Photography tips and resources for small business owners
I run my business a little differently than many in my line of work. I’m all about only spending money where I need to and keeping things cheap and cheerful if I’m tight on budget, streamlining processes when time is of the essence and helping others by sharing my tricks I have learned over the years I have spent in the advertising and design industry.
So today we are talking all about photos and I’ve got some great tips for taking your photography game to the next level while keeping your budget in check so that you don’t have to break your piggy bank.
Here are my top photography tips for small business owners looking for cheap and cheerful solutions:
If you are looking for a custom photo shoot but are on a budget: consider hiring a local photographer that may not be as well known as others in the industry. If you are working with an external agency, they may have recommendations to offer you, but if you riding solo on this one, you may be able to find local talent through social media or recommendations from friends and family. I would also consider hiring a student or new graduate of a photography program, looking to gain industry experience and build up their portfolio.
Separate your photos into categories: photos that require a shoot and photos that can be purchased with stock photography. Here’s an example to illustrate this idea: you are a real estate agent who is getting ready for an open house. You are creating a postcard to handout to potential clients and you need to hire a photographer to take a picture of the beautiful house you are selling, knowing that you can use it on your website and in your social graphics. But you also love the idea of using smaller photos in your marketing - images such as cutting boards, back splashes, and colourful fruit trays. And while you could hire the same photographer to take these photos for you, you may not have the budget to do so. Because these photographs are not integral to any of your marketing pieces, they are a great example of keeping it cheap and cheerful and using affordable stock photography.
Which leads me to my next point - use free and/or inexpensive photography tools and websites. If you are looking for unique photographs that have more of an artistic flair to them, I would highly recommend taking a look at Pexels and Unsplash for free, royalty free photos. Just make sure that you check licensing requirements before you start downloading and using photos, as there may be restrictions.
Save the expensive websites for the most important photographs in your business and use inexpensive resources for the rest. Use affordable images sites such as Adobe Stock and istock for images that are less important for your business or use the free images available to you in Canva (image selection will depend on whether you have a free or paid account). Adobe Stock and istock photo are fantastic websites to use if you are looking for icons, illustrations and maps because they are usually extremely affordable. You can also usually them in sets and available in vector formats, which means they can edited in any vector-based software (like Adobe Illustrator).
Now it’s your turn to take action. The next time you need to purchase photography for your website, social media graphics or advertising campaign, consider some of these tips and tricks to make your marketing budget stretch even further.