Professional photography is often seen as a luxury which can be done without. I mean, phones are pretty great these days so you could probably take some pictures yourself or use stock images right? Wrong! Although technically you could, and for social media posts this works just fine, but in terms of your website it really does make the world of difference to use professional photography.
In truth, a beautiful website can be let down by poor images and so quality photography is an important asset to a business, whether you are just starting out or you are an established business looking to revamp their web presence.
As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words and this is so true! Photographs demonstrate to clients and customers what you have to offer without you having to outright state it and, as we are living in a visual age, photography is more important than ever.
It can be tempting to want to reduce costs and take photos yourselves but it should be remembered that the photographs represent your brand - so low quality, unprofessional images communicate low quality and unprofessional service to your audience.
An alternative that is popular is to use stock photography, this absolutely has its place and can be useful but it should also be remembered that your website exists to showcase your business...not 'generic businessman shaking hands'. Conscientious consumption dominates our society and one key element that is often mentioned is that consumers want to know the businesses they work with, from the team to the ethos and this is supported by quality photography.
To further convince you that professional photography is a worthy investment, you will likely have taken time and energy to ensure that your website is fully optimised and a further way to enhance this is through fully SEO'd photographs. In the same way that content can drive search engine results, so too can photographs. Optimised photos can help your website perform better in search engine rankings as well as support customer engagement.
You will have likely heard the term 'content is king' across the marketing world, but what is often overlooked is that photography is a form of content - and a versatile form at that! Photography can make a website far more engaging as well as building your brand on social media and featuring in blog posts, promotional material, marketing campaigns etc etc...the possibilities are endless!
Professional photography really is a must-have for sucessfully promoting and marketing your business no matter what your business is!
Digital Riot has some highly recommended photographers as part of the collective, each with specialisms to address the needs of your business...whether you are staging food photography, whether you need drone footage of properties, whether your team need professional portraits or whether you need something a little more unusual (Shetland Pony and a Falcon anyone?) we have the trusted professionals to bring your vision to life!