Should you shoot Video and Photography at the same time?

A practical guide for Manufacturing, Engineering and Construction busineses

It's a perfectly reasonable question.

'If you're already coming to film, can you take some photographs while you're here?'

Or, equally ...

'We're booking an industrial photoshoot - could you capture some video at the same time.'

The answer is often yes but we don't always recommend it.

Because although video and photography might look like similar disciplines from the outside, producing both to a high standard isn't simply a case of flicking a switch on the camera from one mode to another.

Different projects need different cameras, different lighting, different set-ups and, importantly, a slightly different mindset.

So, the real answer is ...

Yes, video and photography can often be captured together, but whether they should be depends on what you're trying to achieve.

When does combining video and photography make sense?

There are plenty of projects where combining the two works well.

Perhaps we're photographing your factory, team and processes and you'd also like some short video footage for the header of your new website.

Maybe we're documenting a construction project and it makes sense to capture both moving footage and still images while we're on site.

Or perhaps there's a process, installation or event that only happens occasionally, so there's an obvious advantage in capturing as much useful material as possible while it's happening.

In those situations, planning photography and video together can be extremely efficient.

You're arranging access once.

Your team only needs to prepare once.

Machinery or processes may only need to be scheduled once.

And rather than having two completely separate visits, you can come away with a much broader library of visual content.

But there's an important proviso.

We still need enough time to do both properly.

Photography and video aren't the same thing

Modern professional cameras can usually shoot both excellent stills and excellent video.

That doesn't mean the process of creating them is identical.

For photography we might spend considerable time perfecting one composition, controlling reflections, adjusting lighting and finding exactly the right angles.

With video, we're thinking about movement ...

Where does the shot begin and end?
Does the camera move or the subject?
How will this shot edit into the next one?
Do we need wide shots, close-up and detail shots of the same process?
What is the person or machine going to do during the shot?
We're also thinking about sound, sequences and the overall story we're trying tell

So although there is crossover, the way we approach a still photograph isn't necessarily the way we'd approach the same subject for film.

Sometimes we're even using a different camera and lighting set-up.

There's also something less tangible - mindset.

When we're concentrating on photography, we're looking for individual moments and compositions.

When we're filming, we're thinking in sequences and about how individual shots will eventually work together in the edit.

Switching constantly between the two isn't always the most efficient way to get the best result.

Sometimes the photography itself is a full day's work

The subject you're photographing makes an enormous difference.

We've photographed everything from people at work and factory environments to large pieces of industrial machinery.

Some are relatively straightforward.

Others most definitely aren't.

For example, we've photographed many large food packing machines which are highly reflective and make lighting them particularly challenging

Light one section and you might end up creating an unwanted reflection somewhere else.

Move a light and another polished surface suddenly catches it.

Sometimes, getting it just right can take hours.

In some cases, the best part of a day could be spent setting up and photographing a single machine.

Trying to squeeze a substantial video production into the same day simply because 'you're already there with a camera,' wouldn't necessarily save anybody anything.

It could mean compromising both.

The same applies to a substantial corporate video

At the other end of the scale, imagine we're filming a full manufacturing or engineering corporate video.

We may need interviews, factory footage, machinery and processes, people at work, detail shots, drone footage, multiple camera positions and perhaps additional sequences specifically planned for the story.

That's already a very full filming schedule.

Could we grab some photographs while we're there?

Possibly.

But if you also need a comprehensive set of professionally lit images for a new website, brochures, exhibitions and sales material, we'd probably recommend allocating dedicated photography time.

The question isn't whether it's technically possible to do both.

It's whether doing both together will give you the quality and range of content you actually need.

When combining the two works particularly well

There are projects where the balance is much easier.

A good example is a website photography shoot where the client also wants some moving footage for a website header.

The photography remains the main job.

But because we've planned it beforehand, we can bring the appropriate video equipment and deliberately capture a selection of movement while we're working through the site...

A machine operating
People working
Materials moving through a process
A wide view of the factory
Close-up details
Exterior or interior drone footage

We're not trying to produce a complete corporate film with interviews, a narrative and a substantial edit.

We're creating good-quality, moving imagery to complement the photography.

That's a very different proposition - and often very sensible use of the same production day.

Planning both together can still create efficiencies

Even when we recommend dedicated time for each discipline, it can still make sense to plan the photography and video as one overall production.

We can look at everything you need and decide ...

What should we photograph?
What needs filming?
Which processes need both?
Which people need to be involved?
When will particular machinery be operating?
Are there areas that need preparing beforehand?
What lighting and equipment will we need?
Can some set-ups be shared?
Could we photography one area while another is being prepared for filming?

The planning can make the overall production much more efficient without forcing everything into the same few hours.

There's a key difference between planning video and photography together and trying to shoot everything simultaneously.

Think about what the content needs to do

Before deciding whether to combine the two, w'ed always come back to the purpose of the content.

If you're commissioning a new website, for example, you might need ...

Strong hero photography
People at work image
Machinery and process photography
Team portraits
Short website-header footage
Longer video for key service pages
Drone photography and video
Content for LinkedIn and Google Business
Images for case studies
Material for exhibitions, presentations and tenders

Once we understand the complete list, we can work out the most sensible way to capture it.

Sometimes that's one combined day.

Sometimes we'll plan the photography and video as one overall project, but shoot them on separate days.

Sometimes it's a larger video production with a handful of stills captured along the way.

And sometimes the two really are better treated as separate projects.

There isn't a standard answer because there isn't a standard industrial shoot.

Don't let photography become an afterthought

One thing we'd avoid is spending an intensive day concentrating on a corporate film and then remembering at 4.30pm

'We need twenty photographs as well.'

Those photographs still represent your business.

If they're going on your website, into a tender or onto an exhibition stand, they need the same care as the video.

Likewise, if we're concentrating primarily on a detailed industrial photoshoot, we don't want the video to consist of a few hurried clips captured between photographs simply so we can say we did both.

If it's worth doing, it's worth planning properly.

One production can still create a lot of content

Where video and photography are planned intelligently, however, the amount of useful material that can come from a production can be substantial.

A single project might eventually provide ...

Professional photography for your website
A main corporate or process video
Shorter video clips
Website-header footage
LinkedIn content
Google Business Profile content
YouTube videos
Case Study imagery
Recruitment material
Sales Presentations
Exhibition graphics
Tender imagery

That doesn't mean trying to create all those things on the same day.

It means capturing the right raw material so that it can be used intelligently afterwards.

This is something we're increasingly encouraging our clients to think about.

Rather than commissioning isolated pieces of marketing, think about the wider bank of content your business actually needs.

So should you shoot video and photography at the same time?

Sometimes absolutely!

If the requirements are relatively straightforward and we've planned for both, combining video and photography can save time, reduce disruption and give you a much more useful bank of content from one visit.

But for a substantial corporate video or a technically demanding industrial photoshoot, trying to squeeze both into the same schedule can be false economy.

Our preference is to look at the project first and then decide ...

What are we shooting?
How technically demanding is it?
What will the finished content be used for?
How much photography do you need?
How much video do you need?
And can we genuinely do both well in the time available?

If the answer to that last question is yes, we'll happily combine them.

If we think that the quality will suffer, we'll tell you.

Because, ultimately, efficiency isn't about getting everything done in the shortest time possible.

It's about getting the content you need in the most sensible way.

Planning and industrial photography and video project?

If you're considering new photography, video or both, for your Manufacturing, Engineering or Construction business, talk to us about what you're trying to achieve.. Click here to get in touch.

At Clayton Creative, we provide both professional photography and video production, so we can look at your project as a whole and advise on the most practical way to approach it.

Sometimes that means combining the two.

Sometimes it means keeping them separate.

Either way, we'll plan the production around you and what will give you the best result - not simply what allows us to tick the most boxes in one day.