It's a pain, but it's worth it in the end...
When updating your website…
…don’t skimp on the effort of selecting the right photos to compliment the pages.
Recently, I decided to take on the task of renovating my website.
New copy
Updated layout
Additional galleries
The whole shabang.
I was inspired to make the change because when assessing the way it looked and sounded, I no longer felt like it aptly represented who I was, who I served and the problems I solve for those I serve.
You know, for the same reasons that you update your website, :)
So, I spent a couple days planning out the changes, and then worked to execute those changes.
While writing the copy and laying out the pages took a relatively short amount of time to get it to where I wanted, the process, overall, took a lot longer than I expected.
Why?
Selecting the photos.
But, you’re a photographer, shouldn’t that be the easiest part of the work?
Regardless of how much experience one has in dealing with visual assets, finding the right images that visually punctuate the sentiment of the copy is a constant challenge.
Additionally, when you factor in an endless amount of choices - I have hundreds of client sessions from which to choose - that only makes the process more daunting.
Regardless of the creative paralysis that an overwhelming amount of options creates, I do have a well-worn process that helps cut through the friction in order to get the job done.
After the site pages are laid out, I leave placeholders for where I plan to break up the copy with images. That’s my starting point.
From there, I focus on selecting one image at a time and forget about the rest for a second.
When looking at a specific image placeholder, I read the copy next to it and define the emotional sentiment of the phrase, paragraph or bulleted section.
Vulnerable? Confident? Introspective? Fun? etc.
Then, I brainstorm the types of photos that could convey that emotion to compliment the copy.
Smiling headshot? Focused while working on the computer? Confidently writing on a whiteboard? A badass direct address portrait? Engaged while reading a book? Passionately conducting a 1:1 client consultation?
Once the emotional sentiment and the specific type of photo is identified, I then think about client sessions that created images with those types of photos.
Which is basically all of them, so…
The way to pair down the options is to take into account the photos from other client sessions already present on the page, ignore using anymore from those sessions, and find clients that aren’t yet represented in the albums or inset images.
This approach ensures that a wide collection of my clients are represented throughout the website and that creates a wealth of visual variety.
But that process takes a TON of time.
It gets a bit nitty gritty, no doubt about it, but the juice is worth the squeeze.
Your website is your online home base.
It’s not housed within the walled garden of social media. It is the ideal place for potential clients to learn more about how you can solve their problems.
As a result, it’s important that you put in the work to create an opportunity for those folks to learn more about who you are, who you serve, the problems you solve and how.
Not just from the copy you write - but also through the visuals that you share, as well.
When selecting the photos that live on your website, be purposeful and intentional with every choice, because they are joining forces with your copy to do the heavy lifting of getting the attention of those who need you most.