While stock photography is great, often the difference between a mediocre website and one that looks absolutely stunning is using high-quality, on-brand, professional photography unique to your business. Hiring a good photographer can be a considerable expense and one that you might be tempted to try and get around, but we can’t say it enough– EVERY business should budget for and have professional photography. Your media is so incredibly important to showing off your business; for everything from its products and services, its team, and your company culture. While stock photography can be useful, especially in a pinch, absolutely nothing beats having photos uniquely suited to your brand.

When hiring a photographer, its important to let them know what you intend on using the photos you are taking for. Traditional portrait style photography is very different from the types of photos you will need to make your web project successful. So, what types of photos do you need? 

Hero Image

(aka Header Image)

The hero image on your website is the first image that people see, directly below the menu, on the home page. This image should capture who your business is and what it is about, visually. Whether it contains people or not is completely up to you. This section often contains the main heading, a description, and buttons, so it’s important to keep in mind that your image should have copy space. This means that the subject(s) of the photo should be positioned off the left or right, with plenty of non-busy background space where text would go.  Below are some stock photo examples of hero images to show what we’re talking about. 

Team Members

You & Your Staff

You want your customers to feel like they know you before they ever step foot (or digitally) meet you. So you’ll want to make sure you have plenty of images of your team. This is going to include both individual portraits and images of the entire team. Having them all day on the same day by the same photographer guarantees consistency, so whether you go with traditional headshots or something more creative that lets your team’s personality shine, your customers will get to know the people behind the company. Tip: Looking for consistency? Let your team wear what they are most comfortable in, but ask that they keep the colors they wear within your brand guidelines or specify something like “wear black pants a white shirt!”

Your Physical Space

The location

Something often looked over are photos of your space, either with people in it or on its own. This is especially important if you are expecting any foot traffic to your business. 

Your Products & Services

Letting your photographer know what types of products and services, and how many of them will help them prepare for the right amount of time and equipment needed. That way you’ll have amazing product photos to showcase on your website and social media.