It takes a team to successfully build out a marketing campaign. Last month I sung the praises of writers, this month I want to send love to photographers. I know and work with some amazing ones, whether you need product, fashion, food, on location or in studio, and of course, portraits; I can confidently recommend several pros. When budgets are tight and there are so many stock photography websites, why do you need to use a photographer? Authenticity.

Yes, sometimes stock art will do quite nicely, but other times not so much, (think cheesy smiles). You can tell what feels real or not, so can your audience. Building trust and credibility with your ideal client or donor is critical and the right photography is an important part of the equation for creating that.

I’m currently redesigning several websites, two are non-profits. Having the help of professional photographers for these sites is critical to their success.

The one organization is serving blind children with multiple disabilities. Without real photography on location, it’s tough to get the message across. We want to engage our audience and have them understand the needs of this special group. Having shots of the children in their therapies helps explain what the therapies do in ways more compelling than words alone.

Another site is for a counseling center, where we are in the process of taking new portraits of the counselors. Currently their head shots are inconsistent in size and quality. The new shots will add credibility to the site. Yes, phone cameras have come a long way and there are some great selfies out there, but when we’re talking about your company’s image, this is not the place for it. Save them for Facebook and Instagram.

These are just two projects, that I’m in the middle of, where working with a team of professionals helps deliver a better end product.