How to Prepare Your Team for a Brand Photography Session!
How to Prepare Your Team for a Brand Photography Session
One of the biggest things that can make or break a brand photography session is not the photographer, the location, or even the lighting. It’s whether the people being photographed know what to expect.
When I photograph a business, I’m rarely just taking a collection of headshots. A good brand photography session should give you a library of images you can actually use across your website, social media, marketing materials, LinkedIn, email campaigns and other places your business shows up.
That might include professional team headshots, group photos, people working, interactions between team members, hands-on images, client-facing moments and those natural in-between shots that make a business feel like a real business.
The more prepared your team is, the easier it is for everyone to relax and get great images.
1. Tell your team why you’re doing the shoot
Don’t just send an email saying, “We’re having a photographer in on Tuesday.” Give your team some context. Explain what the photos will be used for and why they matter to the business. Let them know that the goal isn't to make everyone look like a model. It’s to create professional, approachable images that represent the people behind the business. This can also help take some of the pressure off. People are much more comfortable being photographed when they understand that they aren't expected to perform for the camera.
2. Give everyone plenty of notice
As soon as you know you’re booking a brand photography session, let your team know. Ideally, everyone should have enough time to plan their outfit, arrange their schedule and think about anything they may need to bring or prepare. If there are team members who will only be photographed for a few minutes, let them know their approximate time rather than asking them to sit around waiting all day. A little organization on the front end makes the actual shoot run much more smoothly.
3. Give some guidance about what to wear
I don't recommend giving everyone a strict uniform or telling your team exactly what to wear unless that genuinely fits your brand. Instead, give them some general direction. Think about your existing brand colours, the environment you'll be photographed in and the overall look you're trying to create. For most professional brand photography, simple tends to work well. Solid colours, subtle patterns and clothing that fits well are generally easier to photograph than very busy prints or large logos. Most importantly, people should feel comfortable and like themselves. If someone never wears a suit, putting them in one for the first time because they're having their photo taken probably isn't going to make them look or feel natural.
4. Don't forget the details
Before the photographer arrives, have everyone take a few minutes to check the little things. Hair, makeup, nails, glasses, jewellery, lint, wrinkled clothing and anything else that might distract from the person. This doesn't mean everyone needs to look perfectly polished. Brand photography should still look like your actual business. But it's much easier to deal with these small details before the camera comes out than halfway through a shoot.
5. Think beyond the headshot
This is probably the biggest thing I want businesses to understand about brand photography. Your headshot is important, but it shouldn't be the only photograph you get. Think about all the different ways people interact with your business. Do you work with clients? Do you meet with customers? Do you work at a desk? Do you make products? Do you consult with people? Do you have team meetings? Do you use specific equipment? Do you have a process that makes your business different? These are the things we can photograph. Instead of having a website filled with generic stock photography of people shaking hands or typing on laptops, you can show your actual team doing the things they actually do. Those images tell much more of your story.
6. Think about the photos you actually need
Before your session, take a look at your website and social media and make a list of the images you're constantly missing. Maybe your About page needs a team photo. Maybe your website needs horizontal images for banners. Maybe you need photographs of your staff interacting with clients. Maybe you need vertical images for Instagram. Maybe you need some images with negative space where you can add text for advertising or social media. This is one of the reasons I like to plan a brand photography session around how the images will actually be used. The goal isn't simply to come home with hundreds of pretty pictures. The goal is to come home with useful pictures.
7. Let your team know they don't have to "act natural"
This one always makes me laugh a little because “act natural” is probably one of the least helpful instructions you can give someone who's standing in front of a camera. Most people aren't accustomed to having a photographer follow them around while they work. That's okay. I will give direction throughout the session. I'll tell people where to stand, where to look, what to do with their hands and how to interact with each other. Sometimes we'll recreate a normal part of the workday. Sometimes I'll have people repeat something because I need a different angle. Nobody is expected to magically know what to do.
8. Don't schedule the shoot when everyone is rushed
If possible, avoid booking your photography session during the most chaotic part of your team's day. You don't want someone running into the shoot five minutes late, grabbing their coffee and immediately being asked to smile for a headshot. Build a little breathing room into the schedule. This is especially important if we're photographing both individual portraits and your team working together. The best images often happen when people have enough time to settle in.
9. Clean up the spaces we'll be photographing
You don't need to make your workplace look like a showroom. In fact, I usually prefer spaces that still feel like a real working environment. But do a quick edit beforehand. Put away anything distracting or unnecessary. Clear clutter from desks and surfaces. Make sure the areas that are likely to appear in photographs are reasonably tidy. And don't forget the things you might not normally notice because you see them every day. That random box in the corner? The overflowing garbage can? The collection of old coffee cups? They suddenly become very noticeable when they're sitting in the background of a photograph.
10. Choose a few people who are comfortable being themselves
When we're photographing your team interacting, I don't need everyone to be a professional actor. I actually prefer the opposite. People who genuinely enjoy working together tend to produce some of the best images because their interactions feel real. Think about who naturally works together, who interacts with clients, who has a good rapport with other team members and who represents the personality of your business. Those relationships can be much more valuable in photographs than simply arranging everyone in a row.
11. Don't worry if someone hates having their photo taken
This is extremely common. In fact, I'd say most people aren't particularly excited about being photographed. That's part of my job. You don't need to convince everyone that they're photogenic before the shoot. You also don't need to tell them to “just relax.” I'll direct them through the process and work with them to create images that feel like them. The goal isn't to turn your employees into models. It's to make them look confident, approachable and professional while still looking like themselves.
12. Have one person responsible for the schedule
If you're photographing a larger team, designate one person to coordinate everyone. That person can make sure people know when they're needed, help keep the schedule moving and answer questions from the team. This means the business owner or marketing person doesn't have to spend the entire shoot trying to organize everyone. It also gives me more time to actually photograph.
13. Most importantly, don't overthink it
You don't need to rehearse. You don't need to memorize poses. You don't need to spend hours trying to figure out exactly what everyone should do. Come prepared, know what you want the photographs to accomplish and let me take care of the rest. The best brand photography sessions usually have a plan, but they aren't rigid. There needs to be room for the unexpected moments too. Someone laughs. A team member helps another person. A client interaction feels particularly genuine. Someone does something that perfectly captures the personality of the business. Those moments can end up being some of the most valuable photographs from the entire session.
Your team is part of your brand
Your customers aren't just buying a product or service. They're interacting with people. Showing those people is one of the simplest ways to make a business feel more personal and more trustworthy.
Whether you're a dental office in Oakville, a professional service business in Burlington, a small business in Hamilton or a larger company in Toronto, your team is part of what makes your business different.
Your brand photography should show that.
And with a little preparation beforehand, your team can walk into the session knowing what to expect, feeling comfortable in front of the camera and ready to create a collection of images that you'll actually want to use.
