A Corporate Image Library for Humana: Behind a Multi-Day Commercial Photography Shoot
Most Decembers end quietly for me. Budgets are spent, everyone's counting down to the holidays, and the phone stops ringing until January. Last December went differently.
A local production company called and asked if I'd shoot a pair of corporate image libraries for Humana, the third-largest health insurance provider in the country. The first library was for Humana's small business division. A few planning calls later, the dates were locked.
The assignment: one image library, a dozen small businesses
A corporate image library like this one is a stockpile of usable, on-brand images built to last well past a single ad campaign. Humana's small business division needed photography that could represent the actual range of businesses it insures, not a single generic office full of people in blazers.
Scenes like:
Healthcare clinics and doctor's offices
Corporate offices and tech companies
Construction sites and contractors
Auto repair shops
Restaurants and coffee shops
The employees and owners running all of them
Each setting needed its own cast, its own wardrobe, and its own lighting approach. A construction site and a coffee shop don't read the same way on camera, and a library like this only works if every scene feels specific to the business it's representing.
Behind the scenes: a three-day shoot across Orlando
This was a three-day shoot in and around Orlando, with a fast turnaround required on image delivery. Multiple locations a day, new sets, new talent, new lighting setups, on a tight schedule. It made for long days, but a good crew and a clear shot list kept things moving.
That's the part people considering a shoot like this often underestimate: the photography is the visible part, but the production behind it (locations, scheduling, casting, wardrobe, crew) is what actually determines whether a multi-day, multi-location library gets delivered on time. A great crew is a must, and I’ve cultivated one of the best over my 20+ year career.
The deliverables: a flexible library built for years of use
The finished library covered 60+ final images spanning multiple settings, licensed for Humana's small business marketing across print, digital, and social. That range is the point of an image library over a single shoot: one production, a wide enough set of usable images that the brand isn't back in front of a camera every time it needs a new ad.
You can see a second Humana library I shot the following year, for their Medicare division, including a two-day shoot on location in Georgia.
Frequently asked questions
What is a corporate image library?
A corporate image library is a single production (often multi-day and multi-location) built to produce a broad set of usable images rather than a handful of shots for one specific ad. Brands use libraries like this so their marketing team has a bank of on-brand photography to pull from for months or years, instead of commissioning a new shoot for every campaign.
How long does a multi-day corporate photography shoot take?
It depends on how many locations and scenes the library needs to cover. The Humana small business library above was three days across multiple Orlando locations. A single-location corporate shoot can wrap in a day; a library spanning several business types or cities can run longer.
Do you travel outside Orlando for corporate photo shoots?
Yes. Based in Central Florida with a second base in Atlanta, and available for travel throughout Florida (Orlando, Tampa, Miami, Jacksonville) and beyond, including internationally when a project calls for it.
How much does a corporate image library or commercial photo shoot cost?
It depends on the number of locations, days, crew, and usage rights. For a breakdown of how commercial and advertising photography is typically priced, see how much a commercial or advertising photographer specializing in lifestyle work costs, or get in touch for a project-specific quote.
Is this kind of photography only for large brands like Humana?
No. The same approach (planning a shoot around the specific scenes a brand actually needs) works for small and mid-sized businesses too, just at a smaller scale. If you're a local business looking to build your own image library, reach out to talk through what that could look like.
Want to see more commercial and lifestyle work like this? Browse the full portfolio or get in touch about your own project.