How to prepare for a business photography session

Genuine photography makes a small business feel real. Customers can see the premises, the products and the people behind the work, rather than a generic stock image that could belong to anyone.

A photography session for a website is usually short, which is a good reason to prepare for it. The time goes furthest when the business has already decided what the images are for, who and what will appear in them, and which spaces are ready. This guide sets out a practical way to do that.

Start with how the images will be used

Before thinking about individual photographs, write down where they will appear. A homepage needs a strong opening image and a few that show the character of the business. A services page needs images that match each service. An about page might need people at work. Social channels and everyday marketing can use the same set.

That list becomes a brief for the shoot. It stops the session drifting into photographing everything and makes it easier to judge afterwards whether the set is complete.

For Page & Place, the pre-shoot plan is a simple shot list built around how the business will use the images. The list is agreed beforehand so the shoot has a clear purpose.

Know what a short shoot can and cannot cover

It helps to be realistic about scope. Page & Place’s photography package covers up to one hour at one local business location and approximately 20 professionally edited final images. It is not a half-day shoot. It does not include RAW files, extensive retouching, multiple locations or specialist production, and longer sessions or extra locations are quoted separately.

Within that boundary, a good set usually mixes several kinds of image:

• the space, such as the shopfront, workshop, studio or main working area;
• details, such as tools, materials, finishes and small things that show care;
• products or the work itself, where the business makes or sells something;
• working moments, with people doing what the business does.

Twenty finished images spread across those categories will usually serve a five-page website better than twenty near-identical shots of one corner. Choose the images that carry the most weight and let the rest go.

Build a simple shot list

A shot list can be a dozen lines in a notes app. For each line, write what the image shows and where it will be used. For example:

• the exterior or entrance, for the homepage and contact page;
• the main working area, wide and from a customer’s point of view;
• three or four close details that show quality;
• the owner or a team member at work, for the about page;
• products or finished work, arranged simply;
• anything a customer would see on arrival, such as a counter or sign.

Mark two or three images as the priority, so that if time runs short, those are certainly covered. Share the list with the photographer before the day and be ready to adjust it once the light and the space are seen.

Decide who will be in the photographs

People make images more personal, but only when they are comfortable and have agreed to appear. Decide beforehand:

• who will be photographed, and whether they are happy to appear on a public website and in marketing;
• what they will wear, keeping it simple and consistent with how they normally look at work;
• whether any customers might be in view and, if so, whether they have agreed to be, or whether the shoot can happen when they are absent.

Do not photograph customers, children or members of the public who have not agreed to appear. If someone later asks for an image to be removed, it is much easier when the question was settled beforehand. Page & Place’s photography scope notes that model releases, specialist styling and similar additions are discussed and quoted before the shoot rather than improvised on the day.

Check permissions and sensitive details

Think about what could appear in the frame without anyone intending it. Before the day:

• check that you are allowed to photograph the location, particularly if you rent the space or share it with other businesses;
• ask permission from a landlord, neighbour or colleague where their property or staff may be visible;
• clear away anything private, such as customer records, names on screens, post, passwords on notes and personal items;
• consider whether any artwork, branded products from another company or music playing in a video could cause a rights problem later, since copyright protects artistic and musical work and stops others using it without permission.

The final edited images come with a client commercial-use licence for the agreed website, social channels and ordinary business marketing, so it is worth making sure everything in them is yours to show.

Tidy and stage the space

A tidy space photographs better, but tidy does not mean empty. A working business should look like one. The aim is to remove distractions while keeping the evidence of real work.

• Clear surfaces of anything that does not belong: stray paperwork, bins, cables, cleaning products, personal belongings.
• Clean windows, mirrors, counters and floors, because photographs show marks that the eye ignores.
• Straighten signs, price lists and displays. Check that anything printed is current and correct.
• Prepare products and finished work so they look the way a customer would want to find them.

If the business is on a high street or in a shared building, think about when it is quietest and when it looks its best.

Think about light and timing

Light changes how a space looks more than almost anything else. Natural light from windows usually gives the most pleasant result, so it helps to know when the main area is best lit. Open blinds and curtains, switch on the lamps that are part of the normal look, and avoid mixing very different light colours where you can.

Choose a time that works for both the light and the business. A café may be at its best, and busiest, mid-morning. A workshop may be easiest to photograph before the working day begins. If the shoot depends on a particular time of day or on the weather, say so in advance and agree what happens if it needs to be rescheduled.

Gather brand details

Photographs should look like they belong with the rest of the brand. Before the day, collect:

• the logo and any brand colours, so props, clothing and backgrounds can fit;
• uniforms, aprons or branded packaging that people will be wearing or using;
• the products, menus or services you most want to show;
• anything unique to the place, such as a tool, a view, a signature item or a detail the owner is proud of.

On the day

Have one person who knows the plan and can answer questions, and start with the priority images before working through the rest of the list. Be ready to be flexible: a shot that looked good on paper may not work in the space, and something unplanned may turn out to be the best image of the day.

After the shoot

The photographer selects and edits the strongest images. With Page & Place’s photography, the final set arrives as high-resolution and web-ready exports, with a target delivery of seven working days for the standalone package. When it is part of a new website, the images are selected and placed into the website as part of the same project.

Check the finished set against the shot list, and tell the photographer if something important is missing or anything private has appeared by accident. Keep the delivered files backed up somewhere the business controls, because a good photograph can be used for years.

Where it fits in Page & Place’s packages

Business photography is available on its own for £325, or with a new website as the £650 Website + Photography package. Travel is included within 20 miles of West Kirby. Both use the same core scope described above. The business photography page explains what is included in more detail, and the pricing page sets out the packages and the boundaries of each.

If you are considering a shoot, the most helpful thing to bring to a first conversation is a rough list of where the images will be used, which people may appear and which spaces are ready. You can get in touch to talk it through.