I left my house when it was still dark. I had my change of clothes with me and headed down to Daniels Park. The sun was meant to rise in about 40 minutes. When I pulled into the parking lot, Tricia was already there waiting for me. I was here to do a lifestyle shoot for pictures for my website. I hadn’t been to Daniels Park in years, and I had forgotten how beautiful the view was from here: the view of the mountains in the early dawn was simply outstanding. Tricia took charge and guided me around the area snapping photos as the sun slowly glazed the sky in orange. The soft light sparkled off the mountains in the distance.
I needed photos for my website, to define my business and give a face to me, the owner and founder. I knew exactly what I wanted – photos with the backdrop of our mountains, colors of nature. That was where I felt most comfortable and knew that comfort would be reflected in the photos.
I am a brand strategist and web designer. I have been doing this for more than 7 years. The difference that quality photos make for a website is like the difference between walking through a vacant house – and walking through a model home. Distinct photos that capture you in an authentic setting tell a story way beyond words. In today’s world, when your customers have hundreds of options to choose from for similar products and services, you need a way to quickly stand out and connect with your potential clients, to let them know more about you, your passion and your heart. And quality photos deliver that with their professionalism, their capture of character and genuine look beneath the surface.
Your business website is your online storefront. People go to your website to learn more about you and the people behind the business. Face it, if we were only looking for an end service, it would be easy, compare the services offered, close your eyes and pick! But instead with all the options we have in front of us, we are really looking to connect with someone that we want to do business with. Someone we can see ourselves working with. That’s done through your message and content, and with quality photos that capture the essence of who you are and the culture of your business.
My advice to you before you book your lifestyle shoot? If you want to use the photos on your website, make sure to follow these tips and guidelines
1. Make sure you request some photos are taken from a wide angle. You want to have lots of background stretched across the photo so it can be used as banner images on your web pages. Close ups don’t work for banner images.
2. Make sure the colors in the photos are reflective of your brand colors. Wear your brand color or make sure there’s a splash of your branded colors somewhere in the photos.
3. Think deeply what you want the photos to tell about your or your business. Have a list of characteristics that define your brand or business and make sure that those qualities are articulated to your photographer. You want the photos to be consistent with your brand and your brand message.
4. If you want to use some of your photos for social media, make sure there’s a few that you can choose to overlay words or quotes as a template background for your social posts. Again, these need to have equal parts of you in the photo, and equal parts of background space.
5. Take a few headshot photos that capture your spirit and your personality. You can use this photo as your profile picture on social media.
The photos that Tricia delivered were beyond beautiful. They were exactly what I had hoped for – photos that not only captured me, but were set within our Colorado majestic views. In the end, I chose four photos: two that I would use on my website and for my social media backgrounds, one was chosen specifically to be used as my updated headshot photo, and the last one was a wide angle photo that I would use as a banner image on my site. All captured personality with a large dose of my branded colors splashed in the background. Those photos are now the anchor of my web pages, an insight into the story and culture of my business. www.bluezenith.com
