How to Choose Photos for Your Website that Book More Couples

It’s exciting to design a new website for your business.

You pick the perfect template. Then get someone to customize it with your style kit (or maybe get a new one). You find a copywriter to replace “Lorem Ipsum” with words that sound like you and represent your brand. Maybe you go above and beyond with some SEO work.

Well done. You’re ready for launch.

Except for one thing: What images do you put on the site? And I’m not just concerned about your portfolio of galleries, although that’s important too. I’m also talking about the 15-20 photos you need to fill those placeholder images on the template.

Splurging on a custom site? Good for you! But you’ll (likely) still have to pick your own photos.

And let me tell you, it’s not as easy as you might imagine.

Why website projects (often) stall

Over the past two years, our copywriting team has worked on over 125 website projects. We’ve provided 100+ more site audits for 1:1 clients.

Do you know what trips up most website projects from getting done?

Image selection.

And it’s not just your website that causes stress with photos. How hard is it to pick what you put on your social media feeds? Pinterest and IG and TikTok oh my!

Or what about real wedding blog posts? How do you pare down a gallery to just 50 from 500? (BTW, avoiding the tough choices and putting up your “Top 200” in is not a good solution!)

Here’s why:

People don’t want to see images or videos that don’t interest them any more than they want to read words that bore them.

And it’s not just getting them to stop scrolling or bounce off your site. It’s more than that…

Connect with their hearts and heads

What does a sales and pricing expert know about what images to pick for your marketing?

Quite a bit, because it’s all about the psychology behind how humans make decisions.

Ultimately, the most successful sales and marketing efforts start with knowing what triggers drive your buyers and how they prefer to communicate.

The sales process is just an expression of that knowledge because it’s designed around it.

So is the copywriting on your website. And social media. And blog posts. And service proposals. Even regular email, phone, and text correspondence can (and should) be shifted based on who you’re communicating with.

Images that resonate with your ideal client’s deepest desires will enhance their experience of your brand as much (and even more with some buyer types) as your style kit and your copy.

What do your images say?

That brings us back to photo selection:

If an image speaks a thousand words, what are yours saying? What are they communicating? What do they signify? What feelings do they evoke? What messages are they conveying?

Most wedding pros don’t know.

I think that’s why it’s so hard to pick what to put on your site and social media feeds.

Do you know what you want your images to communicate to your favorite clients? The ones you want to attract? The ones who’ll build your portfolio and reputation, and allow you to charge what you want and work on projects that interest you?

It’s a legit question: Do you know what you want to communicate? Do you know what your ideal clients want to see from you? If not, that’s your first step.

Because when you do know then it’s easy to choose the right images.

A great image is more than composition and style

I want to be clear, every couple wants to see high-quality photos with excellent composition. And, yes, you want to be true to your style and have it reflected in what you put online.

But what do you share? Do you share images of people or décor? If people, what are they doing in the image? Are they alone or surrounded by others? What kinds of expressions do they have on their faces? Is the background familiar or new? Light or dark? If the people had bubble thoughts over their heads what would they say?

You see, it’s not enough to have pretty photos on your site. The best selections are intentional and directed at connecting with those deep desires your ideal client holds inside.

If you’re not sure what your favorite clients want most, check out this recent episode on my Own Your Business Podcast that gives a good overview.