The average person visits hundreds of
websites each year, if not each month. If you are online searching
for something in particular, say a hotel or a new home, you'll
most likely do your research online. During your research process
you will come across many different websites, blog posts, and
online listings which you'll quickly skim, move through and
then forget. But how do you stop your website from being
"forgotten" and initiate a call to
action?
One way to help slow the viewer
down and make your site more memorable, is to use quality visual
elements and professional photography. First impressions are formed
within seconds, especially on the Internet where the first elements
on your website to be seen are your photographs.
Photography, especially within the digital
age, can be used in several ways. Photos can be
informative and direct, such as product
shots for a store catalog or website, or photos can be more
engaging to the viewer,like a lifestyle photo in a hotel on the
beach, with peaceful blue skies coming through the windows and
lighting up the room softly.
If approached professionally, your photos should make the viewer
want to look around your gallery and continue to stay at your site.
The longer someone is at your site, the more memorable it will be.
Your overall goal should not be to fill the required spots with
images but to convey a feeling through your photos that will make
your viewer take action by saying "I want to go there!"
or "I need to buy that".
You
just can't throw up photos on your website and hope people like
them; you need to have quality photos done by a professional. Why
would you bring traffic to your site only to turn them away with
poor pictures that are unflattering to your property? Digital photo
manipulation to take away background distractions, color
correcting, and purposeful cropping done by professional
photographers provide effective visual representations. You need to
sell the "experience" of your location. All of the photos
should have consistency, showing only your very best in location
and attributes. Mix in photos with people instead of the usual
empty rooms to help viewers imagine themselves enjoying your
location or products.
Professional photos are a
great investment for your advertising and should be used to brand
your company. If you have a great photo of your business or product
be sure to use this on your website, print materials, and even
signage, tee-shirts, or other promotional materials. Great photos
add a sense of class and style to your brand, and can mean all the
difference to a potential customer. Look at some of the photos in
this post. Although none of the photos are "bad" and
most people wouldn't think twice about using any of the images
on their website, there is a distinct difference between the
professional and non-professional images. The images are strikingly
different and yet they are photos of the same location except using
different angles, lighting, and digital
enhancements.
Alternate Image offers
affordable professional photography packages at cost for our
current clients. We encourage our clients to consider investing in
one of our professional photography packages and will automatically
upload these images to your website photo gallery as part of our
service. Contact us about photo packages and pricing.
-Austin
Marvin
Staff Photographer
Alternate Image
