WHY USE ORIGINAL PHOTOGRAPHY IN YOUR BUSINESS?

Professional photographer Neil Moore is urging business owners to consider the power of using original images in their marketing.

The 56-year-old who has worked in the marketing and website design sector for more than 21 years, is calling on business owners to budget for exceptional, original photography especially with more business being carried out online during Covid19.

“One of the things that business owners will often do is forget the power of good images,” Neil said. “They will think ‘I can do that with my phone’ or they will buy in stock images for their website without realising what a powerful tool good imagery can be and, increasingly, being authentic is important. Showing images of people who are not your staff – or not you – doesn’t fool anybody!”

Research around the use of photographic images shows that the brain processes an image around 60,000 times quicker than it processes words. Also research has shown when people read information in text form online they will remember ten per cent of it three days later. However if that information comes with a relevant picture, they will remember up to 65 per cent of that message three days later. 

“Pictures are very important for products, people or premises,” Neil said. “They allow people to quickly assess how they feel about a business and what it offers. Pictures can also convey moods and emotions in a way that is instant and captivating. Evidence also shows that on platforms like Facebook and Instagram, a series of pictures or an album gets much higher engagement than a single image.”

Here are Neil’s ten ways in which company owners can use professional imagery in their business:

• Headshots – which can be done in a studio, at a company premises, on location, even professionally done on a service like Zoom or Teams. 
• Team shots – can also be done with external locations working well for teams where social distancing must be in place. 
• Action shots - showing staff working, presenting, on the shop floor, serving customers or creating a product. 
• Showcasing premises – making the most of the environment with static shots, virtual tours, external shots (including aerial), key location shots in ‘hard to find’ premises.
• Product shots – these can be static in a studio, in a premises, 360 virtual product display for a website, for instruction manuals or ‘how to use’ videos. 
• Social media photo library – shots for a particular campaign online, archive shots direct from the photographer, shots to accompany a blog campaign or strategy. 
• Company reports or annual charity reports – relevant shots showing real people to illustrate an important report to a Board or Board of Trustees who want to see proof of activity and achievements across a year. 
• Website – strong images for the home page, about us or team pages and for any e-commerce element to a business. The shots should match the real people in the business and the real products site visitors may be purchasing. 
• Editorial, PR shots – high quality, relevant images to accompany any business story for use by the media in a geographical area, in trade press or even for national coverage. The image must make sense with the story. 
• Catalogues – high quality images, often of products, for paper catalogues or for third party selling sites online such as Etsy, Not On The High Street or even Ebay. The better the shots and the more appealing they are, the more people will click on them and perhaps make a purchase. 

Neil, who has a studio at Cadley, near Marlborough, is a specialist in product photography, landscapes, marine and agricultural imagery and holds a licentiateship with the British Institution of Professional Photography. To find out more visit https://www.moore-photographics.com