Visitors judge a local business in a few seconds, and most of that judgement comes from the photos. Weak, dark or generic pictures make a good business look unsure. Clear, real photos of your place, your people and your work do the opposite.
You do not need hundreds of images. You need the right ones, shot once, in the right formats, and used in several places. This guide gives you a practical shot list.
The photos a local website needs
1. The home hero
The first picture on the home page. It must say what you do and what the place feels like, at a glance.
- Show the real thing: your space, your work or your team at work.
- Leave quiet space in the frame, so a headline can sit on top.
- Shoot in landscape, wide, in good light.
- Avoid stock-style images. Visitors can tell.
2. The team
People choose people. A face and a name build trust, especially for clinics, salons, gyms and spas.
- One portrait per person, same background and same light, so the page looks consistent.
- One group photo of the whole team.
- A few relaxed shots at work, not only posed ones.
- Ask each person in advance, and let them see the photo before it goes live.
3. The space
Show what a customer sees when they walk in.
- A wide shot of the main room, from the door and from the far end.
- The waiting area, the counter, the treatment room, the dining room, the changing room.
- Clean and tidy. Remove clutter, papers and cables before you shoot.
- Turn on the lights you normally use and open the curtains, so the room looks as it does in daily life.
4. Products or dishes
If you sell something, show it clearly.
- Dishes: a few signature plates, shot at the table, in daylight if you can.
- Products: shot alone on a clean background, and also in use or on a shelf.
- Services: the result. A finished cut, a finished treatment, a finished room.
- Keep the same style for all of them, so the page looks like one set.
5. The work in progress
These photos show how things are really done. They are often the most trusted images on the site.
- Hands at work: the chef, the stylist, the therapist, the coach.
- A process in three or four steps.
- Real tools and real movement. A little blur from motion is fine.
6. The details
Details add atmosphere and give you material for every other page and post.
- A cup, a plant, a menu, a handle, a texture, a sign.
- Shot close, with a shallow focus, in the same light as the rest.
- Six to ten detail shots are enough for months of use.
7. The entrance from the street
Customers need to find you. A photo of the front helps them recognise the door when they arrive.
- Shoot the facade from across the street, in daylight.
- Shoot the door and the sign at close range.
- Add a photo of the approach: the parking or the tram stop, if people ask how to get to you.
This is also the photo that Google Maps and your contact page need most.
One shoot, three places
The same shoot can serve three places. Plan it that way from the start.
- Website: landscape images for the hero, the pages and the banners. Plus portraits for the team page.
- Google profile: exterior, interior, team, products or dishes, and your logo. See how to set up your Google Business Profile.
- Instagram: vertical photos and short vertical clips for stories and reels, plus a few square or portrait frames for the feed.
Formats: landscape and vertical
Shoot both, on purpose.
- Landscape is the format for the website: hero banners, page headers and wide sections.
- Vertical is the format for stories and reels, and works well for mobile pages and for the team portraits.
A photo that is framed only for landscape cannot be turned into a good vertical one. So for the main shots, take the picture twice: once wide, once vertical. For video, record short vertical clips of 10 to 20 seconds, and a few landscape clips for the website.
Always shoot with a bit of spare room around the subject. It makes cropping for different places much easier.
A practical shot list
Print this or keep it on your phone on the day.
Exterior
- Facade, across the street, daylight
- Door and sign, close
- The approach or the neighbourhood
Interior
- Wide shot from the door
- Wide shot from the far end
- Each room or area, one wide and one detail
- The place with people in it, if you can
Team
- Portrait of each person, same background
- Group photo
- Each person at work
Products, dishes or services
- Hero shot of each main item
- Close detail of each one
- The result, and the moment of serving or finishing
Work in progress
- Hands, tools, movement
- A short process in steps
- One short vertical clip for each step
Details
- Six to ten small things that give the place its character
Formats
- Every main shot in landscape and in vertical
- Short vertical clips for stories and reels
How to plan the day
- Write the list first. Take this one and cross out what does not apply.
- Choose the best light. Usually mid-morning or late afternoon, when the place is at its best. If you serve dinner, plan the food shots at the right time.
- Prepare the place. Clean, tidy, flowers or plants in place, staff in their normal clothes.
- Brief the team. Tell them when they will be photographed, and what to wear.
- Mind the customers. Shoot before opening, or in a quiet hour. Do not photograph guests or patients without consent.
- Shoot in order. Exterior in daylight, interior, team, products, work in progress, details.
- Check the list at the end. It is cheaper to take one more shot on the day than to book another one.
A shoot with a professional team usually takes half a day for a small business, longer for several rooms or a lot of products. Our shoots start from €250 an hour, excluding VAT. If you want a first idea of what you need, run the website check to see how your site looks today.
After the shoot
- Choose the best images and drop the rest. Fewer, better pictures work harder.
- Name the files clearly so you can find them in a year.
- Write a short caption or description for each, useful for your site and for search.
- Replace old photos on the website, the Google profile and your social accounts in the same week.
- Keep a folder for the next round of posts. See how one half-day shoot becomes a month of content.
The short version
- Seven kinds of photos: hero, team, space, products or dishes, work in progress, details, entrance.
- Landscape for the website, vertical for stories and reels.
- One shoot for the website, the Google profile and Instagram.
- A written list, good light, a prepared place.
- Replace old photos everywhere in one week.
COEVO plans and shoots this with you as part of content, with our own team on set. To plan your shoot, contact us.