Professional photographers: why your business needs to hire them.

• Author: White, Rindi
• Position: MARKETING

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So, you have a business and are torn about where to spend your small marketing budget. Some has to go to marketing, but how do you make your ads, brochures and annual reports compelling and showcase some of the unique aspects of your business?

It might be tempting to grab a point-and-shoot camera and snap a few photos of your employees at work, a project you're particularly proud of, or enlist your nephew, a budding photographer, to do the work. Sure, going those routes will result in photos, but photographers say to remember the old adage, "You get what you pay for."

"How do you want to be portrayed?" asked Jeff Shultz, commercial photographer and owner of Alaska Stock Images and Jeff Shultz Photography. "It really depends on the image (business owners) want to portray. Anything that gets wide exposure, you want to look the best. So if you're doing an ad that's in a visitor guide, you really want the best, not just a slipshod photo."

"Any messages a company gives to their potential customers has to be crafted with the thought of what you are communicating to them, how do you put your best description of what's important to you and the client, and also, what's your audience?" said Chris Arend, owner of Chris Arend Photography.

HIRE PROFESSIONALS

Businesses always face the dilemma of tight budgets. But just as selling inferior products can turn off would-be buyers; the way a business is portrayed says a lot about what its owners believe is important.

Kelsey Gray, co-owner of Azimuth Adventure Photography, says construction photos are a key component of his business right now. He frequently takes aerial photos of construction sites around Alaska, as well as on-the-ground photos of work being done. Gray says companies he works with have found professional images of completed jobs, used in business proposals, have helped them land other construction jobs.

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"Some of our customers realize it's a high-quality look that gives them their image," he said.

Jacky Graham, wife and business partner of acclaimed architecture photographer Ken Graham, says the companies her husband began working with decades ago--those that recognized early on the importance of showcasing their talent--have become some of the biggest names in Alaska's construction industry. "They used quality photos in their bid packages and advertising to get more work," she said.

Making pictures of businesses can be challenging. If a company...