So when do you to choose between professional photographs, Do It Yourself images and stock photos?
Professional photographer
A photographer brings amazing knowledge, expertise, experience and photography style and the right equipment to take great photos for you. No matter what type of photography you need there is a professional photographer that can hep you.
Do some research and find the right person that creates images that you feel will represent you and your brand well, it can feel costly when you’re starting out but its definitely worth investing.
I recently had my brand shoot with the wonderful Jules Williams, I was really nervous as I hate having my picture taken! However, Jules made me feel relaxed extremely quickly and it wasn’t long before I was having fun, laughing out loud and smiling at the camera.
Doing it yourself images
The cameras on smart phones are amazing now and can be good to use for social media images, however not always the best choice to provide images for a website.
If you are struggling with your budget…because we all know how expensive it can be to set up a new business, then this can be one way to save some money until you can pay for some professional images. You still need to have some photography knowledge to do this well. For example how to set the correct focus, the light and how you frame each shot.
Ultimately you can’t beat a professional with the right equipment. If you’re looking for some tips on how to create your own images then professional photographers often share lots of tips on ways to make this work. Check out brand photographer Susan Heaton who shares some amazing tips for taking your own selfies.
Stock photos
There are so many choices when picking stock images both free and paid options. Using solely stock images doesn’t give your audience a real view of you and your brand and products (if you have any) as the use of personal photo of yourself and your team makes your business personable and trustworthy and people can start to put a face to a name. However stock images can help to tell your story if used wisely alongside your own images.
Here are a few options to consider if your looking for stock images:
Free stock images:
Pixabay
negativespace.co
unsplash.com
www.pexels.com
Paid for options: