important to communicate what you learned and how you grew as a result. Your three-sentence introduction should lay out the themes you are trying to convey with this carefully curated group of photos. Don’t make them guess!

For the Booth singular photo, you are asked to include 300 characters, which come out to no more than 3-4 sentences. Make sure you illuminate what led you to choose this photo from what was likely hundreds to thousands of options. If you share why you are proud of the experience or accomplishment, that’s usually a very relevant place to start.

Choose Wisely

Your MBA photo essay should help humanize you to the admissions committee AND be memorable! Often, this means further illuminating a passion you have discussed elsewhere in the application. It can also reveal a side of you that adds to your well-roundedness as a leader or teammate.

Reach out for a free initial consultation if you are interested in further discussing your potential photo topic(s). We can offer a fresh perspective on whether they complement your unique story and support your specific goals. We can’t wait to see your snapshots!