Images play a huge role in any of your marketing material. As cliche as it may seem, the phrase a picture says a thousand words is popular because it’s so true.
When we begin collaborating with our clients on a web design project we often start the conversation with a discussion about images. You can build a beautiful website (layout, functionality etc) but without the right photos, it doesn’t matter. The images are key.
The images on your site are the first thing visitors see. A quality web designer spends ample time on considering layout, colors, typeface selection and content during the web design process.
The Importance of Layout
It’s for this reason we offer a professional photo session with any new website we design. Knowing how to capture an image for the website verses social media or other marketing materials is crucial.
It’s important to know how the image will be used in determining layout and framing the content.
For example. A banner image on the home page of a website is typically wide angle shot that gives space for a logo. Web design standards typically use a logo in one of two places on a website- the upper left or center. The image you use for this space has to be set up properly.
Website vistors do not read all the content on your site, they scan. The images and layout of your website is just as important as the text. The images are the vehicles that drive website and various page traffic.
We say a photo 4 ways (or sometimes more) because when we capture content we consider all the various ways that one item or location can be used.
When you set up a photoshoot you need to determine the purpose. For example, a real estate shot is very different from a food session. Furthermore, taking a photo of food for social media versus a shot that will be the image on the homepage of the website is also very different.
See the examples below:
Size Matters
Other things that are important to consider when setting up a shot are the various sizes used across all marketing. For instance a Facebook banner has different sizing than a Youtube banner. An Instagram post is different than Twitter and Facebook. If you are shooting for Instagram it’s a totally different set up then the Homepage of your website.
We cropped the same image in the two different sizes for social media to show the difference in what you see. Same shot, two sizes. If you only have one angle of these bikes your Facebook image isn’t very captivating. And, good luck using that same shot on your website banner.
A wider image is best for a website whereas a closer (800 by 800 square) is best for Instagram.
Format and Function
But, it really doesn’t stop there. You also need to consider the size of the image and image file formats. There are different image formats for example, PNG, JPEG and GIF. Different formats are used for different marketing. A JPEG is best for a website.
A professional photographer and marketing team will know the best format and size to use across all marketing collateral.
South Made marketing offers professional photography in Knoxville. We pride ourselves on having the ability to produce the best images for whatever marketing project we are working on. Capturing and curating visual content is something we see great value in which is why we have multiple professional photographers on staff- nothing is outsourced. Want to learn more? Let’s talk!