Many companies like to add photos to their brochures, newsletters or other printed materials. One of the biggest mistakes they’ll make is not getting the best pictures they can. Hiring a professional photographer can be helpful – but it’s not always in every company’s budget. There are some things you can do to encourage a better photograph than if you just point and click. Try our success tips:

Think of what you’ll need. This is one of the most important steps. Yet many companies work backwards, looking first at what photographs they have on hand and then trying to work with those. No, you need to think of your printing project and think of what photographs would be best for this project. Take a yellow lined pad or piece of paper and take some notes. “What would be the ideal photo for…here?” Keep asking this question through your brochure.

Sometimes it pays to get a pro. A professional photographer can be an expense and in today’s economy no company likes to think about paying for something else. But if this brochure is expected to bring in 50% of your new business – that photographer could be a calculated business expense you deserve to spend money on. If no one in your company likes, enjoys or is good at taking photographs – then think seriously about hiring a professional photographer.

Get more photos at first and then narrow them down. It is far easier to take more photos than you need than to set up a second photo session – whether you are doing it or a professional photographer is doing it. Try to take more photographs than you need so you’ll have plenty on hand to choose from.

Remove the clutter. One of the easiest ways to make photos attractive and appealing is to remove the clutter. Get rid of extra and unnecessary objects, people and anything additional in the photo. You want the customer to be focused on your products, services or whatever in the photograph you’d like them to notice first.

Use plenty of light. Some people rely on their flash, and your flash can work quite well. But natural daylight is often the most attractive and will enhance your flash. Try to take photographs during good daylight hours to make the most of these hours.

Get a second (and third if possible) opinion on the photos. Ask coworkers, family and friends what they think of the photos. Just try asking them which photos they like the best. See what their opinions are. This can be very helpful in deciding which photos to use.