A big thank you to Rebecca for offering to write a guest blog about the importance of professional photography for your business.
From being a child, I had grown up in front of a camera. My granddad was a wedding photographer and videographer and there were numerous visits spent watching pictures develop in chemicals right in front of my eyes.
To this day, I treasure those memories.
There is something truly magical about a dark room and the beauty of development. To go from the point of capturing that moment to watching it appear in front of you, there is nothing more exciting. Unfortunately, my granddad has been dead for 21 years now, but his passion for photography and capturing those special moments has never left me.
I spent a long time trying to figure out what I wanted to do, although I always found myself being drawn back to the camera. As much as I loved the magic of film, I found myself quite comfortable with the convenience of a DSLR camera and made the decision to go back to university after the birth of my second child and develop my love for photography.
As a result, I now run my own business part time and have developed a passion for personal branding photography.
As business women, we all know how hard it is to be seen in the current economic climate. The internet is a blessing and a curse. I don’t know about anyone else, but trying to navigate Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and all the other social media sites that we are told to push is a nightmare! Many times I find myself tearing my hair out over them but at the same time, I understand how important they can be alongside your website.
One of the most important elements of this is the photography that you use.
We have all heard the saying, ‘a picture paints a thousand words’, and right now, this is more true than it has ever been.
I know for me, looking online for businesses relies on how quickly they can grasp your attention, and that is usually down to the photography. A decent set of images will make or break me as a customer and if you can’t grasp my attention quickly, you have lost me to the next website. It’s not how it should be, but it is a fact.
The photography you choose will set your business apart from every other business that you see online. The options are limitless but the impact will be massive.
For example, taking your own pictures saves you money, but without the understanding of light, positioning, depth of field and the many other elements that encompass photography, you will have mediocre images that are not going to draw the attention you are looking for.
Bringing someone in who understands all these elements and is able to help you showcase your business in a real and genuine way can be the difference between people stopping and looking at your products, and people passing them by.
Recently, I came across personal branding photography, and I truly believe that this is the way forward for small businesses. We are all familiar with the standard, formal head and office shots. These are the kind of pictures that photographers have been taking for years and they are stale, boring and easily forgettable.
They sink into the mass of images that we are constantly bombarded with and I believe they can actually be detrimental to a business. In this highly competitive world, you need to stand head and shoulders above other businesses to even be seen, and when the first port of call for a staggering 87% of clients is the internet, what can you do to achieve that?
I am a firm believer in the fact that people buy from people. When you open yourself up on a personal level, it allows your clients to see who you really are – the brains behind the business that they are interested in buying from.
Trust is developed when you are genuine, open and honest about what makes you and your business tick.
I also believe that as female entrepreneurs, we need to play to our strengths. We have so much to offer but there is no denying that business is a cut throat world. This type of professional photography will not only show your business, but you, your background and your interests. The beauty of it is that you can go as personal as you like. We all know the saying, you never get a second chance to make a first impression, and that is so much more true today than it ever has been!
That first impression, according to research, is made in one tenth of a second so you need to make sure that what people are seeing is exactly how you want to sell yourself, and your business. Photography has always been important, but we have become so much more visual with the introduction of social media and the internet. Good, open, genuine professional photography matters and has the potential to help take your business so much further. I cannot stress enough how important this is for a business, as this for many clients is their first impression of you, and you want it to be a great one.
Rebecca xxx
Rebecca Reece Photography
Find out more about Rebecca and her services here.
