Photography is one of the most important elements of your website. It allows your online audience to become familiar with your space and your people, while also providing you with an opportunity to share the story of you who are and what you are about.

Photography is one of the most important elements of your website. It allows your online audience to become familiar with your space and your people while also providing you with an opportunity to share the story of who you are and what you are about.

In short, photography matters ... a lot. In an age of all digital media, all the time, where the people you are trying to reach are constantly taking in images as they scroll through Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, the solution quickly becomes about more than just having photos. The photos you use need to be compelling. They are telling the story of your church, the story of your mission and vision. Their purpose is to draw the viewer in and let them know: there is something here ... something worth your attention.  

5 Tips for Curating a Compelling Photo Collection

  1. Show your space: Gather a good collection of pictures of the interior and exterior of your building. Showcase traditional and/or unique elements of your church, shots that convey how your building informs who you are as a church. 

  2. Show your staff: Creative, professional photography that highlights your staff is key. Visitors to your site, just like to your building, want to know that your staff is friendly and approachable.

  3. Show your people: Photography should convey emotion. Show the personality and energy of people in your church. A few faces, close-ups of people responding to sermons, worship, or a church event are generally more compelling than group shots.

  4. Show your movement: Show the life of your church, the bustle of people going here and there between services, children playing, people serving at a community event/preparing food, a class or small group meeting, etc.

  5. Show your future: Highlight your "next generation" worshippers. Show your junior high and high school students worshiping, meeting, praying, serving in the community, having fun together, etc. Curate a collection of shots that capture your children's ministry: a line of backpacks or coats hanging on the wall, kids lined up with the focus zoomed on shoes/feet. Anything that captures the spirit, warmth and joy of children in church. 

Want to learn more about how your church can present clear and compelling visual communications? Click below to download our "Visual Lameness" ebook!

Let's bring an end to Visual Lameness: no more clip art or generic stock photos in the church!