Why is commercial photography necessary?

Most people don’t really understand the reason why a commercial photographer is required. Of course, big businesses and successful marketers know exactly why you should use them and have been using them for a long time to help sell their product as well as increasing brand awareness. So why do they use commercial photographers? Because it works! Commercial photography goes beyond taking an image of a product or a person. The actual taking of the photograph is only a small part of the process that usually occurs towards the end of the process. That is because the image itself is normally engineered a long time before the photographer clicks the button. The reason for this is that the intent of the image is to have an effect on potential buyers. There is a very high level of psychology that take place to make sure that the image evokes a response. The main reason for this is to push the client into buying the product or the service. This is something that smaller business don’t always understand and it is a bit of secret for those that do.

It is not unusual for large companies to spend upwards of $250,000.00 on one single campaign in some cases more. Why do they do this? Because they can make back the money many times over.

Spending this level of money is not required in most cases but it does illustrate the point that it works. We have had postitive ROI (Return On Investment) on shoots with budget as little as $500. So the next time you are looking through a magazine and see an image of a delicious lamb chop or a bowl of pasta and your mouth starts to water you will know that there was a team of people working in the background to get you to react that way.

What could professional photography do for your business? Maybe we can help. Get in touch for a obligation free chat.

HEADSHOT PHOTOGRAPHY Do I really need a professional headshot photograph?

The short answer is a big Yes! It is now understood that when reading anything the first thing you will look at is the photo. It doesn’t matter if this is in print, on social media or just a website. The image is the first thing we notice and it is the main contributor to your first impression of what you are seeing. Because of this, you want to make the best first impression possible. This is where it is really important to have a professional headshot photographer help you with your photo. You see, all photographs are not created equal. Simply smiling to the camera or asking someone to “say cheese” does not work. Your expression, smile, lighting, camera position, lens (and more) need to work together to send out the correct message. Have you ever looked at someone’s photo and said to yourself “I don’t trust them”. This may not be an accurate representation of that person but it may be the one they are projecting.

So the answer to the question is YES. If you have a presence on social media, website or anything else that requires a photo you need to take this seriously. A professional headshot photographer will help you get the exact image you are after.

If you would like to know more about this (obligation free of course) please contact me and I would be happy to have a chat with you and answer all your questions. You would be surprised how affordable it is to get an image that will represent you correctly and make you money!

Turbo charge your online presence. TIP #1 - Social media banner

Banners are a fantastic way to add loads of credibility to your online presence. Not to mention standing out from the rest. The main issue with social media these days is that there is so much noise that it has become extremely difficult to stand out. By adding a banner in your profile you can add content that straightens your brand. My banner below immediately communicates what my profile is about. This example is my facebook profile but profile banners exist in most social media networks like Facebook and LinkedIn.

It’s been suggested that we remember around 10% of what we hear, 20% of what we read and 80% of what we see so make this image count and ensure that it speaks for you.

THE SCIENCE OF FIRST IMPRESSIONS

I’m sure you’ve heard this line “You’ll never get a second chance to make a first impression”.  Well, it now seems that we have some proof that this is actually true.  A Princeton University study by psychologist Alex Todorov and co-author of the study Janine Willis found that the your initial impression is made very early on. The study consisted of about 200 people being shown images of 66 faces for different durations.  The durations where 100 milliseconds, 500 milliseconds and a full second.  After being shown the images the observers were asked to rate if they thought the faces looked trustworthy or not.  They were also asked how confident they were about their rating.  The experiment also included other ratings like likeability and competence.  

The results of the experiment found that not only did the people not change their minds but as they were asked to look at the images for a longer period it actually reinforced their initial rating.  It has been suggested in other studies that this is due to your brain trying to reinforce that it is in fact correct.

This is even more important in today’s life because very often your first impression to someone else occurs digitally.  That is, someone sees a photo of you on social media, resume, email, or other medium and instantly forms an opinion of you.  This becomes even more important when there is something riding on you making a good impression.  A job interview is a good example of this.  This image is representing you when you are not there and if it’s going to be your first attempt to get through the door you better make sure it’s a good one. 

We regularly see people that use a selfie to represent themselves online.  When going head to head with another candidate that has a professional photo on their site…..  you’ve probably already lost.  We recommend having a professional photo taken that not only captures you at your best but is also in the style that matches your requirements.  A professional head shot is not easy to get right.  We normally spend around 30-45 minutes with each individual working and coaching them on pose, expression, hair & make, wardrobe and much more.

You’ve spent so much money on that new suit for you interview so why not invest a fraction of that on a hidden advantage? I can help you get that advantage. Click HERE

Want to learn more about the study. Check it out here.

https://www.princeton.edu/news/2006/08/22/snap-judgments-decide-faces-character-psychologist-finds