Construction website photography: how to brief your next project shoot

Open your website and look at the services you want more enquiries for. Which pages show recent, relevant work? Which depend on a stock image or a general view that could belong to almost any contractor?

Write down the gaps before choosing a project to photograph. A joinery business may have plenty of finished kitchen photographs but little that shows its workshop or installation work. An architectural practice may need to explain the relationship between an extension and the existing house. A groundworks contractor may need photographs from an earlier stage, before its contribution is covered over.

These are planning examples. The right choice depends on your services and the projects you have permission to show. Our guide to planning a construction website can help you decide which pages need the material first.

Give the photographer a short account of your role. Include what your team designed, manufactured, installed or managed, alongside the work carried out by others.

This helps them look for the details that matter to your business. It also gives the person writing the project page a reliable starting point. A photograph of a finished interior might show the work of an architect, contractor, joiner, lighting designer and several suppliers. Your caption should make your own contribution clear.

If you are using photographs supplied by a client or another project partner, check the permitted uses and required credits before planning them into a new website. Keep that information with the files so the next person preparing a social post can find it.

You do not need the same shot list for every project. Start with these five possible jobs and choose the ones that suit the brief:

1. Establish the setting. A wider view helps the reader understand the building, room or site before looking at details.
2. Show the completed work. Choose an angle that makes the relevant service or package easy to recognise.
3. Explain a detail. A closer view can show a junction, finish, fitting or material that is difficult to appreciate in the wider photograph.
4. Make the process understandable. Where access and permissions allow, photograph a useful stage of the work and gather the explanation that belongs beside it.
5. Introduce the people. Consider a natural working portrait if the team and client are comfortable with it and it supports the story.

For each selected view, add one sentence to the brief: “This image will help the reader understand…” If you cannot finish that sentence, reconsider whether the shot is needed.

Prepare a short project note at the same time. Record the original requirement, your scope, one practical challenge and what was delivered. Our construction project case-study guide explains how to turn those notes and photographs into a complete story.

Show the photographer where you expect to use the work. A wide website banner, a project gallery, a portrait social post and a printed proposal may need different framing or crops.

Ask whether the important detail will still be visible on a phone. If a heading will sit over an image, discuss space for the text before the shoot. Keep a version without text so you can reuse the photograph in other layouts.

Agree the final file formats, editing, delivery method and usage with the photographer. Keep suitable originals alongside the smaller website versions. Drone work, specialist lighting, video and additional locations should be discussed as part of the production scope, rather than assumed to be included.

Name one person who can confirm access and answer project questions. Agree the timing, areas that may be photographed, any client restrictions and the site's requirements with the responsible team before the visit.

Let the photographer know about incomplete work, temporary obstructions or details that should remain private. If the finished appearance is central to the brief, check that the relevant areas will actually be ready. A short conversation before the visit can prevent a shoot being built around a room or elevation that is still unavailable.

Confirm access, induction and safety arrangements with the responsible site contact and photographer before the visit. Include any restrictions in the brief so they can plan the shoot accordingly.

A gallery becomes easier to understand when the page explains what the reader is seeing. Add a concise project introduction and captions where a detail needs context. Use the approved project facts and retain the agreed credits.

For website delivery, Google recommends descriptive filenames, useful alternative text and relevant surrounding content. Images also need to be accessible to its crawler. Those are publishing considerations for your website team, alongside sensible image sizes and mobile presentation. They do not guarantee that a photograph or page will rank. Google's image guidance explains the requirements in more detail.

Avoid using an image description to make claims the photograph cannot support. “Timber staircase installed in the entrance hall” describes a visible subject. Claims about certification, performance or the suitability of a construction system need their own evidence and approval.

Use these prompts to prepare a brief the photographer can quote against:

• Audience and purpose: who needs to see the work, and which service or project pages need images?
• Project and role: what did your business do, and which contributions belong to others?
• Shot list: which views, details, stages or people will help explain that work?
• Access and timing: who is the site contact, when will the work be ready, and what restrictions apply?
• Uses and permissions: where will the images appear, who can approve their use, and which credits are required?
• Delivery and cost: which edited files, crops and formats are needed, by when, and what budget should the proposal work within?

After the shoot, keep the approved selection and project notes together. Give someone responsibility for getting them onto the relevant pages. Check that the new pages explain your work clearly. As enquiries arrive, note whether they concern the services you wanted the images to support.

Crafters can help plan the image brief and connect the finished material to your website and content. Explore our photography and video service, or tell us which projects you want to show.