Why Photos Matter...

 I may be a copywriter, but I understand the power of a great photo. Grabbing our attention and instantly connecting with our emotions; you can create an entire story in one great shot. This builds the tone and sets the stage for a reader and gets them engaging with content.

I’m bringing this up to hopefully inspire people to take a long hard look at their marketing  and analyze if the images they use are connecting with their audience. Unfortunately, the amount of cloned, stock images littering article thumbnails and websites tells me people haven’t quite connected the dots. Images say something about you, whether you care to recognize it or not.

Learning From Ray Rice

Here is evidence to support just how valuable visuals are. With the Ray Rice incident, anybody who saw the after-elevator video knew what happened, they had to know, but you didn’t actually see the abuse it happen. It wasn’t until the full video was released where you saw the graphic assault that people finally reacted. People were up in arms over the scandal like it was fresh news, but truthfully, they already were aware. So what changed?

Those images triggered something more in our minds, something far more dramatic than what simple words could tell. It seems strange to think that the same information can be more impactful with pictures, but it has always been true. 

So, What’s Wrong With My Stock Photos?

I’m sorry, the pretty headset girl with the teeth bright as headlights just looks fake, because it is fake. They all look the same! It doesn’t tell me anything about your business except that you weren’t willing to put in the effort to capture your true business.

We used to do tests with customers; show them a handful of websites we made and get them to pick their favourite. Predictably they always picked a couple ones where the client had invested in high quality, professional photography. Amazing shots in high definition that went through editing, and this produced remarkable stories with each image.

As someone who has worked on hundreds of websites and print pieces, I can tell you that the moment you have to fall back on stock photography, dated images or phone shots, you lose impact with you marketing. Don’t get me wrong, some stock images and selfies turn out half decent, but it often shows a lack of concern for building cohesive visuals with your messaging.

Looking for more advice for doing good photos and visuals? I’ll be posting an article soon, so check back!