• Swindon & Wiltshire Experts
• Wednesday June 7 2023
• Author Name: Neil Moore

How to think about creative pictures for your business

Images are an important part of your marketing toolkit – and require thought, says Neil Moore of Moore Photographics.

All businesses require photos which they can use throughout the year to promote who they are, what they do and where they do it.

To this end I have always maintained that over time you should build up a large library of high-quality personal photographs specific to your business.

These can then be used throughout all your marketing collateral such as websites, blogs, social media and in, of course, the more traditional area of print.

You might think it is easy to go online and just select a series of images. But don’t forget that your competitor may have already done this and possibly chosen the photos that you like or suit your purpose – and that’s the rub when it comes to ‘stock’ shots.

No one is really fooled by stock shots – and it can add a note of ‘deception’ when it becomes clear that those people in your images or not actually ‘your people’ – they are totally generic.

Also, does an off the shelf photo really tell the true story of your business? Or is it simply a lazy and ‘cheap’ alternative to working with someone like me?

However stock shots could be the starting point to selecting the style of photographs you can commission a photographer to create just for you. It can be a guide to what you are looking for and then using yourself and your team to add a personal touch to your business story. Then you are showing up authentically to our clients – both existing clients and clients who don’t know you yet.

Once you have made the decision to engage a photographer – what next?

When organising a photoshoot with your chosen photographer you must consider where these photos will be taken.

It is often mentioned “location, location, location” and this is very true, so why not make the background a valuable addition to the story you are telling? Do you have a lovely office, does it have beautiful grounds? Do you have a seating area which you love? Look for more than a bland, beige wall with light switches in the left hand side.

You have chosen your photographer, decided where to take the photographs to promote your business, why not consider using the seasons as part of the narrative?

The summer is a great time to consider having your headshot and team shots taken in an outdoor setting. But the seasons are also great for taking stylised photographs.

This is particularly important if your business is heavily biased towards a season or a certain time of year eg. You sell Christmas themed products. These images need to be taken with that in mind, in the summer!

Photographing throughout the year gives you Spring, Autumn and Winter to evoke a unique flavour to how you and your business shows up across the ebb and flow of the year.

Also, if your products are used outdoors why not photograph them in the snow or rain, showing immediately that they are weather proof and function perfectly? These photos need not look miserable when additional and creative lighting is added.

Using this creative and visual approach will help make you stand out from your competitors and will always add a flavour of being topical, timely and relevant.

Neil Moore of Moore Photographics is a member of the not-for-profit business referral group BusinessWise https://www.businesswise.org.uk/members/moore-photographics.html