Brand photography and video for the Nook café, Markyate
Come on in – the Nook team are always this happy to see you.
The Nook in Markyate is the kind of café that makes you feel at home before you’ve even ordered. The staff know their regulars by name – no writing on cups here. The coffee is good, the baking is better, and there’s a warmth to the place that you can’t manufacture. When the team asked me to come in and capture it, my answer was simple: yes, and let’s make a showreel too.
A couple of hours behind the lens
I spent a couple of hours at the Nook photographing the team during normal service. That’s the key to documentary-style brand photography, you don’t stop the café to take pictures, you work around it. The team kept doing what they do, I kept shooting, and the results look exactly like the Nook actually is, rather than a dressed-up version of it.
What came through straight away was how much the staff genuinely enjoy what they do. The smiles weren't put on for the camera. The banter with regulars was real. That energy is exactly what good brand photography needs to capture, and exactly what you can’t fake in a stock photo.
This is what it actually looks like behind the counter – no posing required.
From stills to showreel
After the photography session, I put together a showreel for the Nook: a short film combining still images, video clips, and a soundtrack that brings the whole thing to life. If a single photograph says a thousand words, a 60-second showreel says considerably more.
Watch the Nook showreel.
The showreel covers the same ground as the photography – team, atmosphere, the little details that make a café worth going back to, but in motion. It’s the kind of content that works across Instagram Reels, Facebook, the Nook’s website homepage, and even on a screen inside the venue itself.
The little details that make the Nook worth coming back for.
Why brand photography works for cafés and hospitality businesses
A café lives or dies on atmosphere. People choose where they go for coffee based on how a place feels, not just what’s on the menu. Brand photography gives you the visual language to communicate that feeling before someone even walks through the door.
For the Nook, the images and showreel now do several jobs at once:
Social media content that feels authentic rather than promotional
Website imagery that reflects the real customer experience
Material for print – menus, event posters, loyalty cards
Content for email campaigns and local advertising
A showreel that can run on social, inside the venue, or in paid ads
That’s a lot of return on a couple of hours.
What makes the Nook worth photographing
Red Velvet, Brownie, Victoria Sponge... and three very opinionated people to help you choose.
Some businesses are harder to photograph than others, not because they’re less good, but because their personality doesn’t show on the surface. The Nook isn’t one of those. The community feel is right there in the room: the team who know every regular, the Friday morning buzz, the fresh bakes, the coffee that's actually worth the trip from St Albans.
My job was to point the camera at it and get out of the way.
Every visit feels like coming home.
What to expect from a brand photography session
If you’re a local business thinking about getting brand photography done, here’s how I work. We start with a quick conversation about what you need the images for – social media, a website refresh, print, or all three. Then I come in and shoot, working around your normal operation wherever possible. No huge disruption, no endless posing, no awkward “everyone gather round” moments.
A typical session runs a couple of hours, and you leave with a set of images you can use straight away across every channel. If you want a showreel alongside the photography, we plan it together so the stills and film feel like they belong with each other, because they were shot at the same time, with the same eye.
The Nook, Markyate – find them on the high street.
Frequently asked questions about brand photography for local businesses
How long does a brand photography session take? For most small businesses, two to three hours covers the essentials – team shots, environment, products or services in action, and a few detail shots. If you want a showreel alongside the photography, a half-day gives us room to do both properly.
Do I need to close my business for the shoot? No. Documentary-style photography works best when you’re operating normally. The Nook was fully open throughout, and that’s what made the images feel real. Staged shoots tend to look staged.
What can I use the images for? Everything. Social media, your website, print materials, email campaigns, advertising. You own the images outright once the session is complete, no ongoing licensing or usage fees.
Do you work with businesses outside St Albans? Yes. The Nook is in Markyate, about 10 minutes from St Albans. I cover Hertfordshire and the surrounding area, and I'm happy to travel further for the right project.
How much does brand photography cost? Every project is different, so I’d rather have a quick conversation than throw a number at you that may not fit your situation. Get in touch and we can work out what makes sense.
What if my team aren’t comfortable in front of a camera? Most people say this. None of the Nook team were thinking about camera angles, they were just doing their jobs. That’s the whole point of documentary-style photography. The less people pose, the better the pictures.
Can I combine photography and video in one session? Yes, and I’d recommend it. Shooting both at the same time means the stills and film have a consistent look and feel. It’s also more efficient – one session, one set of disruption to your day, one cohesive body of work.
Ready to show people what your business actually looks like?
If you’re a local business that wants imagery which reflects the real thing, not a stock-photo version of it, I’d love to help.
Get in touch to talk through a brand photography or showreel project.
If you would like to see more examples of branding photography, click here.