Say Cheese

If a picture is worth a thousand words, then wouldn't it make sense to have the pictures on your website be rock star quality? I make it my business to surf the internet for websites that make me go "wow" and websites that make me go "blah".  There are a lot of factors in this gut reaction, but one that stands out in my mind is the quality of the photos used.

We are a very visual species. (The mere fact that there are pictures on this blog probably diverted your attention away from the writing... if only for a second... to see what the pictures were.) Think about it. On average, Americans watch about 1500 hours of television a year. That is about 25% of our waking lives. We live in a world where we are constantly being stimulated by sexy, good-looking, impressive, artistic and thought provoking images. As a society, we expect our media to be of good quality. The big businesses know this, which is why they spend oodles of money on media annually. 

My Sage & Compass website is a prime example of quality pictures telling a story. NorCal Collective did the stunning photography for these concept pieces supporting my "Grow your Business...Make a Statement" campaign.

Thriving Canine is another example where quality pictures lend artistic interest and credibility to the website. Dave Lepori did an amazing job capturing the essence of a man and his dogs in nature.

Because we are so visual, (and I'm a sucker for A-B comparisons) I've shown two examples below of photos used on both the old and new Thriving Canine website.

"Before" photo used on Thriving Canine's old website in the "Contact Me" module:

  photo taken with a smart phone

"After" photo used on Thriving Canine's new website in the "Contact me" module:

 photo by Dave Lepori

You can see the difference between the two shots and so do Thriving Canine's clients and prospective clients. Potential customers want to feel like they will be treated professionally by someone that runs an organized business with great talent and services. Which photo represents that sentiment? You guessed it!

So do yourself a favor and put a little something into your marketing budget for a professional photo shoot. You're website (as well as brochures, flyers and business cards) will really benefit!!

Say Cheese!

-Dawn