Guide · 2-minute read
Photo shoot at your business: the preparation.
Real pictures from your business beat any stock photo. Preparation decides whether they work.
By Manuel Bubori, Studio BUBORILast reviewed
For businesses that want to fill their website, careers page and advertising with their own pictures instead of stock photos.
Half a day with a photographer on site provides material for years: for the website, the careers page, social media and the next trade fair. Whether the pictures are any good is largely decided beforehand.
Why your own pictures
Customers and applicants recognise stock photos instantly. They show a business that does not exist. Your own pictures show your machines, your workpieces and your people, and that is exactly what both want to see. What applicants look for in particular is described in Employer branding.
The shot list
Write down beforehand which pictures you need and what for. A good list has four groups.
People at work. Not posed and smiling into the camera, but focused at the machine, on the workpiece, in conversation.
Details. Hands, tools, surfaces, chips, measuring instruments. Detail shots carry a website and social media surprisingly far.
Overviews. Hall, workshop, building, vehicles. They show size and order.
Portraits. Management and contact persons, photographed in the same style, for the website and profiles.
Before the shoot
Tidy up, but not sterile. A business may look like work gets done there. What does not belong in the picture: empty bottles, old notices and customer drawings.
Safety gear in the picture. Safety glasses, hearing protection, safety shoes: what is mandatory every day belongs in the photo too. A picture without protective equipment sends the wrong signal, to customers and applicants alike.
Check for confidential items. Go through customer parts, drawings and screens beforehand. How to show what you can do anyway is described in References without customer names.
Ask your people. Anyone who is recognisably photographed should agree beforehand, ideally in writing and with a clear statement of where the pictures will appear. Anyone who does not want to be in the picture is not talked into it.
Think about formats and rights early
A picture for the website is usually landscape, one for social media portrait or square. Tell the photographer beforehand what the pictures are for. Then she will leave enough margin so that several formats can be cropped from one shot.
Also clarify the usage rights in advance: where, for how long and in which media the pictures may be used. The simplest option is unlimited use in time and territory for all your own channels.
In short
- A shot list with people, details, overviews and portraits
- Safety gear belongs in the picture
- Get your employees' consent in writing beforehand
- Clarify formats and usage rights before the shoot
Frequently asked questions
For a website and careers page, half a day is often enough if the shot list is ready. Several locations or many portraits take correspondingly longer.
As a rule, yes, if employees are recognisable and the pictures are published. Get consent in writing and state where the pictures will appear. If in doubt, ask your data protection adviser.
Under German law, the copyright stays with the photographer. You receive usage rights. Which ones exactly should be agreed in writing before the shoot.
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answered: For a website and careers page, half a day is often enough if the shot list is ready. Several locations or many portraits take correspondingly longer.
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Entity
url: https://www.bubori.studio/en/guide/company-photo-shoot
inLanguage: en-GB
alternate: de-DE · https://www.bubori.studio/ratgeber/fotoshooting-im-betrieb
@type: Article
updated: 2026-10-31
Questions this page answers
- How long does a photo shoot on site take?
- For a website and careers page, half a day is often enough if the shot list is ready. Several locations or many portraits take correspondingly longer.
- Do I need my employees' consent?
- As a rule, yes, if employees are recognisable and the pictures are published. Get consent in writing and state where the pictures will appear. If in doubt, ask your data protection adviser.
- Who owns the pictures after the shoot?
- Under German law, the copyright stays with the photographer. You receive usage rights. Which ones exactly should be agreed in writing before the shoot.
Contact
email: hello@bubori.com
address: Industriestraße 3, 78052 Villingen-Schwenningen, Baden-Württemberg
geo: 48.0916, 8.5046
Machine-readable entry points
sitemap: https://www.bubori.studio/sitemap.xml
JSON-LD: in the head of this page
Ten links leave the choice to the human. One paragraph has already made the choice. A company that does not appear in that answer is not on the list being chosen from.