If you are considering commissioning professional photographs for your business website or for a social media campaign, it's worth thinking about your brief. 

How will you use your photographs 

To get the best out of your professional photographer it is good to firstly clarify what you will be using the photos for? Do you need a range from good headshots through to content for your website and even messaging photos for social media and blogposts? 
 
You may be an entrepreneur working on your own or a business with a team. Either way, the next question is who will be in the photos?  
 
Without answers to these questions, how can a photographer quote, let alone start photographing? Any photographs created must not only be great images but they must be 'fit for purpose'. 
 
If it is just you in the business but you have clients that you meet with, could some clients be in the photos to show how you work? It may require a bit more organising but it can lend authenticity to the images, adding to the trust factor that is so important. If there is a team, do you want individual and or team photos or people at work? This can start to build a story around the business which prospective clients buy into. 
 
It may be that you sell a product, in which case, do you want to be visible in the business as the owner (people buy from people) or just have the products shown, and if so do you need 'models' to bring the products to life....lots to think about when comissioning a professional photo shoot! 
 
 

Who are you speaking to with your photographs 

A really useful bit of information for me when I'm creating website or branding photos is to understand who the target market is and what message the client wants to get across. This sometimes takes some probing (and a bit of naval gazing for some clients!) as it is the key to a sucessful marketing campaign. Brand values come into this and it is worth spending some time working through to get it right. The answers will influence the style of photos I take, so that they will appeal to the right audience, in the right way, to get a connection which translates into a call or a sale. 
 
One of the most important things to consider when comissioning natural light corporate photography is the question of location.  
 
What location best represents you business and will bring it to life? It may be that we need to consider a number of locations, from an office to a cafe/hotel to a conference room and the great outdoors. Again, this can take some working out and sometimes we have to hire a venue to take the photos so that we get it right. 
 
The backdrop adds atmosphere - think about the difference between a steel and glass building and an historic country house as backdrops. They produce very different 'feels' to photographs which is important to consider. 
 
 
All this information helps a photographer like me to be able to provide a quote for your business photography, but it also enables them to start visualising how and what they are going to create for you. 
 
However, you may have a marketing strategy from which you are implementing a marketing plan, and photography is just one part of the jigsaw. Strategic marketing consultancy PP8 Marketing have produced a really useful blog on 'How to Brief Creative Providers (And Why That Matters)'. Take a look as it may give you some top tips! 
 
And if you'd like to find out more about how I work and how I can help with corporate photography, do get in touch. 
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