Incredible brand photography begins with the perfect location.

The stress of choosing the right location is one of the biggest barriers I see clients face to having professional brand photos taken. As a small business brand photographer, I understand how overwhelming this challenge can be. 

Of course, your answer is easy when your business has a physical location—whether that be a permanent office outside the home or a storefront. You’ll want to take the majority of your photos at your workplace, especially if it’s a location open to the public. Doing so will offer the most authentic representation of your brand and help people connect the images they see of your brand with their in-person experience of your company.  

But things get more complicated if you don’t have a storefront or office. 

In this post, you’ll learn six questions to consider when choosing the perfect location for your brand photography session.

Before we dive into those questions, let’s talk about home offices. 

If you have a home office, you must determine if it’s photo-ready and represents you and your work well. In many cases, service providers (myself included!) do not have the luxury of a beautifully designed, well-lit home office. If you are one of the handful that do, taking photos where you actually spend your working hours is a fantastic option. 

Here’s a quick checklist to confirm that your home office is a good fit for your brand photography: 

• Does it accurately represent your brand?
• Is it well-lit?
• Do its colors fit well with your brand palette?
• Are there other spaces in your home that you can use to get various images? (For instance, a sofa in the guest room, a beautiful blank wall near a window in the entryway, or an outdoor space you love.) 

If you said yes to all or most of the questions above, your home setup might work well for your session. However, if your home office is a tight corner of your downstairs family room with a pile of unfolded laundry next to it, you’ll need to get creative about another solution.

Here are six essential questions to consider when deciding on the ideal spot. 

1. What is your budget?

Budget is a significant factor when selecting a location. If you have limited funds, borrowing a friend’s office space can be a cost-conscious solution. Taking photos outdoors is another free or low-cost option, but it only works for certain brands and industries. 

Suppose you have money allocated to rent a location. In that case, there are plenty of studios and offices in the Greater Boston area, including The Newburyport Studio in Newburyport, MA, and the Bird & Bear Collective in Holliston, MA. You can search for options that match your needs and brand vibe on homestudiolist.com or peerspace.com. 

2. What content will the photos need to support? 

Map out all the topics your brand creates content about, and think through the places you plan to use your photos. Beyond your website, will you need images in a client onboarding guide, in your social posts, or for holiday season promotions? 

The better your planning, the more strategically you can select locations with a variety of backdrops that can communicate your messages effectively.  

3. Do you want other people involved?

Does your business work in-person with clients in your space or theirs? If you serve clients in their own homes or at their own workplaces, consider choosing a location that offers different areas that can give the impression that you are in your own office in some shots and at a client’s home in others. For example, you could use the home office to represent your home office and the living room to represent a client’s living room, as we did in this session for occupational therapist Dana Solomon.

4. What mood are you aiming to convey?

Would you call your brand luxury, romantic, zen, or creative? Do you need a professional or more artsy and natural look? Think about what you do, your brand’s personality, and what you hope to convey. 

Thinking outside the box to convey a brand mood is perfectly fine. For example, let’s say you are an artist who makes nature-inspired jewelry—but you don’t have a gorgeous home studio to use in your photos. The beach might be an ideal backdrop to highlight you and your creations and establish the feeling of your brand. 

Whatever you decide, be sure to choose a location with either a neutral backdrop or incorporating colors that complement your brand’s color scheme!

5. Will the tools or equipment you use regularly be easy to incorporate?

If you have specific equipment or tools for your work, including those in your photos makes sense. Some things are easy to use anywhere, like your laptop. But others can be more of a challenge!

For instance, if you are a caterer or nutrition consultant, you’ll want to select a location that offers kitchen prep space. Even though a cutting board, knife, and pile of produce are relatively portable, using them in a rented office would look strange. In this scenario, a kitchen is a must!

6. Is your brand impacted by the season?

Some brands have a natural seasonality to their work. If that’s the case for your business, scheduling your shoot at the right time of year and choosing an outdoor location that highlights the value you offer is crucial. Landscapers, pool maintenance companies, floral designers, and other home service providers can benefit from showcasing their work within the appropriate seasonal context. 

After you consider these questions, you’ll have a much easier time selecting a location for your brand photography session. And don’t forget to ask your photographer for their input as well! I’m always happy to help clients choose the best location to showcase their work. 

Interested in learning more about brand photography?

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