2018 Web Design Trend Authentic Photography | Michigan Web Design

Let’s face it: your clients and customers want to see real, authentic photos of your business, your clients, your team, and YOU, of course! Don’t you want to see actual photos of the companies and people that you do business with? Don’t you want to see how the services or products that you may purchase work in the “real world?” Of course you do – and that means people want to see YOU and YOUR BUSINESS, too.

Authentic Photography in Web Design

That’s where Authentic Photography comes into play – it’s a way to show potential partners, customers, or clients the REAL you. Authentic photography showcases YOU – your company, team members, clients, and services or products. And it’s exactly what your potential customers want to see: the real you!

Innovative Web Designs Use Authentic Photography

The Lexani Wheels website is a showcase of gorgeous, authentic photography. The homepage shows a beautiful Ferrari with custom luxury wheels by Lexani.

As you scroll down the homepage, you’ll find a striking product image. Sleek, clean, modern. (Yes, your products can look this good!) It’s worth noting that if you sell a product, you need photos of it (photos and video are even better). By hiring a professional photographer to take your product photos, you’ll get a much result. Professional photographers are trained to capture a product in its best light. Great photos do many things for your business – not only do photos allow your customers to actually see the product, great product photos are also visually pleasing and interesting.

At the bottom of the homepage you’ll find a gallery. The layout is more creative, and signals the end of the homepage. It also offers a way to interest and engage users. The gallery – most likely – gets a lot of clicks, and brings users deeper into the website. Here’s a zoomed-out view of gallery at the bottom of the page. Notice the offset layout for the images. In addition to an interesting layout, the photography and videography on this website is amazing.

Corporate Business Ventures Forward with Photography

The Future Forward website uses authentic photography throughout its website. The homepage is engaging with beautiful images and video (the screenshots I took, below, fail to capture the full experience of this website, unfortunately). The homepage banner uses a serif font in white against an image of a vehicle. This helps the user understand – at a glance – that the website is about vehicles. The photo is also professionally shot, meaning it’s beautiful and engaging. Website visitors love beautiful photography, so use it to show off your business!

This is the banner for a sub-page. If you click on “FF91” in the navigation, you’ll come to this page. Check out the navigation and button (in red) along the bottom of the banner. The professional photographer captured the product beautifully, but the photo doesn’t stop there. The image creates texture – and allure – with light and shadow.

Another excellent example of photography is on the “About Us” page. This page uses authentic portraits for Future Forward’s executive team. The images are authentic and unique. They offer personality and make a connection with the viewer. (Your portraits can look this good! Check out more examples of About Us Photography.) The black background and deep, saturated colors in the images adds a sense of authority, intrigue, and welcome.

Scroll down the About Us page to find more great images of team members from this company. The text – especially the part about “our heart and soul” – really resonates with potential clients of this firm. The colors are soft, giving the image an inviting, warm look and feel. It also increases legitimacy in the company which builds trust with website visitors (potential customers).

Manufacturing Firm Uses Authentic Photography

The Goat Locker, a manufacturing and design firm in NV, uses striking images to engage and educate website users. The colors are black and white, with a bold yellow accent. Notice how sleek and modern this design looks because of the minimalist color palette and excellent photography.

Another section on the homepage uses simple vector icons to illustrate the concept behind the text. The illustrations also make it easy for website visitors to understand what they’re reading. Again, bold yellow is used sparingly to highlight important details. A sharp, closeup photo elevates this part of the design by adding authenticity and beauty. It’s relevant, which also makes it interesting to users.

Web Photography Photography Gets Emotional

The website for the 2018 Mazda CX-5 is stunning – thanks to gorgeous photography of the actual product. Notice how the colors of the web design are reflected in the background of this photograph – and how the automobile is highlighted by being the only red object in sight. Bright white sans serif text pulls the user into the Maza experience.

The next section of the homepage gives users’ eyes a break with clean, minimal text against a white background. A plain black button links to more information.

Lower on the page, you’ll find more excellent photography that makes everything, even the gear shaft below, look beautiful. That’s the power of photography.

More Resources for Web Design Photography

Thinking about designing a website for your business? Consider adding an element of legitimacy to your design with custom photography.

This free ebook, 10 Stats About the Value of Photography & Videography in Web Design, is a must-read for any business exploring website design and thinking about photos. Inside, you’ll find solid stats that make the case for custom photos and videos on your website.