When you’re investing in a full day of photo and video production, you want to make every minute count. Whether you’re creating content for your website, social media platforms, or a brand refresh, thoughtful preparation is what turns a good shoot into a great one.
At Indigo Events, we recently wrapped our own full-day content creation shoot at Preto Loft by Mint Room in Toronto—and we wanted to share what we learned along the way. Here are our best practices for getting the most out of your content day, based on what worked best for us.
1. Choose the right location for your content shoot
The space you choose can make or break your shoot.
Before deciding on whether to create content in your own office or a studio, ask: Does this space have good natural light? Is there enough room for the equipment we need to create our content? Does the aesthetic fit the brand message we want to convey? Shooting in your own office can save money and reflect authenticity—but it can mean compromises in layout and light quality.
For our recent shoot, we chose Preto Loft by Mint Room because it offers plenty of natural light, includes a range of modern furniture and accessories (like a cyclorama!) and has enough space for both photography and video production to take place simultaneously at the same location.
2. Communicate clearly with everyone involved
Clear communication is everything. People feel more relaxed (and look it) when they know what to expect.
Here’s what to send in advance:
- A shoot overview and calendar invite: The earlier you can block time in people’s calendars, the better! Share what’s happening, when, and who’s involved.
- Wardrobe guidance: A simple project moodboard with ideal colour palettes and example outfit ideas helps unify the look.
- A flexible schedule: Provide plenty of time for participants to opt in or out of time slots that fit their workload. Communicate important details like whether participants can work virtually from the space when not being videoed or photographed or whether they should consider their “studio time” a work blackout period.
- Interview prep: If filming interviews, share sample questions and accompanying key messages so your subjects can prepare confidently. This helps ensure their soundbites will be on-message, while still sounding natural and personalized.
3. Over-plan (then stay flexible)
When it comes to a content creation day, overplanning is the secret to staying calm when things change.
- Decide who’s leading each part of the shoot. For example, maybe one person is responsible for managing “team collaboration” photography in the morning, and someone else takes on social media reel creation in the afternoon. We found this helpful in sharing workload both during the planning and execution phases.
- Create a detailed shot list for the entire day and hold a planning meeting with everyone involved to finalize logistics.
- Print copies of your interview schedule and content shot list so they’re easy to reference on the day. We gave copies to our videography and photography leads and posted them on the breakout room walls to help keep participants on schedule.
- Prioritize your content because even the most well-planned shoots can run longer than expected on the day. Decide what’s essential and what can be cut if time is tight ensuring you protect your key deliverables. When it came to our shoot, we wanted BTS of both our photography and videography teams in action, ideally in different work scenarios. When the first part of our day ran longer than expected, we pivoted – our photographers and videographers took turns shooting the same scene so that we could tick both needs off the to-do list without having to create two separate set-ups.
**Bonus tip for staying on schedule: Providing lunch and refreshments throughout the day keeps energy high. It also helps your schedule stays on track, as people are less likely to disappear from location (right when you need them!) to grab food and drinks.
4. Create once, repurpose everywhere
One of the biggest missed opportunities we see is companies creating incredible content—and only using it once.
When planning your corporate content shoot, think about every platform and use case. We used our single day of content in a multitude of ways, such as:
- On our website (video hero banners and bio photos on our Meet the Team page)
- Within internal communication presentation decks
- Social media reels and stories
- Pitch decks
During the shoot, we also captured multiple layers of content from the same moments. For example,
- Photos of our internal team members collaborating
- B-roll video footage of the team collaboration photoshoot (ensuring we could use the content in both static and dynamic mediums)
- Photography of our videographer capturing footage (allowing us to use the same moment to showcase company culture, but also an aspect of our services)
This approach provides versatile assets for every format, helps your brand stay visually consistent across platforms and extends the length of your resulting content calendar.
5. Capture the in-between moments
When it comes to getting more from your shoots, don’t forget some of the best content isn’t planned.
Keep the cameras rolling (or photographers snapping) between takes. Those moments of laughter, teamwork, and natural conversation often make for perfect behind-the-scenes clips, Instagram Stories, or even a lighthearted blooper reel to balance your more polished brand content. These authentic glimpses humanize your brand and show off your company culture in a genuine way.
A successful content creation day is all about preparation, communication, and creativity. Choose a space that supports your vision, plan every detail (and then some), and think beyond the obvious uses for your visuals.
When done right, one day of photo and video production can fuel your brand storytelling for months.
Need a content partner for your next content day?
Indigo Events helps teams bring their brand stories to life through thoughtful, high-quality corporate photography and videography. Learn more about our content creation services here.
