The need for photographs becomes very necessary when one moves into a position of influence. Recently, someone rose to a top-ranking civil service position and some news sites wanted to tell his story; it was a passport photograph that was used. That was not appealing enough. When announcing a new appointment – the media won’t even publish the story unless there’s a decent image to go with it. We all can, and should, use photography to our advantage when enhancing our marketable skills.
The most important reason to use photographs in publications is to relay a message. Photographs can communicate quickly, compellingly, dramatically, honestly, and simply. You must make sure that your brand personality comes across in the pictures.
Whether you’re using images on your website, social media, or sending them to news publications – if they look unprofessional or poor quality, it won’t reflect well on your business.
We all should use photographs to do the following
(1) to communicate information quickly;
(2) to create excitement without easily recognized bias; and
(3) to offer graphic proof of intangibles such as market acceptance, product leadership, high-quality volume production, and dynamic management.
Photographs lend authority and realism to a publication, and they accomplish far more with a single image than a comparable amount of text can. Numerous studies have shown that readers are more likely to believe a story if it features a photo.
If you want outstanding images, you need to consider two major factors in choosing a photographer for a job:
(1) the creativity of the photographer, and
(2) the quality of the images the photographer captures.
Portraits are used in publications more than any other kind of photo. A good portrait can reveal much more about the subject than merely what he or she looks like, and through careful selection of pose and lighting, a photographer can bring out the grace, poise, dignity, and character of an individual.
People like to look at pictures and prefer them to the printed word. They grasp the meaning of photos quicker than the meaning of a story, and they believe photos are more truthful than what they read.
Remember, if someone knew nothing about you or your business other than what they could see from a single photo, how would they describe you?
Take time to contract a photographer and begin your journey to the positioning of your personal and corporate brand.
Olutayo Irantiola writes #PRQuotes weekly
