Extra Mile Writing

Extra Mile Writing

Why Every Business Needs Professional Photos

smiling woman wearing garland of flowers

Local professional photographers are seriously worth their weight in gold.

While I love writing, I hate being confronted by a wall of text.

Words, quite simply, need images.

It’s a bit like the sky.  You need the beautiful blue sky, but you need the sun as well.  At least I do, I absolutely count on the sun coming up every morning at the moment.

Essentially, one without the other just doesn’t work.

sun setting in blue sky

Small professional photography businesses can produce a range of awesome photos for you that you can use in so many different contexts.

And:

  • Local professional photographers are cheaper than you think.
  • Local professional photographers are flexible. You can pay for a limited number of shots if you have a tight budget, or ask for thousands of shots to be taken over a whole day.
  • Local professional photographers allow you to present yourself, your business and your goods and services in the very best light.

 

Professional photos make all the difference to the marketing of a business or an organisation.  You wouldn’t show up on your website scratching your bum and drinking a beer in your holey old shorts and a singlet.  If you’re going to present your business, you might as well present it well.

We all know this, because we always use sharp, light filled professional photos when we sell our homes.  The below awesome photo is a great example (the lady with the ginormous fluffy dress is just a bonus).

woman sitting on lounge in opulent house

In contrast, bad photos repel people and result in terrible sales outcomes.  We’ve all seen this before in online real estate listings, where someone just throws up three or four crappy old photos of their house that they took a number of years ago, and expects that they’re going to generate significant interest in the property and achieve a great sale price.  Andy Donaldson has made an art form out of collecting the most awful examples of bad real estate photos and including hilarious captions below them.  If you need a smile I seriously recommend checking out Terrible Real Estate Agent Photos.

Unkempt back lawn area
terrible real estate agent photos

Surprisingly though, people often forget about the importance of professional photos when it comes to their business website.  I’ve seen small business websites that have an About Us page with no photos of the business owners at all on the page, rendering it meaningless.  I’ve seen kitchen renovation businesses that create amazing kitchens, but turn customers off by displaying awful out of focus low resolution photos of the kitchens they’ve created on their home page.

Professional photos also capture people beautifully, as per the photo below. 

laughing middle aged man

This photo isn’t posed or awkward, it’s just a great photo of a human being.  So is the photo below.

portrait of senior woman

The essence of this woman quite simply shines through in her photo.

Professional photos can also be creative and fun.  They don’t have to be posed or boring, as the below photo demonstrates.

young woman doing metal work

Very importantly, professional photos also capture products beautifully.  The Woodland Gatherer website is a great example.  The businesses website is beautiful in every way, and I love the way their whimsical range of products are photographed and presented professionally.  I also like the businesses down to earth and honest approach. 

Gifts Australia specialise in delivering awesome wrapped gifts across Australia and also know the value of a good photo, as per this photo of their bathroom bevvy shower beer holder.  Who wouldn’t want to take their stubbie of beer to the shower with them?

bathroom bevvy shower beer holder
beer holder