A professional photographer can capture images for you that are thoughtfully composed and convey a message and feeling. If you have a photographer you like to work with book them in for a photography session. You might like to take a combination of workplace shots along with location shots at a nearby park, beach, river or building.
Terrific photos will improve your website
It’s easy to underestimate how much impact photos can have on a website. I’d just about always prefer to have fairly average photos than none at all but fortunately it doesn’t take expensive cameras to get pretty good images.
There are four usual ways to get photos for your website:
- Buy stock photos
- Take photos yourself
- Have a friend take photos
- Hire a professional photographer
Photos that look like they belong to a set through consistent selection of colour and style will make your website look much better than a diversity or random selection. For example, if staff are in uniform that will give visual continuity to the website pages. There is no amount of clever web designing that can compensate for poor photos.
Stock photos
Quick, simple and you can choose photos without leaving your desk. If you need a few feature images or you aren’t ready to take photos then you might like to find some on istockphoto which is a very popular stock photography website. There are some completely free images available on sites like stockfreeimages.com or morguefile.com (not every photo on those is free though).
Taking your own photos
There are excellent cameras available quite cheaply. Even the camera in your phone is likely capable of quite good photo and video capture however the number of megapixels a camera can capture does not necessarily equate to brilliant photos.
Have a friend or staff member take photos
If you are going to be in the photos then you will either need a tripod or someone to hold the camera. Most people seem to know someone like a friend of a friend who has a high quality camera and knows how to use it, check with your trusted contacts for recommendations. Before any photos are taken think about what sort of shots you would like and where you will take them.
Hire a professional photographer
The photographers that we know and recommend are:
- Allen Davis – www.firebugphotography.com
- Stephen Carter – www.scart-photography.com
- Phil Baldwin – www.philoptics.com.au
- Matt Shearer – www.hotshotz.com.au
If you would like an introduction to any of these terrific photographers please let me know.
For really stunning photos consider hiring a professional photographer with all the right gear.
DIY photography
If you are going to take a DIY approach to photography there are lots of great resources online. For example, we created a website for a client that produced an online photography course you might consider onlinecameraed.com and if you open up your search engine and search for your camera brand and mode + tutorial if you want something specific to your camera.
Here are a few pointers before you start clicking your camera
Lighting
Ensure the location youare in is well-lit. Avoid using a flash. The main source of lighting should not be behind the subject (e.g. a bright window behind the person). A light reflecting off a wall in front of the person you are photographing will lighten facial features. Outside photographs of buildings at night can hide a lot of ugly things like powerlines and faded paint.
Focus
You don’t need everything in the photo to be in focus. So long as the subject of the photo is clear the background can be blurred. If you have a shopfront, a picture of the exterior and interior might be nice, but also try taking close-ups of individual counters, wall displays, and racks so that visitors can clearly see the kinds of products you have and get a feel for the store.
Perspective
If you are taking pictures of people, lower your camera (bend down) so that your camera is at chest height, not at the height you would be at if you were standing up. This is a technique that wedding photographers use to take such flattering photos.
Improving your photography skills
Taking a course on learning how to use your camera, lighting and other techniques can make a huge improvement to the clarity and content of your photos. To take an online course in photography we recommend: online photography course and diploma with www.onlinecameraed.com