Megapixels Don’t Count.

This entry is part 5 of 4 in the series Marketing 101

With the ever improving selection of high quality and affordable digital cameras on the market today marketers are being more and more tempted to do their product photography in-house. In the last 12-18 months alone, manufacturers have pushed the resolutions of point-and-shoot cameras into the realm of pro-photography. Digital SLR’s have gone even a step further and many are now offering HD video recording capabilities at a reasonable price.

In the past, the cost of entry into pro-photography level equipment was too high for the average business to justify. It made more sense to hire a professional from time to time to take care of your image needs. Nowadays for around $1000 you can get a 10 or 12 megapixel digital SLR with a couple of lenses and a good quality flash. So why hire a professional when you can invest in the equipment you need for the amount it costs to get one or two professional shots?

The answer is quite simple. It’s not the megapixels that count. In fact, to some extent, it’s not even the equipment that matters. Sure, it is important to have enough resolution that you can capture sufficient detail in your image and having the right lens, good lighting equipment and a proper shooting environment (i.e. a seamless backdrop and limited ambient light sources) makes a big difference. But, more important than any single piece of equipment that money can buy is the experience and knowledge a professional photographer has with the composition of his subject and how to light it to get the right effect. This is experience that comes with years and years of practice and training and the difference between an amateur shot and a professional one is quite easy to see. Look at the two examples below – resolution and detail are about the same, but it’s obvious which one was professionally done.

When it comes to marketing – online or offline, the quality of your images says a lot about your company. If your product photos or even headshots of your key personnel look amateurish it gives off the impression that you are running a small home-based business that has a very limited budget. Conversely, a small company can enhance its image and compete with much larger corporations by simply using high quality, professionally shot images in its marketing.

Next time you need a new product shot or other type of photographic image for your marketing think of the cost of getting it professionally done as an investment in your company. Buying or using a camera you already own and doing it yourself might actually “cost” you money in the long run.