Key takeaways
- Preparation decides whether a shoot produces 100 usable marketing images or 20 you never use. Start with a shot list built around where each image will appear.
- Plan formats in advance: wide images for website banners, vertical images for social stories and print, and square images for profiles. Google Business Profile recommends photos of at least 720 by 720 pixels, in focus and well lit, with no heavy filters.
- Prepare your space the day before: clean, declutter, stage featured areas and check light at the planned shoot time.
- Brief your team on schedule, clothing and what to expect so they arrive relaxed and camera-ready.
- Agree on brand guidelines, editing style, deliverables, usage rights and releases with your photographer before shoot day.
The gap between a brand shoot that fills your marketing calendar and one that leaves you short comes down to preparation. Most businesses book a photographer, set a date and hope for the best. This Emulent guide covers the shot list, team preparation, space preparation and the conversation to have with your photographer beforehand.
How do you build a shot list that covers your marketing needs?
List every image you need, organized by subject, location and intended use, so nothing depends on memory on shoot day.
- Audit needs by channel: homepage hero, service page headers, team and about pages, location pages, blog headers, Google Business Profile, social profiles, email headers, print and ads.
- List subjects and scenarios: everyone who needs a headshot, team groupings such as leadership and departments, client-facing moments, equipment and finished work.
- Note formats for each shot: horizontal for banners and blog headers, vertical for stories and print, square for profiles and some social posts. Ask the photographer to leave room around subjects so one image can be cropped several ways.
- Group by location and people, so the photographer moves through your space efficiently and team members are not waiting around.
Emulent organizes shot lists by marketing use rather than photo category. Instead of “team photos,” the list says “service page header for HVAC repair: technician working on a unit, horizontal, space for headline text on the left.”
How do you prepare your team for the shoot?
People who know what to expect relax on camera, and relaxed people photograph better.
- Share the schedule: when each person is needed, what they will do and how long it will take.
- Give clothing guidance: solid colors photograph better than busy patterns or small checks. Coordinate colors without requiring matching outfits, and bring a change of clothes for variety.
- Cover grooming simply: a short note such as “come camera-ready with clean, pressed clothing” avoids awkward conversations.
- Reassure camera-shy team members: the photographer will guide them, many frames are taken and they will see options before anything is published.
- Collect signed model releases from everyone who appears, including clients or patients, before images go live.
How do you prepare your physical space?
See your space as a first-time visitor would, and fix what distracts.
| Step | What to do |
|---|---|
| Clean and declutter | clear desks, remove outdated signage, old promotions, cords, personal items and anything showing private customer information on screens or whiteboards. |
| Stage featured areas | a conference room with a laptop, notepad and two cups looks natural; an empty table looks unused. |
| Check light | schedule each area for the time it gets the best natural light, replace burnt-out bulbs and avoid mixing very different light colors in one shot. |
| Prepare the exterior | tidy landscaping, clean and lit signage and a clear parking area. Exterior shots help customers recognize your building on Google Maps. |
Emulent walks each client’s space the day before a shoot with a checklist. In one case, that walkthrough caught a competitor’s branded calendar on a wall that appeared in several planned shots.
What should you discuss with your photographer before shoot day?
Align on purpose, style and deliverables so the editing matches how you will use the images.
- Share brand guidelines, or your website and marketing materials if you have no style guide, so the photographer understands your colors and tone.
- Walk through the shot list and explain where each image will appear. A website banner needs space for text; a social post may need a tighter crop.
- Agree on editing style, such as bright and airy or warm and moody, with examples you like.
- Confirm deliverables: number of edited images, file formats, resolutions and delivery date.
- Put usage rights in writing. Make sure you can use images on your website, ads, print and Google Business Profile without time limits or extra fees.
- Keep listing photos realistic. Google’s Business Profile photo guidelines ask for JPG or PNG files between 10 KB and 5 MB, with no significant alterations or excessive filters.
Real staff photos get attention that stock images do not; Nielsen Norman Group found users looked closely at photos of real employees while ignoring generic stock people. Preparation makes sure those photos show your business at its best.
How can the Emulent team help?
Emulent plans and manages brand photo shoots, from shot lists and space walkthroughs to on-site direction, then places the images across your website and listings. A caveat: weather, staffing and building access can change on the day, so build in a backup date for exterior and outdoor shots. Contact the Emulent team to plan your shoot.