The average attention span of an adult is eight seconds. We started to dig a little deeper into this finding but got distracted. Apparently, it also takes an average eight seconds for the croissant you had with your tea this morning to get from your mouth down to your stomach. Anyway …

People are, by nature, fidgety. We take a look and keep moving. We start to research one thing and end up in a completely unexpected croissant-shaped direction, particularly in our digital lives. Swipe. Click. Surf. Browse. It’s a fast-moving online world. Which means, as marketers, we want to capture fickle eyeballs within those eight seconds. It’s certainly true that a picture – particularly an authentic one – is worth a thousand words. And a video is arguably worth more.

Augmenting your photo and video library is an important investment of time and marketing dollars that can reap benefits for several years. New assets allow you to update your website and sales collateral, giving you something to celebrate and share with existing and new prospects. But when is the right time to consider investing in a photo shoot?

When Is a Community Photo Shoot Necessary?

Here are some questions you and your team (sales, marketing, operations, leadership, even residents!) might ask to determine if now is the right time to budget for a photo and video shoot.

1. Is there something new to capture? If your community has undergone an expansion or renovated its spaces, it might be time for a photo refresh. New equipment in your fitness facility, new tech in your memory care spaces or new landscaping across your campus are all compelling reasons to update photography and video.
   
   Sometimes, a new group of residents actively involved in creating unique activities and programs can warrant new photos. Whether it be on your website (your virtual front door), social posts or collateral pieces, you want to make an accurate first impression.

2. Are you using a lot of stock images? When creating marketing materials, are you or your agency having to rely on outsourced photos to represent your community? While stock images can be a cost-effective and speedy solution, you do run the risk of looking like other communities or brands. Because let’s face it, there are only so many “happy smiling active seniors on a walk.” If you start to notice you are always looking for stock images of seniors doing specific activities, such as exercising, consider budgeting for a photo shoot to capture residents in your own fitness center.
   
   Representing diversity in your resident population is an important factor in choosing stock photos, as well. It’s important that your marketing materials reflect the racial and cultural makeup of your entire primary market area. If your resident population does not yet mirror that racial makeup, hiring one or two models to participate in your lifestyle photo shoot – along with featuring residents – can help achieve that.

3. When was the last time you captured content? Even if your community has not undergone major changes, think about the visual assets in your photo library. Are there photos you can no longer use because a featured resident has passed? Are your photos no longer reflective of the residents you hope to attract? Do you have photos taken during a certain time of year? For communities in climates that have clear seasons, it can be limiting to only use photos from your dining room during the winter when residents are bundled up in sweaters.

You’ve Budgeted for a Shoot; Now What?

So you’re ready to commit to a community photo shoot, or a video shoot or both. How do you make sure you’re getting the most out of the money and time invested in the effort? When it comes to planning a photo shoot for your senior living community, every dollar and hour invested should work hard to tell your story. Plug incoming: Working with a marketing agency with lots of experience organizing and managing photo shoots, like Angell Marketing, can be key to ensuring you’re getting the most out of your investment.

Thoughtful pre-production and scrupulous planning is integral to maximizing both budget and impact – and this is where Angell’s team excels. We work with you to help define clear goals for the shoot and identify exactly where the images will be used, whether that’s your website, brochures, social media or marketing automation tactics. Then we come up with a recommended shot list: those lifestyle and architectural photos you want to have in your library.

Your team will recruit residents and team members, and we’ll work with you to identify locations throughout your campus that authentically represent community life. We create a detailed schedule designed to efficiently capture multiple settings and lifestyle moments in the time established for each shot. A well-planned shoot doesn’t just produce beautiful photos — it delivers a versatile library of images that reflect your brand, connect emotionally with prospects and continue to deliver value across campaigns for months, or even years, to come.

The Behind-the-Scenes Value

While the primary deliverables — the videos and photos you plan to capture — of course drive the budget, there are intangible benefits to a well-executed photo shoot, too. Here are some unexpected advantages you can factor into the cost of a photo and video shoot with Angell Marketing.

1. Teams with history and context. Hiring an agency that has successfully worked with skilled partners can mean savings of both money and time. This manifests well before we step on campus with our photography team.
   
   Once on campus, time is of utmost importance. We create a schedule that maximizes every minute of the shoot — whether that’s a single day or a full week. We also want to honor the time of residents and staff who have agreed to be part of the shoot. We work with a small, consistent crew, which makes on-set communication efficient between the photographer, videographer and creative team. There is a shorthand and a familiarity with how to get the most authentic, natural reactions from our subjects while capturing your community spaces beautifully.

When a community works with Angell Marketing to plan and execute a photo shoot, you are working with a team that understands the assignment and is committed to getting the absolute most out of the day. We climb ladders, wrangle pets J, move furniture, drive golf carts from one end of the campus to the other, and make sure residents feel comfortable and are having fun with the process.

2. Working in tandem and efficiently. When a shoot requires capturing both video and still photography, our team often works on both simultaneously. Rather than isolated shots and setups, we strategically schedule our days to maximize the impact.
   
   In a recent photo and video shoot for a community in Austin, Texas, we were capturing a large group enjoying a musical performance in their new courtyard space. While the musician entertained the residents, the photographer and videographer capitalized on the energy of the moment and music, dancing around each other to capture the moment.
   

3. Capturing candids and behind-the-scenes images. In addition to the high-resolution video and print-ready photography captured by our photography partners, Angell Marketing’s content team is on-site to capture additional photo and video. Content Strategy Manager Nathalie Warner brings her camera to grab alternative angles of the main setups and behind-the-scenes content. Throughout the shoot, she also gets candids and detail shots around the community that can be utilized for email and social media. While we have our shot list planned out, this additional content-gathering effort allows for flexibility and freedom, capturing moments that are spontaneous.
   
   For example, our team was at a community in Ambler, Pennsylvania, and one of the residents featured in a scheduled shot mentioned she was meeting with her rosary group later that afternoon. She invited us to attend. While our principal photographer adhered to the schedule, Nathalie was able to meet the group – experiencing firsthand how meaningful the group is to residents and capturing a few touching photographs featuring only hands and rosary beads. Beyond getting photos of community life that we had not planned on, spending additional time with residents going about the rhythm of their days is an added benefit to understanding the seniors who call this community home.

4. Impromptu and casual conversations. It’s not always about the photos, but the moments in between. Angell’s client service, content and creative team members who are part of the shoot are able to connect organically with the client – sharing updates and exchanging ideas in a very different setting than a typical traffic call or Zoom meeting.
   
   

5. Live and work in the space. There is something special about being in the physical space of a community. (You know this. It’s why we encourage leads to come in for a tour.) As we arrive, we get a feel for who is up early, walking their dog. As we walk the hallways from one setup to another, we see the community artwork and décor that residents see regularly, and we follow the paths they take throughout their days. As we stop for lunch, we experience how the dining staff seats us and what the food tastes like. Throughout the day, we overhear residents meeting with friends and heading off to yoga class. We see how the day ebbs and flows and how residents start to filter down for happy hour.
   
   

All of these little moments help paint a picture of life at the community. Our creative and content team brings these experiences back, factoring them into the development of content strategy recommendations, helping to present the community in its best, most authentic light.

If your team is ready to discuss the obvious and less obvious benefits of a photo or video shoot at your community, get in touch with our team. We want your prospects to spend more than eight seconds perusing your content … and maybe entice them to enjoy a croissant while doing so.

Featured Image: Jeremy Hess