As with any kind of technology and marketing, the industry of marketing photography and its trends are always changing. It can be difficult to know which trends to pay attention to, which ones to be trying out for your company’s own marketing photography, and what your target audience will respond to positively. Photography trends can actually make a huge impact on a company’s marketing efforts. Photography is one of the best ways for a business to show their work and highlight what they offer, as well as connect with customers on an emotional level.
Photography is one of the best ways for companies to allow potential customers to connect with their brand on a personal level and therefore, it’s important for businesses to keep up with current trends. Photography trends are constantly changing, so it’s important for businesses to stay up-to-date in order to reach the widest range of potential customers.
Hiring professional photography services, such as C&I Studios, opens up more opportunities for businesses to do digital marketing that showcases their products and services. Photography trends will also change, so it’s important for companies to pay attention to what is popular right now and then adjust accordingly as that changes. Photography not only allows a company to show off their final products or the processes used to create them, but it can be an effective marketing tool by itself.
The companies that are successful in marketing will be those who pay attention to what is popular among not only their own industry but also industries adjacent to theirs and adjust accordingly. Photography trends could include anything from which kinds of photographs resonate the most with customers, to what colors or types of scenes they tend to respond more positively towards. Photography trends will change over time, so it’s important for businesses to keep up with the latest marketing trends.
The following are photography trends that companies should be paying attention to, as these will likely have a significant impact on their own marketing efforts.
First, let’s talk about the subject of your photography. Trends in the subjects are some of the most obvious trends that you can point out, but editing trends should also be taken into account. Trends in who is portrayed in a photograph, how the photograph is set up with the subjects are both equally important to pay attention to.
Subjects
Deciding on a photograph’s subject should be somewhat determined by your industry. If you sell products, you want to make sure the products are in the shot. If you’re selling an experience, make sure to highlight the place and the action! But what else is important to the subject of the photograph? Let’s take a look at all of the different kinds of subjects that you can feature in your company’s marketing photography:
Photography of People
As people tend to respond better emotionally when they see other humans in advertising, this is a trend that companies should definitely try. The use of photography featuring actual people allows for a more relatable marketing message and can help convince customers to engage with a business by either purchasing their products or using their services. People also have a tendency to connect more positively to images of other people, as opposed to those that only feature a product.
Photography of Color
Color is another element in marketing and photography trends that businesses should pay attention to, as it has been shown to have an impact on customers’ buying decisions.
Photography featuring certain color tones will attract specific groups of consumers based on research about their preferences. For example, warmer colors are best for selling luxury brands, while cooler tones are better for selling sports apparel or other products that have a more youthful appeal.
Photography of The Environment
One trend that companies should pay attention to is the use of natural imagery. Photography trends have shown that images portraying a location where a business operates tend to be more successful than those with digitally altered scenery. Images featuring actual landscapes can show off a company’s products in a setting that customers will already recognize and also provide an image of the surrounding area where they might be looking to spend their time.
Photography of Lifestyle
Lifestyle photography trends show people’s daily lives, so businesses can use this style in order to give customers an idea about the types of activities that are involved with using a product or service. Photography showing people enjoying themselves at an event can increase attendees’ interest in that event and also help customers see how they can use a product or service to enhance their own lives.
Photography of The Home
Companies can use photography trends to enhance their marketing by utilizing images showing the home as a symbol for happiness, warmth, and family values. Photography showing kitchens has been shown to be particularly effective in marketing products that are used in this area, while family portraits have been shown to be one of the most popular types of images used in marketing.
Photography of Animals
Using photographs with animals appeals to customers’ emotions in a positive way and can make them feel like they would enjoy owning such an animal. Photography trends have shown that images featuring dogs especially get higher engagement on social media, while images of puppies are some of the most popular among consumers on Instagram.
Photography of Products
It’s important for every company to show off its products in an attractive way that draws attention to them and appeals to customers’ emotions. Photography trends have shown that close-up shots can be especially effective in this area, as they give customers a clear view of the product’s details and textures. Although it might be tempting to use stock photos, companies should take advantage of photography trends and show off their own products in an original way that will set them apart from competitors.
Photography by Customers
The final trend to pay attention to in photography is the use of images that are taken by customers themselves. Photography trends have shown that user-generated content has been one of the most successful ways for companies to market their products or services online, so businesses should encourage customers to send in photos they’ve snapped of their experiences with a company’s product or service.
Photography of Food
Photography trends have shown that images showing off the details and textures of food items are incredibly popular on social media, so businesses can use this strategy to market their menus through online channels. Images featuring dishes that are aesthetically pleasing and look delicious enough to eat tend to be most popular with customers, so restaurants should put an effort into ensuring that their photos stand out in this area.
Photography of Action
Photography trends have shown that using images that feature movement and speed can be a successful way to catch the attention of audiences online. With this in mind, action shots showing products with their features in use can help companies explain how their products work and why customers should buy them. While it might be tempting for companies to edit additional effects into their photos, they should try to take advantage of photography trends and capture these moments in real-time.
Photography of Emotions
This trend can meld into any of the other trends. Photographs that evoke an emotional response can be of any subject. It just has to connect with your audience in the right way.
Although it’s important for any kind of photography used as marketing to show off a company’s products or services, images that also elicit an emotional response from consumers will be even more effective. Photos showing people enjoying themselves at a restaurant, for example, will make others want to visit that location and have a similar experience. Photography trends have shown that images evoking a wider range of emotions tend to be more successful, so it’s important for companies to pique the interest of customers by showing how they could benefit from their product or service.
Editing Trends
Trends in how photographs are edited are also important to pay attention to. Photography trends have shown that images showing off moods or emotions can be especially effective if they have been edited to appear more dream-like. Photography trends have also shown that vintage effects are popular with consumers, so businesses shouldn’t neglect to edit their photos accordingly in order to take advantage of this trend.
Filters
Editing trends can include adding filters to your pictures. Filters have been around for a very long time, long before they were added to social media platforms like Instagram or Snapchat. Digital photography has always allowed us to lay a filter over the photograph in the editing stage.
We don’t mean adding animal ears and a slobbering tongue to a photograph. We’re talking about filters that make the photograph black-and-white or with different colors emphasized by slightly desaturating others, among other things.
Photography trends have shown that black-and-white photos are also highly popular with customers, so businesses should take advantage of this trend by editing their promotional images accordingly.
Special Effects
You can easily turn a photograph into a video these days with the click of a button. You can add looped motion to make water ripple or clothing float in the wind. Photography trends have shown that we currently enjoy seeing life-like images that look as though they could exist in the real world, so businesses should do their best to incorporate special effects into their photographs accordingly. Make your products sparkle, literally, with special effects or even turn them into 3D images through special effects.
Photography trends have also proven that videos are more popular than ever with customers, so companies should consider how they can utilize both formats.
With these photography trends in mind, companies can take advantage of the incredibly high number of people who use social media to market their products and services every day. Whether it’s through videos or images, companies should take advantage of photography trends to reach audiences in new and innovative ways. Photography trends will continue to change as we move forward so it’s important for companies to stay up to date on the latest styles and techniques. Photography can be a successful way to capture emotions and memories, so if you want your business marketing strategy to be successful, it’s important to keep track of the latest changes in the industry.
So, tell us, what trends are you seeing in photography right now? Are there any you want to try out but either don’t have the know-how, equipment, or workforce to do so?
Contact us at C&I Studios! We would be honored to help you with your company’s photography. Our company has been able to provide photography services from renting out equipment to renting out studios to even taking care of the entire shoot for you! We would love to work with you and your company, so please drop us a line!