Images are incredibly important on any website as they can potentially provide more information about a product or service than any words can. Images also play a critical role in projecting a brand. Subconsciously, we all make judgements about a company when we see images online, for example, in terms of how professional, big or successful a particular company is. If we didn’t see beautifully-lit products on Apple’s website, for example, would it really support Apple’s market-leading brand? Apple is able to extract a significant price premium for its products due to this brand.
Websites are generally not viewed in isolation, and someone choosing to view your site is often at the expense of not viewing another. Dramatic, colourful or high-contrast monochrome images can focus the attention of readers, for example, if they are choosing between different companies in a search engine listing. While it is possible to source professionally-taken images from stock photography sites, often these can look fake, particularly if they display people who do not work in the company or do not reflect the actual products or services on offer. I find it very easy to spot sites that rely on stock images as, often, they project a generic, antiseptic and unrealistic corporate feel.
It is not always easy to source high-quality images for a website. Mobile phone captures are inevitably easier to take than tripod-based high-resolution DSLR images, but I strongly recommend putting the effort in. This goes for photographs of team members to use on a website too. High-quality, consistent and well-lit photographs of real members of your organisation really help to promote a professional image. Thanks Mel!
Corporate photography has led to some interesting moments. For example, Maori Warrior Bruce (above) travelled to my home for a photo shoot. You should have seen the faces of my neighbours while Bruce waited outside in his full Maori dress!
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