How to take photos for corporate website and request for photo shooting
How to take stock photos to be posted on the corporate website and request a photo shoot
I will explain how to shoot photo materials, which are now essential for a website (website), and points to keep in mind when requesting photography from a professional photographer. Also, the content shown here is not only for website photography, but also for paper media such as similar job sites and pamphlets.
Prepare a list of photos to be taken (preparation)
The timing for taking photos for the website is the same whether you ask a photographer or when you take them in-house.
Due to a change of president, etc., I think there are many cases where only part of the photos on the website are replaced, when the site itself is renewed or newly created, or posted on job portal sites, gourmet portal sites, hotel reservation sites, etc. In every case, first prepare a list of photos you wish to take, summarizing the photos to be taken, such as “on which page (what content)” and “what kind of photos” are needed, in advance. Photographers often call this list a “cut list.”
When a renewed or new site is being created, it is important to prepare a cut list at the stage where the page structure, such as the site wireframe and camp design, is clearly decided. If you contact the site's production company or designer for wireframes and camp designs, they can prepare them.
When we receive photography consultations, in rare cases, we also receive inquiries such as “I want to take lots of photos and place good photos on the website.” However, I don't recommend that method at all.
The cameraman concentrates on shooting one by one or takes pictures while enlivening the subject. Actually, it's a job that requires more energy than I thought.
It said, “I don't know if it will be used, but I want it to be mass-produced first. I want them to take a picture (of the same subject) from the right, and I want them to take a picture from the left as well. In the case of an order such as “I want the number of people shooting with the same composition to shoot for 3 people in a different pattern,” it would be difficult for many photographers to concentrate all the time on shooting all of those cuts. In the first place, in the case of a request like the one described above, it is usually a fixed 1-cut shoot, but in one situation, 2 cuts (left and right) are for 3 people, and what is supposed to be 1 cut becomes 6 cuts, starting with the number of shots to be taken, and the time required for shooting also increases considerably. Furthermore, they mass-produce “waste cuts” that do not use the collaborators who took the photos.
As long as I'm shooting at work, the photographer wants to take good photos for the client. Therefore, I believe that deciding on the necessary cuts to some extent in advance and smoothly recommending the required photos at the shooting site is a shortcut to completing good photos and a good website.
When in-house photos for the website are produced
The advantages of shooting photographic material in-house are that there are no outsourcing costs, and that it is possible to re-shoot flexibly. As a disadvantage, when compared to professional photographers, they are still inferior in terms of quality, but for example, there are many cases where small photos posted on the site are taken with smartphones inside cars.
Use a modern smartphone to shoot
We recommend shooting with a smartphone if you don't have shooting equipment, or if it's not bright enough for how you use a single-lens reflex camera or single-lens camera (mirrorless camera). In particular, in rooms with little light, there are many cases where the latest smartphone looks more beautiful than shooting using a single-lens reflex camera from a year ago without lighting.
However, in the case of shooting with a smartphone, there are cases where the number of pixels of the saved photo is set to a small number, so if there is a possibility that the main visual etc. of the site will be displayed in large size, we recommend shooting with the maximum number of pixels in the settings.
Shoot while being aware of wide-angle, standard, and telephoto
Some smartphone models are equipped with multiple lenses for wide angle, standard, and telephoto lenses. When shooting, for example, you can set it to wide-angle mode when shooting the interior of an office, or when shooting people, move away from the subject and shoot with a zoom for a more professional look.
Shoot in a bright place, such as by a window
When taken by a bright window, the overall impression of the photo becomes brighter (*This photo was taken using a single-lens reflex camera and lighting)
A major factor in taking beautiful photos is the amount of light. Unless you're a professional photographer, I think it's difficult to do lighting with a strobe or the like. In that case, we recommend that you try shooting at an outdoor park, etc., or take a picture by the window if it's inside the office. Also, if the light is backlit by the window, try changing the angle to save money.
Cuts often taken in website photos and points to keep in mind
Here are some situations that we professional photographers often shoot when taking photos for our website and what to keep in mind for each situation.
Office exterior
Photographing the exterior of an office or building
Get permission to shoot
When taking photos of the exterior of an office, you may need permission from the building side in advance. Also, in some buildings, photography of the building itself is prohibited, so we recommend that you check beforehand.
Office interior
Office interior shooting
Decide where to shoot
List the rooms you want to shoot in advance.
Clean up the shooting location
Clean up unnecessary items before shooting. For example, we recommend that you temporarily clean up jackets on tables or chairs, trash cans, and other documents containing personal information, character figures and posters, and advertisements that have an expiration date stipulated by contract even if they belong to your company in order to avoid unnecessary trouble.
When shooting with people, determine in advance who will be reflected
Interior photos are mostly taken unmanned, but of course it is also possible to take patterns with people in them. Be sure to check beforehand whether you need a person's interior photo.
Profile pictures of representatives, officers, and executives
When taking profile photos of representatives, executives, and executives
Decide the background/scene
Decide what room and background you want to take your profile picture in. In the case of a window glass background, be careful as backlighting may result in backlighting and the subject may be crushed black or the background may fly too bright. (Don't worry if you ask a professional) Scenes that are mainly filmed
White background (background paper) before
Scene of sitting on a chair
In front of the company logo
There are a lot of these cases.
Unruly hair, check neckties and clothes
Be sure to check that your hairstyle, necktie, and clothing are not messy before shooting. It's smooth when the mirror is at the shooting site.
It looks like they're working
Photographing them at work
Decide where to shoot
Be sure to check in advance where you want to shoot.
Check the situation
Decide in advance what kind of situations you will shoot in for each location you want to shoot. For instance,
A sales person picking up a cell phone outside the office and making sales calls
It looks like 3 people from the same department are chatting in the office break room
Seated by the window and working on a laptop
It's like that.
Decide on the subject
Who will appear as the subject for each shooting location and situation is decided in advance, and those who will be models are also notified to that effect in advance.
Prepare small items
I sometimes use a tablet, laptop, mug, notebook, pen, etc. when shooting. If you are likely to use it during shooting, be prepared in advance.
interview photo
Interview landscape shooting
Decide on the background
Decide the room and background you want to shoot in.
Decide on the role of an interviewer
In shooting interview photos, with the exception of those in the form of coverage such as “customer feedback,” there are many cases where an interview was not actually conducted at the time of shooting. The reason is due to shooting time. When actually doing an interview, it often takes 30 minutes to less than 1 hour, but if it is a “pretending to be doing an interview,” it takes about 10 to 15 minutes per person to complete it.
In the case of shooting “Furi,” there are people who act as interviewers outside of the frame and chat, just like in actual interviews. Therefore, let's decide on an interviewer beforehand.
Homepage Tips for identifying photographers with photography skills
The main skills required for photographers to take photos for websites are as follows.
Take portraits with lighting (technology that creates light even in dark rooms, takes bright pictures, and makes photos close to images)
Skills to take large, clean interior and exterior photographs (architectural photographs) of an office
In addition, simple direction skills are also required, such as giving instructions to the subject at the shooting site. In order to search for such a photographer, it is a good idea to check the photographic works (mainly portraits and architectural photographs) that the photographer has taken in the past and check whether they are close to the image on the website and whether the shooting fee is within the budget.
The average price of shooting fees
To be honest, the shooting fee for a cameraman is just amazing.
For example, Deltaphoto, which is a photographer office that specializes in business photography, estimates the cameraman's restraint time and distance to the shooting location, and it is 55,000 yen (in the case of restraint within 4 hours) including tax and transportation expenses.
In addition, in the case of freelance photographers, the fee is determined by the shooting content, the restraint time, and the distance to the shooting location, and generally starts at a minimum of 30,000 to 60,000 yen for shooting for the website, and it can also be around 200,000 yen for a full day of shooting.
Since the way of thinking and calculation methods differ depending on the photographer, we recommend that you actually get an estimate.
Advantages of hiring a professional photographer
With the spread of single-lens cameras, there has been an increase in the number of amateur photographers and sideline photographers who take photos on holidays as side jobs. Professionals cannot beat amateurs in terms of cost, but there is a sense of security only because they are professional photographers who do photography on a daily basis.
Direction ability
Shooting technology
Lighting technology (ability to use lighting and create light)
Shooting equipment (camera body, lens, lighting, spare parts in case of equipment failure, etc.)
Tethered shooting (a shooting method in which the captured photo is sent to a laptop or tablet, and the requester can confirm the photo taken)
In addition to these points, professional photographers shoot on a daily basis, so there are many “drawers” such as “shooting like this in the case of such cases.”
Of course, it depends on each photographer, so this is just an example, but I would be happy if it would be helpful.
I wrote the article
Hiroki Yamamoto
CEO of Delta Creative Co., Ltd. /Photographer He started taking cameras by himself, and has been active as a cameraman since he was a student, focusing on press photography. After working in the photography department for magazines and online media, he has been freelancing since 2011. We are involved in the development and operation of TOTTA. Born in Hiroshima.
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