How to get great professional photos for your business

15.01.2019

As marketing spend goes, professional photos are rarely top of the list. But as far as a worthwhile investment is concerned, you can’t do much better.

Great professional photos show off your company and products in a way that words and design simply can’t. You can also use them across all of your marketing – from your website, corporate literature and social media, to print media and publications.

The images you use send a strong message about the tone and quality of what you offer. So, if you’ve decided to invest in professional photos, here are some tips to make sure you get the most from your investment.

Get the brief right

The easiest way to get great photos is to start with a good brief. You’ll need to start with a clear idea of exactly how you want to use your images and what type of message you’d like them to send.

Ask yourself where you plan to use your images? What impression of the company you want them to make? And whether you want your photos to help you stand out from your competitors, show off your team or highlight your products?

You should also think about who and what should be in your shots for them to achieve their goal?

If you’ll be taking your photos outside do you have a contingency plan for bad weather? Will you need to book, or travel to, anywhere outside of the office?

The day of your shoot will be much more successful if you have a clear brief and you’re well prepared. You’ll be much less likely to find yourself missing anything crucial from your shots and you’ll have a much clearer idea of what you need to do.

Photography is an upfront investment

Producing great photos can be expensive, so it’s natural to see if there’s a way to cut costs.

The problem with cutting costs is that photography is an upfront investment. If you want great photos you need to spend time planning and have the right people to hand.

We recommend using an Art Director. It may seem like an extravagant expense but working with an Art Director is crucial to how well your photos turn out.

Your Art Director should be someone who understands your brand and how and where your images will be used. This means they can make sure the shots you’re getting work across a range of different channels, include everything you need and make the right impression for your company.  

An experienced photographer is also a must. Nearly everyone has a good quality camera on their phone, but they don’t necessarily have the skill to take exceptional photos. Unless you can add depth, get the right lighting and capture images that tell a story, get a professional to do it for you.

You’ll save money on retouching photos by getting them right first time.

Great photos take time

It takes time to get the brief right, organise everything you need and get the right shot on the day. Positioning people and products for a photo can take longer than you’d think. If you’re taking pictures of people in your team they’ll need time to relax in front of the camera and produce a photo worthy of your marketing collateral.

Photo shoots that produce great results don’t happen by chance. Like all great things great photos take time, planning and attention to get the best results. But the pay-off is having versatile, impactful photos that tell a compelling visual story about your company, that can be used across all your marketing channels.

If you’d like help with your company’s photography, or just to talk to someone about whether it would work for your business, simply contact us.

View all news