Blog post by: Jake Sleger
One thing that is often overlooked when sculpting any great marketing campaign is the use of a professional photographer. Someone once told me “you never get a second chance to make a first impression.” With that being said, when customers first see your business communications they make up their mind within the first few seconds if they will purchase goods or services from your company.
The first thing a potential customer will look at when visiting your website or look through your brochure are the images. As a society our attentions spans have become very short. Therefore the imaging that needs to be used should draw the viewer in for a closer look, and create emotion within that potential customer. We have all visited a company’s website or viewed a brochure during our “product research” stage in our purchasing timeline. How many times have you immediately said “nope” and then looked to the next company due to the images within their advertising? I would assume all of us have done this at some point in time. This is the case because while we might not all be able to take a great photograph, we are all experts in good quality photography…and bad. This comes from years of reading magazines and seeing advertising. We may also not know exactly which elements in particular make an image good or bad, but it is clear to us all when something is not right.
Nowadays cameras are an everyday part of our lives. From cell phones to more elaborate DSLR cameras, everyone has the ability to produce images at the click of a button. Most of these images that are produced should not be used in marketing your business. Just because Susie your receptionist received a nice new camera for her birthday does not mean she should be representing your company with her images. Can she manipulate the lighting in the image to instill emotion in its viewers? Are there unsightly shadows within the image? Does the image grab and hold your attention? These are reasons you need to be using a professional photographer. Professional photography ensures a professional result. You would not think twice about going to an amateur dentist or doctor. When visiting the website of a company that has produced the photographs themselves, it is clear they do not take themselves seriously. This worries consumers who are about to part with their hard earned cash for a product.
