Worried your home office won’t produce your dream-like images to match your brand? Not to fear, that is more often the case than not and I have some alternate locations ideas!

If your home office is the perfect fit for you and your brand with plenty of light and different spaces to shoot, then let’s do it!

But I’d say 70% of my clients end up finding alternate locations for their branding sessions (even if we do a small part in their home or office). Since I am a natural light photographer, the most important thing that we want to look for in any location is natural light. While I do know my way around flash if there is no other solution, natural light is more ideal. We also want to make sure that your location has variety.

You home or office is the most ideal space, but if you are debating if that is a good fit for your brand, let’s review a few questions:

• Does your home fit your brand aesthetic and make you excited?
• Does your home have bright natural light (typically lots of large windows) all throughout or at least in all the spaces we plan to shoot?
• Does your home have a variety of places to shoot for different looks, scenes, vignettes?

If you answered no to any of these questions, consider these alternate locations and apply the same questions when searching for another space.

My Top Suggestions for Branding Locations if Your Home or Office Isn’t the Right Fit

Rent a Space.

That could be an office, a home or just a downtown loft. Here are a list of my favorite rentals and what to look for when booking.

AirBnb – Great for natural light, open spaces and variety all in one. You can use the kitchen, office, living room, bedroom outdoors etc.

• Pro-tip: Airbnb hosts may offer slightly cheaper rates if you are needing a place for just a few hours for your shoot, reach out to the host, explain what you are planning to use the space for and ask if you can work something out.

• If you end up needing to rent for the entire night, you’ll most likely need to rent the space the night before so we have enough time to prep for your session before our actual shoot time. A lot of times check-in isn’t until 4pm and we will start well before that.

Peer Space – you can find anything from studio rentals, to lofts, and full decked out homes for rent. Some of my favorite spaces are Peer Space and my go-to for renting locations. The good thing is you can search by the hour and book as little as 2 hours. I typically recommend renting a space for 4 hours to allow plenty of time to arrive, set-up and get comfortable prior to our start time. That is if we are shooting all in one location.

Borrow A Space

Ask a friend to use their space – if your home or office doesn’t fit, maybe a friends space would fit the bill. Be sure to be completely upfront with them of what you are doing, how long you need the space, what spaces you’ll need and that they are completely comfortable with it. We may end up rearranging some things to get the perfect shot and the last thing you’d want to do is irke your friend or make them internally squeal. Also, you’d want to make sure that no one else was around to disrupt the flow of your session, so you’d essentially be asking your friends to move out for a few hours. And of course for the photo session, it would have to be clutter free.

Co-Working Space

A co-working space can pull in all those fun aesthetics. If you have the perfect co-working space let’s see it! Most co-working spaces are super adorable and the perfect fit for your brand session.

Local Shops or Cafes

A local shop, coffee shop, bar or artsy cafe. Who doesn’t love supporting a local business that is also your favorite local spot? If you find yourself grabbing a bite, coffee or cocktail along side your laptop and working this could be a good fit.

Hotels

This one can be a little tricky for a few reasons. While it is beautiful and most hotels have the pool, bar etc to shoot around, we would need to make sure to ask permission. Shooting in the hotel room itself could be a little tight and awkward depending on the size and layout of the room. That being said, LA has some fabulous hotels that could work for sure!

Outdoor Locations

Outdoors matching your brand! Can’t go wrong with outdoor spaces. Talk about natural light! The only draw back to this is it isn’t the most ideal working space. But maybe your favorite outdoor spot is mixed with your favorite local shop where you can whip out your laptop and get some work done. If this is actually your perfect work day, this makes it the perfect locations for your branding session!

No matter what the vibe or aesthetic of your brand is, I guarantee you we can think of or find a location to match for your branding sessions. It might take a little brainstorm, but I can almost guarantee it will be SO easy. Inquire with me here!