A commercial photography session can do more than produce a collection of attractive images. When approached with a broader perspective, it can give a business a versatile library of photographs that supports different needs, from showcasing products and interiors to communicating the people, details, and atmosphere behind the brand. The key is to think beyond individual photographs and consider how different images can work together.
Showing More Than the Product
Product photography can do more than present an item against a clean background. Different compositions, lighting, and perspectives can reveal its design, materials, textures, and finer details. Lifestyle images add another dimension, placing the product in context and showing how it fits into a particular setting or experience.
Combining these approaches creates a more complete visual presentation, giving potential customers a better sense of the product and what makes it distinctive.
Giving the Space a Voice
For businesses with physical locations, photographs of their surroundings can be just as valuable as images of their products or services. Architectural and interior photography can highlight the design of a space, its layout, and the details that make it distinctive. A showroom may benefit from photographs of its overall interior alongside closer shots of its displays, while an office might need images that capture both its working environment and its distinctive features. These images help people understand the experience before they ever walk through the door.
Including the People Behind the Business
People bring another dimension to commercial photography. Images of employees at work, interactions between colleagues, or the everyday activity of a business can make its visual presence feel more personal and approachable. These photographs don’t necessarily need to be formal portraits. Sometimes, showing a person preparing a product, welcoming a customer, or working within a particular environment communicates more about a business than a posed photograph ever could.
Creating Images for Different Uses
A business rarely needs photographs for just one purpose. Images may appear on a website, social media profiles, marketing materials, advertisements, presentations, or printed publications. A wider selection makes it easier to choose photographs that suit each format. A horizontal interior photograph might work well as a website banner, while a close-up product image could be better suited to a social media post. A lifestyle photograph may provide the right visual for a campaign. Having different types of images available also reduces the need to rely on the same few photographs across every platform.
Making the Most of a Photography Session
The value of a commercial photography session isn’t measured only by the number of images delivered. It’s also about the variety and usefulness of the final collection. By considering products, spaces, people, and details together, businesses can create a more complete picture of what they do. Rather than approaching each photographic need as a separate task, a well-considered session can bring several visual requirements together. The result is a collection of images that gives a business more flexibility in how it presents itself, communicates with customers, and tells its story.
Explore our galleries, here and here to see how different photographic approaches can bring products, spaces, and businesses to life. If you’re planning a commercial photography session, contact us to discuss your project and the images you need.
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Brett Deutsch is co-owner and chief photographer of Headshots NYC, Gotham Family Photos and Deutsch Photography. Formally trained at the New York Institute of Photography, the School of Visual Arts and Pomona College, plus nearly 20 years of photography in New York City and on all 7 continents. His work can be found on The New York Times. Time Out London. Dallas Morning News. Backstage, and on countless websites, newsletters, annual reports and other publications.
