You need a wide image for the website, a portrait for the About page and something current to share next week. There may be good photographs somewhere on your phone, but they don't quite fit the spaces you need to fill.
Show me where you need photographs and what isn't working with the ones you have. I can plan a shoot around those gaps, so you come away with a collection you know how you'll use.
If the subjects stay relevant, one planned shoot can supply photographs for months of use. The pace depends on how often you publish and how quickly the business changes. Captions, campaigns and posting still need their own attention.
The cover photograph shows work at Salty Chief K-9. Read how my partnership with Jay began, or learn about his approach to local dog handling.
Start with your business, then the shot list
Before choosing a background, let's look at what people need to understand. Perhaps the website doesn't explain a service clearly, the team has changed, or the care behind the work is hard to show. Those gaps give the shoot a purpose.
A wide website header, a square Google Business Profile image and a photograph with room for text each need a slightly different composition. Bring the page or layout if you have it. I can account for those spaces while I'm making the photographs.
Bring the actual pages or examples if you have them. “We need something here” is a useful brief. So is “People don't understand this part of what we do.”
Build a library with different jobs
Depending on what you want to show, we might photograph:
- People: the owner and team, working together or photographed individually where agreed.
- Process: the steps customers rarely see, from preparation to careful finishing.
- Place: the surroundings that help someone recognize your business and know what to expect.
- Details: tools, materials, products and small signs of the care behind the work.
- Interaction: real service moments, with permission from anyone identifiable.
We don't need to photograph every item on that list. Tell me which parts of your work you want people to understand, and I'll help you choose where to spend our time.
For example, a wide process photograph might sit on a service page, while a closer image from that part of the shoot supports a post answering a common customer question. The scene is related; the photographs give you different ways to use it.
If you're not sure what to ask for, a short list like this gives us somewhere to begin:
- Essential: homepage banner. Show the owner at work, framed wide with room for a heading.
- Essential: About page. Show the person behind the business in their surroundings, with a composition that fits the actual page.
- Essential: service page. Make a close photograph of one meaningful part of the process.
- Useful addition: social post. Make a vertical working portrait that can introduce the person doing the work.
Put the essential placements first and bring the actual layout if you have it. Seeing where the heading or crop will fall helps me make a photograph that fits.
Have a website refresh or a specific gap in mind? Send me the page and tell me what's missing.
What does “months of content” actually mean?
Suppose a shoot gives you 24 distinct, relevant photographs earmarked for social posts. Using one image per post at two posts a week gives you 12 weeks of single-image posts. At three posts a week, that same selection lasts eight weeks. That is eight to twelve weeks of images for that particular posting pattern, not a complete marketing plan.
That is an example, not a promise attached to every session. A carousel may use several photographs at once. A launch may need a concentrated group of images. A changing menu, new team or seasonal offer can shorten the useful life of a photograph.
You may be able to use the same photograph on your website and in a social post, within the rights we agree. I'll still look for variety in the subjects and compositions, so you have choices when you sit down to use the collection.
Keep the handoff simple
Before the shoot, list the places where you need photographs. After delivery, match the finished images to those placements. A simple note beside each image can be enough: where it will go, what it helps explain and whether you've used it.
This gives the next shoot a useful starting point. You'll know which photographs you used often and where you still had to make do.
I'll plan and make the photographs with those uses in mind. You or your marketing team handle the copy, posting, advertising and video. We can work alongside each other without turning your photography session into a bundle of other services.
Know when one shoot is enough
If the core work stays fairly consistent and you publish occasionally, a one-time Business Session may be the right fit. If your people, products or seasonal work change often, regular shoots can keep the library representative of the business as it is now.
My Business Session starts at $750 and includes the complete photographer-curated finished high-resolution gallery, with at least 25 photographs. Need team portraits too? We can discuss adding them to your business photography package. The useful question is what the business needs, not how many unrelated items we can fit into the visit.
See business photography in Frederick for the current offer. Send me a page you want to improve or a part of the work people rarely see. We can build the shoot around that.