Hire a Professional Photographer to Improve Your Brand Identity in 6 Ways

Sub-par photos can stunt your business growth and keep you from being successful, especially now that most businesses are actively marketing on social media. As not everyone has the skills and necessary equipment, it is usually better to hire a professional photographer for the job.

Louder than Words: Hire a Professional Photographer to Improve 6 Elements of Brand Identity

Whether online or on paper, photos are a great way to represent you and your business, product or service. Get the visual elements of your brand identity right and you stand a much greater chance of connecting with your target audience. Get them wrong, and you could even alienate the people you hoped to attract. Here are six important elements of your company’s brand identity that merit the choice to hire a professional photographer, instead of going the do-it-yourself route.

1. Professional Corporate Headshots

Having a great photo of your company’s leaders on your website or Facebook page for your business (not selfies!) will make you look more professional and help your customers recognize you and your brand. These don’t have to be stiff and formal headshots. If you run a trendy boutique you would want your photo to reflect the fun style of your business, however if you own a private medical practice you would want to stick with a more traditional corporate headshot. A professional looking photo will make it seem like you care about your business and offer additional proof of its legitimacy.

Pro Tip; Hire a professional photographer whose artistic style fits your brand and appeals to you.

2. Professional Product Photos

A professional photographer will know how to make your products look great, and (most importantly) they’ll understand lighting, angles and focus! Most people like to see the products available before they buy them when shopping online so they know exactly what they are going to get. Even if you don’t sell your product online, you should have a website of some kind with sample photos of the product or service you provide to draw people in.

Pro Tip; Check out the photographer’s website! If they showcase their business in an awesome way, chances are they can make yours look great as well.

3. Corporate Brochures and Business Cards

Whether you use paper brochures in marketing and advertising or rely strictly on digital versions of your corporate marketing collateral, publishing annual reports and other company brochures are still an effective way to reach people. Having a pro take clean, high-resolution images that you can use for your brochure is key; great images look great on paper or the internet. Some photographers may even offer design and print services and if they don’t, they can probably point you in the right direction. In some cases, handing out a business card with a photo is also a good way to help people remember you and your business after you have met in person.

Pro Tip; Before you hire a professional photographer, ask if they have done brochures or ads for any other businesses and to see examples.

You might also like: 8 Types of Photos You Should Never Use on Your LinkedIn Profile at Entrepreneur.com

4. Showing off Your Building, Office Space or Team

Having photos of your office and staff will make your business seem real and approachable. Professional photos can also lend credibility and authority to your business. For example, a salon owner could have a pro come in and take photos of the salon while stylists are at work and also have some posed photos of the complete staff.

A web designer would have photos taken of their office and team hard at work as long as a few posed head shots. Making your business seem personal will make potential customers feel at ease. It is a good idea to have a photographer come in every six months or so to take new photos for your social media page or website.

Pro Tip; Hire a photographer who has a portfolio full of people who look great and can make your employees look their best.

5. Customer or Company Events

If you are having a launch party, networking event or holiday party you should hire a photographer to document the event. Those attending will love to see a blog post detailing the event with great photos, and they may share these with their friends on social media which almost always results in new customers or clients.

Pro Tip; Hire a photographer who specializes in event or lifestyle photography to capture natural and candid photos.

6. Business Website

First of all, if you don’t have a website, you should, as people are probably searching online for a business like yours as you are reading this article. If you do have one, you need high quality images to feature your brand. This may be the most important reason to hire a photographer to take photos of you, your product, your employees, or even your brick-and-mortar location if you have one. A website without photos does not engage consumers and they may leave your site without even clicking a link or discovering what you have to offer.

Pro Tip; Hire a photographer who does both indoor and outdoor photography to provide a variety of photos.

A picture can be worth not only a thousand words but thousands of dollars, as the photos may bring in many new customers or clients. Find a great photographer to work with as having an updated website, social media page, or blog is important to stay relevant.

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Get a quote for corporate headshots, ecommerce or retail product photography and other business photography or video services in the greater Seattle-Tacoma-Olympia region, western Washington, western Michigan (or elsewhere).

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