4 ways that improving your photography can help your business

1. Engagement: great photographs grab the attention of your potential customers. They halt the scroll on social media and are more likely to be liked and shared, increasing engagement and getting your brand in front of more pairs of eyes.

2. Sales: fabulous photographs show your products off to their very best, making them really appealing, if not irresistible! Lifestyle shots convince customers your brand fits with their aspirations and lives and encourage them to buy. I could dive right into that plate of beef in front of the roaring fire right now! And the gin liqueur shot makes me wish for warm sunny evenings and a cocktail!

3: Branding: Consistently good photographs with a recognisable feel or look reinforces the identity of your brand. And this should be across all your social media platforms.

4: Credibility: Poor quality and inconsistent photography can make your brand / business look amateurish and unprofessional.

However...

Instagram, Facebook etc have a voracious appetite and demand regular feeding and it's not always practical or cost effective to use a professional photographer. I usually suggest that hero shots for websites and print material are done by a professional and that someone in the business is trained to a good level to do everyday shots for social media.

Some people are naturally creative and find taking good photos quite easy, but for others it's very daunting. And food photography isn't just about clicking the shutter button. You have to understand light, composition, camera or phone settings and editing.

I've been training small businesses in these skills for several years and love seeing people's confidence and ability grow.

The shots above are from a  workshop I ran for NoW Food at the University of Chester. NoW Food offers support for young food businesses in marketing, product development, production, testing and other valuable skills. They recognise the role of high quality photography in a business's success.

I put together a two day workshop on Food Photography for Social Media, using cameras and / or smartphones. On the first day we concentrated on the food photography and on the second day, the editing and preparation of the images for social media.

We recently worked with Jane and she delivered a unique and insightful workshop for us in Food Photography and Social Media. All companies who attended the workshop left with a valuable insight into how they could improve their photography skills and implement these new skills daily. Feedback from the course was very positive and we look forward to working with Jane again.

Emily Pegg, Business Development Manager, Innovation to Commercialisation, University of Chester.

If you are interested in a bespoke photography workshop for your business (food or non-food) please get in touch for a chat about your requirements.