Every business owner should have professional commercial photography to promote their business. Custom photography created for your brand communicates your story to your customers. 

Commercial photographers have experience and expertise in creating compelling images for different businesses. For example, a service-based business will need headshots, group photography, and professional candid shots of your business at work. Headshots are used for marketing a person, their character, and their profession to allow your customers to connect with you. On the other hand, a product-based company will need photography of its process, the people, and images of the products. Hiring a professional photographer will ensure that creative imagery is branded for your business.

Before shooting your imagery, a professional commercial photographer should ask many questions and know your business. Here are a few things to consider when creating custom photography for your business. 

Brand the Company

The headshot or corporate group photograph should give people an idea of your industry or business. It should communicate to your clients that you are a professional company running a successful business. The images should be created to blend with the current marketing materials if already established. If not, the professional photographer can help your company create a new look and feel for your brand. Examples: coordinate the colors of the clothing with the colors of your brand. Use lighting patterns and locations that are consistent with the company’s identity. 

Inviting

Professional photography should be inviting as it keeps the viewer curious about the company, with quality composition, lighting, and expression. In addition, a corporate image will engage your target clients in your marketing materials. A professional photographer will know how to creatively pose and light your people and products to provide interest in your website and marketing materials.

Keep Images Up to Date

Once you have invested in professional photography, there is the question of how often a business should update its photography? One can change their headshots and corporate group photos from a few months to a few years. Several things will determine how often a business needs to change or update its professional photography.

1. A notable change in physical appearance: If personnel go through highly notable changes in their physical appearance, they need to make sure they update their headshots. These changes can be a new haircut from long to a short, drastic change in hair color or a noticeable weight loss or gain. 
2. Change in the nature of business – Some people might branch into a different line of business or even include other companies in their already existing company. If this happens, business people need to update their professional photography to ensure that their headshots express and represent their current business and brand.
3. Addition or removal of team members: Corporate group photography should be updated when new members are added or removed from the team. Keeping your professional photography updated will ensure that the website visitors know the corporate group presently without omitting new hires or including those not in the businesses anymore.
4.  2-3 Years. If none of the above have applied to your business, you should consider a photography refresh after a maximum of three years. It’s best to refresh your images yearly to keep your audience engaged with your content. 

In the end, choosing to hire a professional photographer is an excellent investment for your company. In addition, employing the services of a professional photographer will be best for your business’s overall marketing and brand. 

 Below are some examples of custom photography created for a refrigeration company. The professional photography and new website design changed their company brand. They went from looking like a mom-and-pop shop to looking like the multi-billion-dollar organization they are.