Menu
The term “Lifestyle” is often ambiguous. If you ask a commercial photographer, “lifestyle” is a form of photography that artistically captures real-life scenarios. Put more simply, lifestyle productions fabricate real-life scenarios to persuade viewers.
When planning a lifestyle photoshoot, it is important for photographers to understand your brand, objective, and vision. The best lifestyle photographers know the right questions to ask their clients, so they understand the project. This list shares several questions that our production studio asks clients during a creative consultation.
If you’re hiring a Philadelphia lifestyle photographer for a lifestyle project, then ask yourself these questions before meeting them:
Lifestyle photography should embody the core values of your brand. For instance, if your law firm believes in treating clients as a priority, then show this through lifestyle photo and video. Companies with a clear mission find it easier to convey their ideas with lifestyle photographers.
Incorporating your belief system into a lifestyle production will allow viewers to draw connections. Lifestyle photography is about connecting with people.
Make the most of a lifestyle photography and cinematography production. This is achievable by knowing your company’s core values and having firm goals for the future.
Consider understanding how your company improves lives. Whether your business is a luxury or a necessity, you should search for the small details that make a difference.
In the same vein as understanding your company’s belief system, it is important to know how you are different from competitors. Discovering this will help during the planning stages of lifestyle photography production.
Lifestyle photos should express the culture and emotion of your brand. They’re a visual representation of everything that separates you from others. These differentiators lead the way when planning to capture portraits that exceed the competition.
Finding one word to define you is a challenge. The process may take several conversations to discover it. This word will help you find your focus when planning a lifestyle photography and video production. It will ensure every photo and video clip fits the style of your brand.
When you know that one word, it leads the way on every creative visual project. The lifestyle photographers and cinematographers have it in the back of their mind when capturing content. Finding your one word can open a world of possibilities for lifestyle projects.
It is easier to design lifestyle photography mood boards for clients when a single word ties everything together.
Lifestyle photography and cinematography sends a message that makes a lasting impression. Viewers should remember your brand through bold lifestyle photos. You may want to use lifestyle portraits to convey a mood or share useful information. Whichever direction you choose, make sure the underlying message is there.
The message is a compass when developing concepts for lifestyle photography and video. It dictates the creative possibilities and determines any approach to avoid. Developing a concise message gives lifestyle photographers a set of instructions when creating new ideas.
Tell our photo studio your message, and we will turn it into an engaging visual work of art.
Along with your mission, core values, and beliefs, you must discover your target audience’s point-of-view. Determine the information or experiences that you want viewers to gain. Dig deep for common questions and use lifestyle photos and videos to answer them.
We recommend knowing your target client, understanding their needs, and learning how to solve their problems. Lifestyle photography and cinematography is an engaging way to spread information about your brand, while captivating the eye.
Candid lifestyle portraits that speak volumes about your brand will influence viewers to become advocates. Think about the conversations that you want these advocates to say when discussing your brand.
Show your audience how they’ll love your brand for improving their lives! Show them a slice of your culture or the difference that you’ll make.
Luxury lifestyle photography and video can elevate your brand. You’ll raise the bar with tasteful photos that convey professionalism and elegance. Most importantly, try to tell a story through lifestyle portraits. Share a documentary-style story of your office culture, or the story of a client’s journey with your services.
Making the best visual impression through lifestyle portraits will establish a high value. Show viewers that you provide a luxury experience with lifestyle photos that depict this. If a client is spending a high sum, they often expect high-quality photos and videos, too.
It is true. The first impression is the last impression. This statement is everywhere, but as our attention spans decrease, the first impression is becoming more important.
Lifestyle photographers and cinematographers know that the first seconds are crucial to grabbing immediate attention. Think of a “hero” shot that is easy to process, captivating, and memorable. A lifestyle portrait that says a lot in a little can make a powerful lasting impression.
Make bold lifestyle photos and videos of your first impression. Finding a creative way to visually communicate your brand will encourage viewers to learn more.
Scenario building adds life to the photos—hence, making it a lifestyle photo. Consider typical activities that match your target audience. Since lifestyle photography is about creating empathetic connections, the scenarios that we capture must feel authentic and relatable.
The best lifestyle photography scenarios portray people interacting with your product or service in a creative way. The key is to attach your brand to a specific lifestyle that the target audience can connect with. Determine the type of impact that you want your lifestyle photos to have on a viewer.
Plan for scenarios that can tell a consistent story. Use lifestyle photos and videos to take viewers on a tour of your brand.
Location is a key ingredient of epic lifestyle photography. Combine this with a perfect angle, lighting, and décor to take your lifestyle portrait to the next level.
First, you should think practically. Figure out where clients would expect to see your brand: in an urban skyscraper, on a desert road, or maybe in a romantic meadow. Possibly all three.
If so, consider the time that lifestyle photographers and cinematographers must dedicate to getting the perfect shot. Think about the logistics of gear transportation, equipment set-up, make-up areas, and wardrobe storage. Capturing the best lifestyle photo make take you farther than expected.
As lifestyle photographers and cinematographers, we recommend choosing one location with a ½ mile radius. If you want to save resources, capture lifestyle portraits and videos in a large production studio. However, only use the studio when necessary. Planning a lifestyle shoot at a breathtaking location is the best approach.
This question should only apply to companies that want to incorporate themselves into the lifestyle photoshoot. If you or other business partners are the face of your brand, then ask yourself this question.
Group lifestyle portraits are often useless in a few years. Sometimes team members leave the company. On other occasions, new team members join. When these common issues happen, your company is due for another group portrait.
Avoid this obstacle by narrowing down the core team members. Capture natural lifestyle portraits with team members who are the foundation of your brand. Make an honest evaluation of this because—in the long run—these lifestyle photographs will last longer.
Styling is so important for lifestyle photography and cinematography. Lifestyle even has the word “style” in it! These photoshoots are about capturing a style that influences your target audience’s life.
Planning the appropriate clothes for a lifestyle production can make or break the shoot:
Taking proper care of the clothes is a necessity. Lifestyle photography is all about the small details. Steam the clothes before use, fix loose buttons, and always have a back-up because accidents happen on lifestyle productions.
Yes. Hair and make-up artists are the backbone of lifestyle photography.
Capturing the best lifestyle portraits requires a professional hair and make-up artist that can create the right look. Whether a corporate meeting or a park stroll, the lifestyle photography will look its best with professionals on set.
When models are responsible for their own hair and make-up, it can get worrying. Sometimes a salon runs late, and as a result, the model is late on set. Hair can get messy during travel, too. The presence of hair and make-up artists can save a photoshoot from its many disasters.
Lifestyle mood boards are a map for the production. Collaborating on these with the lifestyle production studio will dictate the aesthetic. A mood board keeps the context of the lifestyle photos relevant to the goals. It is the first step to creating a vision and ensuring that every shot is on-brand.
A mood board helps to establish a look and feel, plan the perfect models, and determine the appropriate styling. It is the best way to visualize the lifestyle production and keeps everyone on the same page.
Start designing a mood board as early as possible. Though the direction may change, it is beneficial to communicate ideas by any means necessary.
Use Pinterest to start a lifestyle mood board. Follow our studio on Pinterest for creative lifestyle photography inspiration.
Knowing where your audience will engage with these lifestyle portraits and videos can dictate the best approach. For instance, if your company website needs a new banner at the top page, then lifestyle photographers need to shoot photos to fit this format.
Billboard lifestyle photography requires a different approach than lifestyle photography for social media ads. The format changes how photographers think about composition and posing because the photo needs to fit.
A horizontal lifestyle photo is best for full page ad spreads, while a vertical will fit best on one page. Social media platforms have various photo and video format requirements. Square photos fit Instagram, while 4:3 videos work well on TikTok. Placing a video or photo in the wrong format decreases engagement rates.
The placement of this lifestyle content will influence the shot list, so it can properly fit and visually function.
The number of photos you need depends on the project. Our studio begins with capturing a master shot of the setting and models, then focuses deeper on emotion and details. We switch multiple lens to create different perspectives.
Consider the one lifestyle photo that you want to represent your brand. Work around this main idea to capture bold lifestyle photography that is relevant to the vision. It takes a lot of photos to capture the best shot.
Think about the blank spaces in your brand that you want to fill with photos. It may take 1 or 100 photographs to achieve your goal. Organizing a realistic shot list with a lifestyle photographer can help to meet your expectations.
Just as photography, the number of videos will depend on the project. Lifestyle productions that require more scenarios will produce more content. In the same vein, quality is better than quantity. One captivating lifestyle video can outperform several great videos.
It is important to know where you intend to use the video. Lifestyle videos can become television commercials, short social media ads, or appear on the website to increase engagement.
Lifestyle videos create another dimension to the photos. It is another way for viewers to appreciate the campaign, relate to your idea, and share with others. Lifestyle cinematographers will suggest an ideal video count or video length that best fits the production.
Lifestyle productions begin at the storyboarding phase. Getting a storyboard perfect can take several hours or days. Lifestyle photographers and cinematographers need to make phone calls to assemble a qualified team within budget and coordinate open days.
A lifestyle production is often a full day for photographers and cinematographers. This includes setting up each scenario, hair and make-up, steaming the clothes, changing clothes, capturing content, and breaking down equipment. Depending on the shot list, some lifestyle productions can span 2-3 days or even a full week.
The best day to capture a lifestyle production depends on the vision, but we’ll mention some key details to keep in mind.
Summer in Philadelphia provides us with the longest days and the best weather. Longer days means we have more time with great light and good weather means we can shoot outside. The summer lends itself to more versatile wardrobe combinations.
If you’re creating lifestyle photos and videos with your company team, then make sure to clear your schedule. It is stressful to balance work with a photoshoot. Lifestyle photographers need their subjects’ to focus on capturing photos, rather than walking away from the set to handle business.
Though you have a great idea for a lifestyle production, our studio needs the time to plan, shoot, and edit the content. Presenting a reasonable deadline keeps the stress at bay. Lifestyle shoots should always plan for back-up days in the event of poor weather or an accident.
Deadlines are necessary to make sure that a lifestyle photoshoot is completed. If you present an arbitrary deadline, then it could hinder the entire process. Deadlines help lifestyle photographers and cinematographers organize their time in the planning, shooting, and post-production phases.
Approaching a photographer with a short deadline can create havoc, so plan far ahead to ensure their availability.
Lifestyle photography and cinematography is a visual form of brand expression. Instead of telling viewers your capabilities, lifestyle photo and video shows it to them in an artistic way. The best lifestyle productions embody your message and separate you from competitors.
This generation is acclimated to digesting visual content. Creating bold lifestyle portraits and videos that engages viewers is a long-term investment for your brand.
