One of my favorite current trends in web design is the use of large, impactful images. I love the way a great image can create an instant connection with your product or service. On a restaurant website, nothing makes your mouth water more than an appetizing photo of a piping hot pizza. On an event’s website, nothing makes potential guests more excited than great photos of last year’s thrilled attendees.
While good web design can go a long way, nothing evokes emotion like a great photo.
Unfortunately, many small businesses with smartphones think photography is a good place to save a few bucks. They snap a few photos in their dimly-lit restaurant and send them over to their web designer.
I’m here to tell you today that no matter how hard we work, bad images can make a whole website… look bad.
Let me show you what I mean.
The pro photography experiment at King Jewelers
When we worked with King Jewelers in Battle Creek, MI last year, owner Derek King agreed that professional photography of sparkling diamonds and his welcoming storefront would add a ton of value to his new website.
We hired professional photographer Jessie Caron for just a few hours for a photo shoot and editing. While Jessie was taking shots with her big DSLR camera, I followed her around with my iPhone and captured the same shot with my amateur photo skills.
The difference in photo quality and presentation was astounding.
See for yourself:
Which photo would you like representing your storefront?
Which photo would you like for your headshot on your About page?
Which photos would you like representing your products?
As hard as it is to believe, these photos were all taken in the same place, at the same time, with the same lighting. I just don’t know what I’m doing with a camera.
The moral of the story?
There are ways that you can take decent photos with your iPhone. But nothing replaces the quality you receive from a professional photographer’s eye for angles and composition, excellent equipment, and careful editing.
We strongly recommend that our clients add a photo shoot onto their website package. These photos can be used not only on your website but also:
- To create impactful posts on social media
- As headshots on LinkedIn
- In print brochures
- As the main photos on a Google Local listing
If you’re interested in a new website with awesome photography, let us help. If you just want to make your current website sparkle, we can do that too. Here’s where we get started.
