Okay, you've got your website all planned out. The design is slick, the pages are beautifully composed, and its optimized for every browsing experience you can imagine. There is just one problem - your product shots look like they were taken with one of disposable cameras they used to sell in the check-out line at the grocery store and photocopied a few times.

A great website is your best marketing tool, you want to put your best foot forward when selling your business to the public. If your product shots are washed out, poorly framed, and taken in all kinds of different resolutions and sizes, you're shooting yourself in the foot. It may be time to look into a professional photographer to come in and put your products in their best light.

Remember, a potential customer online only has the photograph of what you are selling to go by. A good professional photographer will know not only how to make your product look it's best, but the extra tricks to sell it. Lighting, staging, highlighting outstanding features and hiding minor imperfections, a good photo can sell a product all on its own. 

Different photographers specialize in different areas. When shopping around for one to hire, know what you are looking for. Ask questions about why kind of work the photographer has done before, look at their portfolio of previous projects (if they don't have one to show you, run). A restaurant for example may look for someone who specializes in artfully arranging and photographing food (if you want to see how crazy that particular field can get, check out professional food stylist Janice Poon's blog about her work on the TV show Hannibal). If you sell industrial equipment or manufacturing tools, look to someone who knows how to capture the power and magnificent design of machines such as an automotive photographer.

If your business has a staff page, you may want to consider professional head shots. When you get down to it, every business is a people business, and it's important to humanize your staff and make a connection with your customers as much as possible. Head shots that make you more than an email address can accomplish exactly that. While  many of us loath having our photos taken already, a good photographer should be able to make you feel relaxed and at ease as possible while capturing a flattering image to present to the world.

Exterior shots of your business can also benefit from a professional touch. You may be amazed at what a slight change of angle, light, or time of day can do for a place. Photographers know these tricks. When you're trying to get an edge on the competition every advantage, even glamour shots of the office, counts.