WHY IS PHOTOGRAPHY SO IMPORTANT FOR INTERIOR DESIGN BUSINESSES?

I have shot real estate photography. Several years ago realtors commonly employed professional photographers to take care of that side of their business as phones with built-in cameras were far more expensive than they are now. But they have evolved a lot in recent years and the price has fallen to a point where almost anyone can afford to own a phone with a reasonable quality camera. But the byproduct of that is that many people also consider themselves to be professional photographers in their own right, something that is extremely common in the world of real estate.

But criticism aside, many of us have the ability to capture reasonably good shots when photographing in natural light. But that is where caution needs to be exercised as stepping across that boundary into the world of interior photography is a whole new ball game, and one that is far more complex. It is so easy to capture interior images that are grainy, especially when leaving all the settings up to the camera. And even non-grainy photographs can lack finesse as it’s one thing to take a picture, it’s another to craft a good image.

Consider two approaches

As an example, consider the following two images, which were taken from an actual photoshoot. The first is the initial capture and the second is one taken having completed a process of crafting the light for optimum exposure, which consists of both natural light and strategically placed flash and lighting modifiers. That’s a huge difference! But that’s one of the key elements of our business, while many photographers would record the scene and move on, we aim to create an image so that we tell the room’s story, bringing out its energy, its soul and essence.

The first attempt - nothing more than a snap. And that window, ugh! The client can never see this!

After carefully adjusting light and editing the image. Now that's one for the portfolio, where's the client?

Simple images that fail to capture these elements have, in my opinion, no place in today’s interior design portfolios. I wish poor photography could be pushed out of the real estate world as well, but then I understand those images have a limited useful life.

The elements of a well-crafted image

This is why I tend to harp on about why it’s so important to employ professional photography in business generally, and particularly so for the photography that is essential to interior designers. Again, images should tell a story, bringing out the interior’s energy, its soul and essence. Showing just a scene rather than creating it is to simply get it wrong. Simply put, that takes you down a path to failure.

I generally have a target number of words for my blog posts and in tackling this subject I am very aware that I will overrun that by a lot, so this post will form the first of what I foresee being a short series of posts that tackle this subject. In this first post I’m going to dedicate about a thousand words to taking a quick high-level look at why professional photography is critical to the success of interior design businesses, and then in future posts I’m going to take a deeper dive into the benefits of good quality photography in interior design businesses, so but please check back.

I have written it many times before, not just in blog posts but throughout my website, first impressions matter! And although I’m focusing on interiors design businesses here, this applies to each and every business regardless of the market it operates in. Business is cut-throat and competition is fierce. You may work hard on your business, as we all do, but I’m sorry, words and the best of intentions are meaningless, your potential clients just don’t care about that, they need to see your work. And that doesn’t mean they want to see a quick snap, they want to see the space you created at its very best, and that means bringing out the interior’s energy, its soul and essence.

 Why should high-quality images be important to you?

Carefully created images can help guide your potential clients through a strategically curated experience, take them on a journey of knowledge and expertise and demonstrate your capability of redesigning their space, demonstrating your experience and your unique vision. Interior design is a visual-experience and product, so potential clients are only going to be prepared to give you a chance once you establish your professionalism, and to trust you means displaying your prior designs in the best possible way you can. That is the only way you are going to make any form of connection with them.

But I have to stress, there is a huge difference between capturing images and creating images. Photoshoots should never be considered as mundane tasks that have little importance. The final images will represent your true ability, your unique value, as well as your aspirations and dreams. Those images will tell many different stories, and most importantly, those images will help you win future clients.

Wrap up, take a walk in your client’s shoes

If I haven’t sold you on the importance of carefully created images yet then for a few moments imagine yourself walking in the shoes of your ideal client. Imagine for a moment an aspiring interior designer approaches you in an attempt to convince you to use their services. One of their first moves will be to reach for their weapon of choice, their trusted portfolio. Maybe they will show you images stored on a phone, a tablet, or maybe they will thrust a book of images into your hand. Either way they, and you know it is their one, and perhaps only opportunity to win your trust. One of two things will happen here, either they will show you portfolio containing well-lit, high-quality interior design photographs, or a portfolio of snaps of average lit and average quality random interiors. They made a choice on which to present to you, and you too have a choice. One choice may propel the interior designer towards convincing you to hiring them. The other choice you have it to reject them completely. Now imagine for another moment that you are walking in the shoes of that interior designer, which outcome do your wish, the one that leads to being hired or the outcome that results in rejection?

I’m hoping that this post will convince you of the importance of having only high-quality photography in your business. But if you need further convincing then please check back for part two in this short series.