Capturing authentic images for marketing photography, for websites and other communications activity is becoming more important as consumers start to recognise stock photography, thanks to its generic nature and, in some cases, over use. An American study found that 67% of online shoppers rated high quality images as being “very important” to their purchase decision, which was slightly more than “product specific information”, “long descriptions”, and “reviews & ratings”. Psychologists all agree say that images can affect a person’s mood.
Stock Imagery
Knowing that images can help sell your products and service is just the first step. You then need to obtain the photos and many people turn to stock libraries. These libraries are easy to search, easy to buy and easy to licence. Using stock libraries side-steps GDPR issues, copyright concerns and the hassle of arranging a photo shoot.
Unfortunately, today’s consumers have become very savvy when looking at marketing materials and websites which means using stock photography can be seen as cheap and lazy. It can also reduce trust in the brand as the viewer often asks why I am not seeing real people in real situations.
The bad news continues as research, across several studies, shows that conversion rates increase significantly when authentic images are used.
Authentic Photography
You can start by using images that best represent your product/service and don’t hesitate to use images of your employees. Many organisations are not harnessing the marketing potential of their staff and people (characters) to help support your story.
SRF has arranged hundreds of photo shoots, including marshalling an entire fleet of trains under a full moon, chasing a hovercraft around Portsmouth Harbour and a fashion show shoot during rush hour at Victoria Station. We have the skills to make sure high-quality images are captured which are recognised as being a genuine record of the event.
This authenticity can be seen in all the photography work we commission, and we deploy maximum effort to make the photos as real as possible. We work with models but are more than happy to use staff and we would rather remove distractions before the shoot rather than rely on photoshop.
Just by scrolling through the images on our website you can see we know how to produce engaging photos which tell a story. We can help you get better photos of your business, so get in touch.
