With the increase in good stock imagery and the decrease of its cost, I get asked the question of whether or not a professional photographer is needed all the time.

In my opinion, there is absolutely no doubt that a professional photographer will provide a much higher value than stock imagery in terms of quality. I think all of us can tell when images are stock or when they come from an amateur’s digital camera and can appreciate the work of the professional. The question really becomes one of budget. Photographers will be more expensive than stock or amateurs and significantly so.

So how do you decide?

First, think of your industry. If your business is a restaurant and you plan on showing photos of your menu items, you definitely need a professional. There’s nothing worse than looking at bad photos of food. If you sell custom jewelry, I give the same advice. Shooting jewelry well is hard. You can’t just take out your digital camera and snap a few. On the other hand, if you are a CPA and want to show conceptual photos of business, stock photos are a good option.

Then, think of the big picture. Are these photos going to live online only or may you need them for a print piece? The more uses you will have for a photo, the more I recommend hiring a professional. The web can be very forgiving because of its low resolution, but print is not. If you are planning a comprehensive marketing campaign with direct mail, emails, and landing pages, a professional photo that conveys your message in a unique way is a very good investment.

Finally, learn to compromise. This doesn’t have to be an “either or” question. You can use a combination of both professional, stock, and photos out of your digital camera. For example, for one site we developed at MB/I, we did the following:

• Hired a professional photographer to shoot the actual product. This particular client has many products, so we focused on a few that represented his product categories well.
• Bought stock photography to use on the overall site design and for items that would change all the time, such as news and events.
• Used photos taken by the client with a digital camera to show the process of creating one of their products. Using Photoshop and cropping the images properly, we got very good results.

What’s best for you will depend on your industry and usage, and will most likely be a combination of these options.