How to Stage Your Venue for a Successful Photo Shoot

More and more event venues are opting for professional photo shoots to ramp up marketing efforts and increase bookings. Professional photography of a venue can pay dividends, especially in the hospitality industry where people and event planners require visuals to understand the look and feel of the venue.

Whether you’re preparing for a full-blown marketing photo shoot or even if you’re looking to increase exposure, here are the best photography tips to stage a photo shoot for success.

Start With Some Inspiration

Before beginning any preparation for your venue’s photo shoot, think about what exactly you’re trying to achieve. Are you a wedding venue looking to increase bookings? Are you a conference hall for organization and big trade shows? How do people envision your brand?

Every venue is different and needs a different vision to appeal to customers. You need an idea that will get potential customers as excited about the space as you are. This step should be well thought out to make sure the space appeals to a variety of people and events.

Add a bit of flair to your photo shoots to stand out. Look at your competition and examine the kinds of photo marketing they’ve invested in. What works for them and what doesn’t? These kinds of questions are worth considering before diving into the staging prep of your venue.

Clean and Prep Ahead of Time

We all know the devil is in the details, and professional photographs will catch the most minuscule mistakes. To ensure your photographs are professional, crisp and reflective of your brand, keep the space neat, free of clutter and cords, and don’t forget to dust.

Make sure you’ve vacuumed rugs, mopped and shined floors, and surfaces are clean. Clean and wipe down blinds and give a good window treatment to make sure your venue is in tip-top shape.

To get the best lighting effect for your photos, replace any burnt out lights, turn on overhead lighting or lamps, use bulbs of the same temperature and open the blinds to let natural make a stunning statement in your photos.

Lastly, if you have any digital monitors visible, turn them off and remove any visible clutter such as cables, trash cans and personal items.

Consider Staging for an Event

Your event space appeals to people more if they can see how it could possibly look during their own event. While a lengthy process, some venues opt to show an empty room to show size and what the space looks like, and then show a photo with a complete event setup (tables, linens, tableware, centerpieces).

This is much easier if you have multiple ballrooms to show off, and can set up one to display a mock event.

Remember to keep tables and chair backs perfectly aligned. If you have a large table or a bar top, angle chairs to appear slightly open for a more inviting effect. Any glasses and tableware should also be precisely aligned to produce a symmetrical and clean photo.

Make Sure Your Photos Are Honest

No one wants to be deceived about a space they viewed online. So make sure the photographs show exactly what the space offers. Make sure your photos show exactly how big the room is and what design elements can be seen from different angles.

The more options you shoot, the better. Consider multiple staging options. One staging setup may appeal to one customer but not to another.

Staging the space for multiple events such as weddings, baptisms or corporate events gives you the upper hand when it comes to booking customers.

Communicate with Your Photographer

It’s easy to get excited about your photo shoot and forget to tell your photographer about all of the spaces and angles you need. Make sure you create a solid photo shoot plan and clearly communicate your ideas to the photographer you’ve hired.

This eliminates stress and the issue of any missing angles or room you’ve intended to be shot.

Lastly, schedule the shoot at a time when the natural light complements the space the most and consider weather if you’re shooting outdoor photos.

During the shoot, make sure you start with the sun and as the day goes by, move with the sun to get the best light quality.

Staging a photo shoot for success

While staging your event venue for a photo shoot may seem like a long, drawn out process, remember that photos are forever. It’s essential to prepare well before the day of your photo shoot, keep the area tidy and communicate with your photographer to eliminate any bumps in the road and produce high-quality photographs.