Most businesses I work with aren't short on things to say. They have case studies, expertise, a team they're proud of, and work that genuinely deserves to be seen. What they're short on is the imagery to back it all up. So before every campaign, every pitch, every LinkedIn post, someone ends up opening the same tired folder and reaching for the same three photographs - because those are the only ones that feel right. It's a familiar problem, and it costs more than people realise.
A well-planned brand photography day changes that equation. Here's how.
The Real Problem Isn't a Lack of Images
Most businesses have some photographs. A few headshots from a few years ago. A couple of shots someone took on a phone at an event. Maybe a posed team photo from the last away day, where everybody's smiling in slightly the wrong direction.
The problem isn't quantity. It's purpose.
I spent over twenty years as a designer and art director, commissioning photography for brands like Nike, Coca-Cola, and Channel 4. I know exactly what it feels like to sit with a deadline and a folder full of beautiful images - and realise that none of them actually work for the job in front of you. Pretty isn't the problem. Purpose is.
That experience is what shapes how I approach every brand photography session now. I'm not here to produce a folder of nice images. I'm here to build a library that earns its keep.
What a Single Day Can Actually Produce
This is the thing that surprises people most - how much a well-planned session can deliver.
I recently spent a day with a client at an engineering consultancy. They had offices across several countries and were updating their websites globally. The UK team needed a library of images that were current, consistent, and genuinely reflective of the real people clients and new talent would be working with. Nobody recognised the faces on the existing site. Some of those people had long since left.
By the end of the day, my client had a varied library to draw from: portraits of key, front-facing members of staff; candid photographs of people working and in meetings; the spaces and culture that make the business what it is. Instead of chasing team members around the office trying to grab photographs herself, she now has a wealth of content ready to pull from - for the website, for presentations, for PR, for social media. And we can always build on it over time to keep things fresh.
That's what a well-planned day can do. A handful of headshots is just the starting point.
Why Planning Is the Thing That Makes It Work
The difference between a session that fills months of content and one that produces a folder nobody uses usually comes down to what happens before I pick up the camera.
We start with where the images will live
Before the shoot, we talk through how the imagery needs to work: the website, LinkedIn, recruitment, pitch decks, PR. We look at the gaps. Most businesses are missing the same core types of image - the ones that show the people, the place, the process, the craft, and the small details that make the company recognisably theirs. Every image in the Brand Story Library has a job to do before we even begin.
I send a briefing pack in advance
Everyone on the team knows what to expect, what to wear, and - crucially - that they won't be asked to do anything awkward. Relaxed people make better images. And staff who've had a good experience on the day are much more likely to be pleased with how they look afterwards.
On the day, I work in a documentary way
The team carries on with real work, and I capture what's actually happening - with gentle direction where it's needed. Most people stop noticing the camera after the first half hour. That's when the best images tend to happen.
Consistency is built in
Images planned and shot in a single day, with one look and feel, hold together in a way that a collection of random photographs never can. When everything belongs together, a business can draw from that library again and again without the brand feeling patchy across different channels.
What People Get Wrong Before They Book
I hear a lot of apologies before a shoot.
"Our office isn't very exciting”, “we’re not quite ready" "It's just a workshop." "The team really hate having their picture taken."
And every time, I want to say: those things are exactly why the images will work.
Real spaces, real tools, real people mid-task - that's what makes brand imagery feel honest and different from everyone else's. A factory floor or a busy studio can be far more visually interesting than any polished backdrop. The details that feel ordinary to the people who work there every day are exactly what clients and prospective talent want to see.
It's also much less disruptive than people expect. I work around how the team already operates. The day doesn't take over the building. There's no production. People carry on doing what they do, and I do what I do alongside them.
And you don't need to be photogenic. You don't need a photogenic business. You just need to be doing what you do best. That's genuinely all it takes.
A Library That Works Long After the Shoot Day
The goal of every Brand Story Library session I run is simple: to give a business imagery it actually reaches for.
Not a folder it has to dig through to find something usable. Not a set of photographs that only work in one context. A real, varied, consistent library - built in a day, planned with intention, and ready to pull from whenever it's needed.
That kind of library changes how a business shows up. On the website. In pitches. On social media. In recruitment. It means the person fielding the content calendar on a Tuesday morning has something real to work with, rather than reaching for the same image for the fifth time.
The businesses I work with are doing incredible work. The imagery should say so.
Ready to Build Yours?
If you're tired of the last-minute scramble, or you're sitting on work that deserves to be seen and the imagery just isn't there yet, let's talk about what a Brand Story Library day could look like for your business.
You can find out more about The Brand Story Library here, or get in touch directly and we'll start with a conversation about where you are and what you actually need. No obligation, no pressure - just a straightforward chat.
The best time to build a library you're proud of is before you need it.
