A robust photo library is a powerful PR tool. According to PR Newswire, press releases that contain images are 1.4 times more likely to drive clicks than text-only releases.
But news releases aren’t the only content that benefits from high-quality photos. Pictures are a crucial asset for your social media accounts, website, and paid advertising—and, of course, your press kit. It’s infinitely easier to tell your brand’s story with photography, and people are more likely to engage with your business when there’s a visual element.
Despite these advantages, amassing an organized and high-quality catalog of images remains a universal challenge for businesses.
Photography Delivers a Good ROI—So What’s Stopping You?
It’s easy to forget about taking pictures when trying to run your business. Photography serves a vital purpose in building publicity, but it can’t help you unless you make a meaningful effort.
While smartphones have given people the tools to take nice pictures and edit them to look even better, not everyone can easily create great photography and maintain a functional photo library. Plus, there are some photos that should almost always be left to the pros.
If you want to reap the rewards of a well-organized photo library, I’m here to tell you that getting started isn’t as difficult as you may think.
How to Maximize Your Photography Efforts
Smartphones have made photography more accessible while raising the standard of what’s acceptable. It’s no longer “good enough” to snap blurry, poorly shot pictures.
But the good news is that it’s now easier than ever to take, edit, and store great photos. Here are a few tips to ensure your photography efforts are successful:
1. Get organized
Your photo library is only truly functional if you can sort through it easily. Image files often have numeric file names, making it difficult to find what you need when you need it.
Maintaining a detailed filing system where photos are named and grouped appropriately will ensure that you can intentionally—and quickly—select the images you want to use for publicity purposes.
2. Learn the basics
It’s fairly easy to learn the basics of photography, and it can make a big difference in the pictures you take and share.
Simply playing with your smartphone’s settings can help you get acquainted with different shots and filters, giving you a general idea of what to do when it comes time to snap a few pictures for your company. YouTube and TikTok have great resources on how to pose subjects in photos.
When it comes time to use the pictures you’ve taken, Canva is a simple tool that can transform your photos into professional-looking assets—no graphic design experience required!
3. Build the habit
There could be a skilled photographer in your company, and you may not even know it yet!
A simple scan of your employees’ Instagram or Facebook pages can tell you who on the team has an eye for good pictures—and who doesn’t. If you identify someone who loves taking photos, ask them to get into the habit of regularly snapping pictures on the job.
4. Get inspired
Study your competitors and other Instagram accounts you find aspirational to get ideas for new images. Immersing yourself in good photography from sources you want to emulate will give you a foundation for setting up high-quality shots.
Keep in mind that even the seemingly candid photos you see were probably staged, and you can replicate them with a little effort.
5. Use professional photography when needed
A good photo strategy should leverage both amateur and professional photography.
Amateur photography works for small events and day-to-day images. But if you’re hosting a major event or your photos will have significant longevity (think: headshots, images for your website), it’s time to call in the professionals.
Want to build a robust photo library but aren’t sure where to start? A seasoned PR expert can help you develop a solid foundation of images to strengthen your publicity efforts. Get in touch with me today to learn more!
