You all know what I think about using stock photography instead of custom photography for your website.
If not, here it is in a nutshell. I hate it.
I mean do you think people believe that those models work at your company?
I am fine with stock photography when we need shots of something other than our staff, or other people (clients, etc.). For instance, if we have a picture of a whale tail for our “long-tail keywords” blog article. I mean who knows if that is our whale tail or no? Our whale is a Beluga for those of you who are interested.
But for people on your team or pictures of your corporate office? Bite the bullet. Hire a business photographer.
Here are a few reasons why taking corporate pictures is worth the expense and trouble of a photo shoot.
Transparency: Having pictures of your employees and your operations builds a certain level of trust. This translates to your branding as well. It endears a feeling of transparency and honesty that the rest of your message benefits from as well.
Honesty: Hey I know that I am not the most photogenic person is the world. I am not even the most photogenic person in my house. In fact, I am fourth with the dog. Actually, the dog wins. I am fifth barely beating out the wildlife in the backyard.
However, the fact that I don’t look like a model helps with our perception of honesty. I don’t lie about how I look and if I admit to that…well, why would I lie about anything else?
Custom: You get shots of what you want if you do your photo shoot. The worst part of stock photography is you have to settle. If you have a photographer come in, you can get the exact shots you want.
What are the shots you need on your website and collateral?
Your founders/owners: We definitely want a shot of the company owners. How they appear in these photos are all dependant on your brand. What do you want to convey?
At 366 we have an interesting take. We are a marketing company which lends itself towards less formal, and we emphasize the value of being human to your prospects.
However, there is also the perception of “creatives” that are taken less seriously by executive teams. So we try to strike a balance.
The best idea is to be who we are. I like wearing suits when meeting with clients so when you see me in most photographs that is what I wear. I usually tend to skip the tie, though.
How you dress in your photos where you take them all have to be in the balance with your brand.
Your team: Depending on the size of your team I would encourage you to do a group picture as well as individual pictures for key people. If you have a 200 person company, I will lean towards headshots of executives and a large picture of the group. If you have a team of 5, you can probably do head shots of everyone and a group picture.
Action shots: If you have a financial service company you could have shots of employees meeting or of them working with clients. If you have an industrial company, you can have shots of your engineers designers or R&D.
Proof of Concept shots: These are photographs that illustrate that you can do what you say you do. Whether it is shots of a successful construction project or pictures of a completed distribution center,
If you need help with corporate photography in Charlotte, Rock Hill or the Carolinas, contact 366 marketing. We have experience in photography that helps your brand.