5 Reasons Every Business Needs Professional Photos

5 Reasons Every Business Needs Professional Photos

Professional photography is a business that fuels other businesses to success. Photographic skill is used in a variety of industries, including traditional business and applications you wouldn’t typically consider. For example, police organizations use UAS and Drone Applications and PhotoModeler to recreate crime scenes from photographs.

If you are self-employed or working for a small business, using professional photos is paramount to your marketing success. While the highly-processed imagery large organizations often use to advertise their products will likely be outside your budget. However, here are five reasons why having professional photos is important:

Build Your Brand

Your photography is one of the main ways to contribute to your branding. While there may be stock photos available that fit your needs, having professional photographs taken gives you the chance customize your approach.

Whereas some businesses choose to have clear photos on a bright white background, you might take a more moody, elegant approach using shadows and a dark background to fit your brand strategy. One pizza company might advertise their pies in a bright, family-friendly environment while your company might choose to advertise using a more elegant, rustic approach. Your photos are an important tool with which to build your identity.

Instant Gratification in a Visual Society

Our modern society thrives on visual stimulation. It isn’t enough for you to be able to tell someone how great something is-- you must be able to show them. Even with the most skilled copywriters on staff, your potential customers will still be hesitant to purchase something without seeing it first. Think of the real estate industry as a prime example.

Not only are pictures worth a thousand words when it comes to marketing, but they also give an instant idea of a product with minimal work on the consumer’s part. People have a short attention span, particularly when it comes to shopping online and making impulse purchases. The right photos can entice someone to purchase a product within a matter of seconds.

More Effective Than Stock Photography

Perhaps it is because of the generic, inauthentic feel that stock photos convey or maybe it’s because people have seen them elsewhere, but stock photos are less effective than custom photography in business. Businesses have conducted A/B testing to see if customers responded better to a friendly, approachable stock photo or a photo of an employee. One business found a 35% booking increase when they used an employee.

Not only do real photos convert more sales than stock photos, they also capture attention better. One experiment showed that in an eye-tracking exercise, participants would take time to look at photos of real people and products while ignoring generic photographs entirely. Stock photos have a time and a place, but shouldn’t be the focal point of your business website.

Create Cohesion

Professional photos shot in the same style create cohesion throughout different applications within your business. For example, if you have a page explaining the service you offer that is sprinkled with photos, you are drawing the eye further down the page and encouraging readers to keep going. If the photos aren’t styled similarly, it feels stilted ,and you will lose readers.

Professional photos also create cohesion across different types of displays. Your print ad should be similar to your website, while social media posts should also tie into your brand. If your photos have a sense of togetherness, it will make you appear to have everything together.

Trust and Professionalism

Having professional photos makes you look established, dedicated, and professional. Customers won’t think that you don’t want to invest in your business because you lack faith or skills. Once upon a time, you could get away with a simple, copy-dominated website. Now, however, businesses can affordably create visually stimulating websites with few skills and little time.

Having professional photography reassures customers that you are not a fly-by-night business. You will deliver the service or good you offer and can be trusted with a consumer’s hard-earned money.