How to Take Great Landscaping Photos (and How to Use Them to Market Your Landscaping Business)

When promoting your landscaping work, photography is one of the most valuable tools in your marketing tool belt.

The old saying ‘a picture is worth a thousand words’ sums up how powerful photography can be, so use this power to your full advantage as a business owner.

Although text will always play a big role in marketing, visuals have the edge because they grab customer attention.

Whether you’re planning your next social media post, website page for a new service, or email campaign, quality photos will help you stand out.

If you’re wondering how to take great landscaping project photos that bring in more business, keep reading.

Below, we’ve shared our top tips for getting awesome pictures of your landscaping projects. You’ll also discover how to use these images to market your business.

1. Make sure your camera lens is clean

It may seem an obvious tip, but you’d be surprised how much dirt can build in and around your camera lens.

Before you begin snapping projects, give your lens a clean. Use a lens wipe or add a few drops of lens cleaning fluid to a microfiber cloth.

Starting from the outside of the lens, wipe in circles towards the center to remove fingerprints, smudges, and dust.

2. Stick to the rule of thirds

You’re probably asking yourself how you’re supposed to stick to the rule of thirds when you’re not even sure what it is. Don’t worry; you’re not alone.

In photography, the rule of thirds is a guideline that includes placing the part of the image you want to highlight on the right or left third of the photo. The other two-thirds are left filled by open space.

This allows the viewer’s eye to be drawn into the whole photo instead of just glancing at the center. It helps create a much more impactful experience.

3. Move closer to the item rather than zooming

When you zoom in on your landscaping project from too far away, it can impact the quality of the photo.

We recommend moving closer to the site and not zooming in from a distance. This way, you capture a clear, focused photograph that presents your project in all its glory.

This gives the customer an accurate picture of your work and highlights your attention to detail. Clients will be impressed, and they’ll know for sure you put great effort into all your work.

4. Take pictures from different angles

To highlight the quality of your projects and give your photographs a professional flair, it’s a good idea to take snaps from many angles.

This is the best way to get customers to experience the project’s full impact. Standard angles to try out on your landscaping projects include:

• Low angles
• High angles
• Wide shots
• Close-ups
• Bug’s eye views
• Bird’s eye views

5. Don’t forget to take pictures in the middle of landscaping projects

A landscaping project is an entire process with a beginning, middle, and end.

Although the final result is the part you’ll be most excited to show off, this doesn’t mean you should forget about the middle.

Casual, in-progress photos will give clients a feel for your work and how you do it.

They’ll have a good idea of what they can expect when they start working with you on their own project. 

How to use photographs to market your landscaping business

Now that you know how to take great photos of your projects let’s take a look at how to use them to market your business.

1. Post images on social media

Social media is a great way to engage with customers online. But did you know that social media posts that include photos outperform those that don’t?

According to Hubspot, Facebook statuses with images had 53% more likes and 104% more comments than statuses that were text only.

Today, people scrolling through social media have an attention span of seconds. If you want to stop them mid-scroll, you have to grab their attention. High-quality images are the best way to do this!

Adding photos to your social media posts also makes clients more likely to share your content with others in their circle. For example, tweets containing images are retweeted 150% more than those without.

A great way of using images on social media to promote your landscaping business is to share before and after snaps of the projects you work on.

Everyone loves to see a project come together, and giving a sneak peek at the process increases your credibility.

And why not tag clients in the photos of their projects to show your audience that you’re a real company, working with real people, delivering real results?

2. Include samples of your work on your website

Including samples of your work on your website proves that you’re a trustworthy business with successful projects under your belt.

When selecting photos of past projects, you want to make sure you use the ones that paint your business in the best light. This is how you make a great first impression!

Any photo you include on your site must be high quality. Low-quality images will make your service appear less credible and put customers off.

When you have quality images for prospective customers to see, it shows you’re capable of improving their own properties.

3. Use photographs in blogs to illustrate your points

Nothing is more off-putting to a customer than clicking on a blog post and seeing nothing but large chunks of text.

No matter how well-researched or written your text is, if there is nothing to break up the page, no one will stick around to read it.

Images are a fantastic way to break up text in your blog posts and keep readers engaged.

Even better, they’re an opportunity to showcase and emphasize the projects you’re describing in your copy.

Try to add images to your blog posts that relate to what you’re discussing in your copy. Combining the two is a great way to make a big impact.

One study even found that when a relevant image is paired with a piece of information, people keep 65% of the information. So, if you want customers to remember your business, you know what to do.

4. Use as a photo background for text

As we know, images are a great way to break up your blog or website text. But another helpful way to include images in the text is to use them as a background for social media posts.

While the background photo works to grab attention, the overlaying text provides all the information.

If you’re wondering how to create a background image for your text, then don’t worry. Many platforms help out with this.

A popular choice is Canva, where you can easily place a background image behind your text without affecting its readability. If anything, it just makes the words pop out at the reader more.

We hope this blog has helped you gain some helpful knowledge on how to snap quality images of the projects you work on and how you can use them as a tool for marketing your business.

If you’d like some more advice on boosting your online profile through the use of photographs, then reach out to a member of our experienced team.

At Chili Pepper Design, we’re specialists in landscaping marketing and helping customers reach new heights in the online world.

Get in touch with us today to get started today.