Start with the jobs the photographs need to do
So let's say the staff page needs updating. It would be easy to book a photographer, line everybody up for a headshot and call it done. Then, two weeks later, somebody needs a picture of the team working. A proposal needs something wider. The press asks for a clean portrait. Suddenly that tidy set of headshots is being asked to do a job it was never made for.
A better starting point is to list where the photographs will actually appear. The website is an obvious one, but there may also be proposals, tenders, PR, recruitment, social posts and internal communications. Once those uses are clear, the shot list becomes much easier to build.
What PS Projects needed
PS Projects wanted bright, modern and approachable photographs that showed the personality and professionalism behind the business. Headshots were part of the job, but they were only one part.
The session also included desk and action portraits, colleagues working together, planning scenes, a group image and a drone group hero image. That gave the business a varied set intended for its website, proposals, PR, social media and internal communications.
Some of the team were not comfortable in front of a camera. Keeping the shoot relaxed and showing the photographs on a tethered laptop helped them see what was working. That matters because useful business photographs still need the people in them to look like themselves.
Plan backwards from where the images will appear
There is no universal corporate shot list. A company recruiting new staff may need plenty of people and workplace photographs. A technical business may need more process and detail. A proposal might need wide pictures with room for a heading, while a staff profile needs something much tighter.
The point is to give every part of the shoot a purpose. If nobody can name a likely use for a photograph, it may not deserve much time. If one picture needs to work in five different places, it is worth planning a few versions rather than hoping one frame will somehow fit them all.
A simple way to prepare
Firstly, write down the pages and materials that need photographs. Secondly, note the people, working situations and details that would help explain the business. Thirdly, decide which pictures are essential and which would simply be useful if time allows.
It also helps to tell the team what the pictures are for. People are usually more comfortable when they understand why they are being photographed and know that the whole session is not going to involve standing stiffly against a wall.
The useful question
Before arranging a corporate shoot, ask what the business needs the photographs to do afterwards. That one question turns a collection of decent pictures into a library the team can keep reaching for.