Did you realize that your company photo shoot isn’t just a mundane endeavor – something to be done in order to “check the box”?

When it comes to getting high-quality photos for your website, social media, and other marketing campaigns, the stakes are high. A photo shoot is a ONE-TIME event to get the right images you need.  If you fail to get the right images, it can be costly and time-consuming to go back and get what you need.

If you miss this opportunity, you may never have exactly the right image assets.

Or worse yet, you’ll end up using stock photography.  Ewwww!!!  Not recommended.

With all this in mind, here is our professional advice as web designers in order to get the most value out of your company photo shoot.

This can also apply if you are simply trying to compile the best images you currently have in your quiver for your new website.

• Make sure to plan your photo shoot carefully, as every detail counts. Your photographer should be briefed on your vision, and should be able to capture the desired emotions and stories that you want to communicate. Make sure this happens before they walk in the door.
• Whenever possible, take photos in landscape mode. Many areas of your website will require landscape orientation.  In addition, portrait orientation is nearly impossible to crop and turn into landscape orientation; you’ll have better luck adapting landscape orientation to portrait orientation in a pinch.

• Photos for the hero area of each page can have a subject in them, but the subject should not take up the whole image. Why?  Overlaying text on top of an image of a person can look awkward, so it is best to have the subject take up a smaller area of the image to avoid this. For example, if the subject is on the right of the image this makes it easy to place the text to the left.

• Photos of artifacts you may use in the course of your work can work well as background images. Examples include: equipment, literature, paintings, awards, signs.
• Think about the photos in relation to your branding. Is there any feeling related to the branding you can communicate with the images?
• Take waist-up images of anyone you want to be on a staff or board page. These can be portrait mode.
• Your web designer will need all images delivered in their original size — anything smaller than 5mb or 2560px wide is too low quality to work with. This is why it’s important that you find the originals (if you’re reusing images) instead of just grabbing something off social media or an old website.
• Consider how the photos will align with your company’s branding and color scheme before taking them. For example, if you use black and orange in your branding, an image with a bright green background may not look right when displayed on your website or other marketing campaigns.
• Lighting is another key element of your company photo shoot. It can drastically improve the final results of your photos, making them look professional and polished. Be sure to talk with the photographer about what type of lighting equipment and expertise is necessary for indoor shots.

And here’s a list of types of photos you might want to get when you have a photographer out:

• Overall: smiling people, open spaces, happy volunteers and employees, and welcoming postures.
• Images of staff working (group interaction is best)
• Waist up shots of your staff
• Group images of staff
• Landscape photos of the area you live in (to be used as background images)
• Event-related pics. Think about events you have throughout the year and draw photos from the event or have the photographer come out at the same time as the event.
• Pictures of the exterior of your buildings
• Portfolio images and/or images of finished work.

Conclusion

Doing a company photo shoot can be intimidating at first glance, but by following these tips and planning ahead, you’ll be able to get high-quality photos that will match your brand identity and help promote your business goals in no time! So don’t wait any longer — go out there and get those shots!