Photoshoot with Snagging Inspectors, Snag Wise | Small Business Photography

Whenever I am preparing for a photoshoot with a prospective client, my initial priority is the  pre-shoot planning and research. Even before I have packed my bags for the day, I will have gathered as much information as possible about the company, their people and their ethics; creating notes and ideas about the shots that I believe best represent the business.

Most importantly, I will have a clear idea about the images the business has previously used, and what they are wanting to achieve by commissioning new ones.  Maybe the current images aren’t working hard enough to represent their business? Or maybe they are starting from scratch.  And who doesn’t love starting with a clear brief?

This means that I can arrive onsite fully immersed in the business and become an extension of their team.

In all my years of photography, I still find that the best way to start this preparation process is not by making assumptions or heading to Google – but by starting with a good old-fashioned conversation. Tell me about your business. Tell me about your journey. Tell me about your people and plans.

However, there are occasions that I start to prepare for a photoshoot and find my plans of creativity stretched a little further than normal – and I love it!

This was the case recently when I was approached by local company ‘Snag Wise Ltd’, a professional snagging company based in Ipswich. The ‘Snag Wise’ team provide their services to the owners of new build homes throughout East Anglia, creating detailed, independent snagging reports to ensure that new build homeowners are moving into homes completed to the highest standards.

After my initial conversations with owner Jake the obvious instinct was to plan a shoot that could capture some of the inspection results and the defects they have found whilst onsite – after all, this would demonstrate the ‘product’ they were selling.   However, they already have lots of interesting images on their website – and as my avid readers will know, I do love my photographs to say something about the people behind the business. After all, people really do buy people.

I decided that the images from their photoshoot should take you behind the scenes, providing a human face to the Snag Wise team and demonstrating the tools of their trade.

Because their clients are trusting them to make sure they thoroughly assess their homes, images that delve further behind the scenes can help to build these feelings in the very early stages of a working relationship.

I also noted that their website is a very ‘clean’ and fresh site and that certain colours are predominant throughout their brand. By adding tools and equipment into the shots that complimented the company colours, the images strengthen the brand and tie everything together beautifully.

This was such an unusual client to work with, but it was a great challenge. With a little thought and pre-planning, any business can be photogenic, and every brand can be represented through the power of images.