Photography may not be a top item for businesses or brands due to the rise of influencers, filters on photos in mobile apps or even the sheer volume of free stock photo sites; however, every brand or business needs professional photos taken by a professional photographer. Professional photos provide an authentic look at your brand and who you are. Something a free stock photo cannot capture.
The latest technological advancements in camera phones fools people into thinking they don’t need to hire a professional photographer. Headshots can be taken against a white wall in an office and there are face smoothing apps that can “touch up” photos. Or maybe you want to use a stock photo of some professional holding a laptop and maybe it doesn’t bother you that other companies have used the same photo in their digital marketing. Perhaps you want your business or brand to look just like everyone else’s.
Hiring a professional photographer gives your photos on your website and social media the authenticity that a free stock photo or Instagram filter can’t give you. The professional photos you get in return for their services can be used in a wide variety of outlets ranging from emails, to social media posts and even print brochures. The beauty of those photos is that they represent your brand. The look and feel is the same throughout all marketing channels.
Do you want to be meeting with a potential client and hand them collateral that is made up of free stock photos and selectively blurred photos from Instagram? The answer I hope is no, no you don’t. The investment from hiring a photographer is well worth the cost and the ROI is more than enough to justify hiring a photographer.
Does this mean your business or brand can’t use stock photos or mobile phone photos. Of course not, but those shouldn’t be how your brand is represented visually. With plenty of altered or fake photos out there being used to represent brands and businesses, its refreshing when a company is authentic. It makes people feel like they can trust them and who doesn’t want to gain the trust of potential clients?
Hiring a photographer for professional photos of their business or brand is something all brands should do. It doesn’t hurt to have a photographer on retainer or even have a contract with one that allows them to come in for new or updated headshots or even product shots. Their experience in photography as well as post production editing will give your brand a leg or in this case a chin up on your competition. You may be able to buy likes or followers, but you can’t put a price on brand authenticity or the numerous benefits hiring a professional photographer brings to your business.