As a business owner you’re more than aware of how important high-quality images are for establishing and representing your brand. Whatever platform they’re being used on, the image you use play a crucial part in communication your message and engaging your target audience. Getting a consistent supply of high-quality images though is very tricky, which is why multiple different avenues of image supply have developed in the market. From stock photography websites like Shutterstock, to crowdsourcing platforms and of course the ever reliable, professional photographer.
It can seem like using stock imagery and crowdsourced photos are a better way to get your high-quality images, but the reality is that there are several benefits you get from working with a photographer that you just don’t get from any other source of photos.
Benefit 1: Tailored Images to Your Brand
Anyone who’s ever browsed through a stock imagery gallery will be more than aware of the frustration you have when you can’t find an image that meets your needs. Then there’s the issue that even if you find one that works, it’s likely being used by some of your competitors as well, which isn’t a great look!
At first glance working with a crowd sourcing platform may provide you with unique imagery, but more often than not the cheap prices of crowdsourcing are due to the lack of effort that ultimately goes into creating the imagery.
If you want to get unique imagery that displays the messages that your brand is focused on, all whilst looking stunning and engaging your audience, then the only real option is to work with a professional photographer and provide them with an in-depth brief about what you’re looking to achieve.
Benefit 2: Higher Quality & Consistency
There’s no better way to kill the interest of a potential customer than poor quality imagery. It acts as a warning label that says your audience shouldn’t take this company seriously. Afterall, if they can’t be bothered to take themselves seriously with high quality imagery, then why should you take them seriously?
Working with a professional photographer will allow you to get higher quality, and more consistent images than stock image galleries and crowdsourcing as it gives you a one-on-one relationship with your photographer which means you can finesse ideas, and finalised photos in a way that you just don’t get from any other source of imagery. Why? Because professional photographers understand lighting, composition and other technical aspects of photography that can make a huge difference to the quality of the final picture, and all of them can be altered or changed to meet your needs, so it makes sense to work with someone who can deliver exactly what you want.
Benefit 3: More use Cases
One of the hidden pitfalls of images of any sort if licensing. Simply put every image you utilise has limitations on its use that you need to abide by. Stock images and crowd sourced imagery can be especially limiting as there may be requirements for you to provide the source of the image everywhere you use it, which means on adverts, for example, you can’t use the images you’ve already paid for!
Working with a professional photographer gives you a lot more clarity about what you can and can’t do with an image. Most of the time once the image is signed off and ready for use, they’ll hand over the rights to the image to you completely, meaning you can do what you like with it! Even if that isn’t the case though, and you find you need to use an image in a way that wasn’t expected initially, you can always get back in touch with the photographer because you have that personal relationship to hash out a new license or use case exemption.
With all of these benefits it’s clear that using a professional photographer is the right thing to do if you’re looking for high quality imagery that you can use as you like. If you’d like to get some photography arrange for your business don’t hesitate to get in touch for a discussion about how we might be able to help!