In a visually driven society, it can be difficult to know how to choose images for your website. Luckily if you’re a photographer by trade, you’ll just need a few tips and tricks on how to pick the right images for your business and for your audience. I’m going to share with you some in-depth tips from finding a consistent style, how to avoid the “trends” and chose images that serve you and your business.
01. Consistency is Queen
Consistency in how you edit your photos is going to be crucial to building a consistent brand and brand loyalty with your audience. We’ve all been there…desaturated greens, weird-looking oranges, and so much grain our photos look like sand. Just me? Okay then 😉
The biggest piece of advice I can give you when it comes to editing consistency is to harness the power of timelessness. What does that mean, exactly? It means, when you see new trendy presets pop up from your favorite photographer, remember that they have developed that for their specific audience for the specific way THEY shoot and THEY edit. More than likely, it’s going to be a preset that echos the trends on Instagram. The problem with trendy presets is that they become dated really quickly. When you look at timeless images from institutions like National Geographic or any sort of documentary type entity, the editing holds up after years if not decades of viewing.
For my own images, I’ve moved into the “true color” category. This means, if you were to look at the back panel of my preset, I am NOT MESSING WITH MUCH! All too often presets totally warp the HSL panel and curves to create very distinct looks. These looks often don’t translate across cameras or across different lighting scenarios. Simplicity not only helps give you a consistent look but also makes your editing so much faster. If you’re not worried about crazy warm tones or whacked out greens, you won’t have to spend 1.2 billion hours on each image.
Lastly, clients need to know what they’re getting when they hire you. If you’re editing is inconsistent between shoots, a client is less likely to book when they can’t envision themselves in your work. And if your work is all over the map, how to they know where to start envisioning?
I highly recommend Mastin Labs or Cascade Presets for more true-to-life tones in your images!
02.Quality Counts
When it comes to selecting images for your website, quality is the key factor. With everyone being exposed to images on a daily, if not hourly, basis, audiences are very attuned to good imagery and poor imagery. You’ll want to look for these qualities in an image to ensure they have high quality:
- Edit style (covered above)
- Avoid repetitive images (make sure things are distinctly different)
- Look for images that evoke emotion. Humans are emotional creatures, especially when it comes to our money and who we trust to give it to. If your images can strike a heartstring or two, you’ll have a higher probability of customers hiring you.
03. Consider Hiring a Mentor
Time takes time and shooting images requires hours of practice. Hiring a mentor to coach you on how to up your photo-game can help move the needle faster. Many notable photographers off mentorship in some capacity for a few hundred dollars. I know, it sounds like a lot but 1:1 attention can drastically help you improve. You might be allowed to shadow your mentor while they shoot and ask questions in real-time about how they go about shooting and interacting with clients.
THE WRAP-UP
To wrap it up, when it comes to knowing how to choose images for your website, these simple rules will always guide you in the right direction. Quality and consistency are two of the strongest pillars in brand identity and website development. A mentor can help speed the process of being a better shooter and more consistent editor.
p.s. If you like this article, I think you’ll really enjoy “Top 7 Must-Haves for Your Business Website”
