I love photography and taking photos. Whether it’s on holiday, or taking photos with friends and family, it’s always capturing a moment you can look back on. But why don’t people think the same way for their own businesses?
When you see marketing for businesses, more than likely the first thing you are drawn to are the images or videos. Think back to the last time you scrolled through Facebook or LinkedIn. You were more than likely drawn to the image shown before you read the caption above it.
Everyone can take a photo, and for most instances that can be all you need. But sometimes it’s worth investing in photography to portray your business the way you want.
Why should you invest in photography?
Photography has a big impact on what sort of impression you give to potential clients. On websites, photos really bring pages to life and you get an impression about a company before reading much of the content.
AI imagery and posters have increased massively over the last 6 months. Loads of businesses are using it to show what they do, or their work, but it’s not really showing who they are. It’s also the same with obviously posed stock imagery. In my head, I’d be wondering why they don’t have images of their own projects and wondering if it’s because they haven’t done many / none at all. Or if it’s a product, why don’t they have a real photo of their product?
It may put people off as you may seem like an unestablished company, rather than someone who has real examples of what they do.
Showing your team and your projects on your website makes you seem much more personable and the projects look more legit. Clients want proof you can do what you say you do.
Why you shouldn’t use AI images
Even though it may seem easier to get AI to create an image for you to use, it can cause a trust problem with your audience. People are becoming more skeptical of fake imagery, and it can be easier to spot on more technical images. So if you are in the manufacturing or construction industries, trying to replicate machinery or workers who have to wear specific PPE can be difficult to get right.
The more AI content that is out there, the more genuine content becomes important. You don’t want to make possible clients have to second guess what they are seeing, whilst also trying to convince them to use your business.
When it’s worth getting professional photos
There are many reasons why you should look into getting professional photos taken, but here are a few examples:
Working on a large project
If you are working on something large scale, it’s a good idea to take photos during the project to show updates on your socials, or to use for case studies or on your website. If you work in construction for example, it’s a great way to showcase what you’ve worked on previously.
Meet the Team
Whatever the size of your team, it’s always a nice idea to show off the team who work for you. If someone is contacted by your team, they’ll be able to see who they are and what they do. These don’t have to be a generic pose, they could be something fun! It does look best when they match, so try and pick a similar style across everyone.
In some cases, businesses prefer not to show pictures of their team in case one of them leaves and they have to take it down. But this shouldn’t stop you from trying to get some images taken.
You work closely with your clients
If your business is based on meeting up with your clients and being a close support, such as consultancy or therapy, it’s always best to show photos of you and your team. If someone comes to your website and they can’t see the person they are meant to be working with or seeing them in action, there is no personal attachment. If you have a sales team or you have a premises, it’s always a good idea to use real photos as it helps with the legitimacy of who you are and what you do.
You’re pitching for large scale business
If your clients are large businesses who are investing a lot of money in you, you need to be showcasing what you do. You wouldn’t put a lot of money into something that you couldn’t see for yourself.
Events
Do you host large scale events or attend them? Getting someone to take photos of you at these events is a great way to show you meeting people or showing how many people came to your event. These can also be used to advertise your next events so you can build a gallery of images to use at your disposal.
Anything Printed
If you have brochures printed or any marketing material, having professional photos are really important for print. Poor picture quality is really obvious when it comes to print, so having the best quality possible is needed. Photos for print need to be 300dpi (screen is only 72dpi) and not pixelated. This again could give off a bad impression if not done well.
You don’t always need a photographer to get good photos
Not everyone can afford to hire a photographer for the day or some good photo opportunities may be unexpected. But there are a few things you can try to get the most out of a situation.
Invest in the equipment
Making sure you have a good camera on your phone or investing in a camera can help you take better quality photos. If you want to create videos, getting gimbals or a tripod can help make videos look smoother.
See if anyone in your team takes photos as a hobby
I got into photography because I love taking photos, so there may be someone on your team who takes photos in their spare time who could help in certain situations.
Find a course
You could take a short course on how to take better photos to help in the short term. This can help with composition and also editing photos to get the best out of them.
If you’d like to find out more about how we use photography in our clients marketing and how it could benefit you, get in touch.