Website Design: The Importance of Your Hero Image
The crème de la crème. The if-you-could-describe-your-business-in-one-picture image. When I shoot it at your session, you’ll see me do a tiny victory dance and say, “There it is. The money shot.”
The hero image on your website is arguably the most important one your customers will come across -- here are some tips on how to make sure it leaves a lasting and converting impression.
Why do you need a hero image?
First impressions are everything, especially when we’re talking all things digital in this day in age. Your hero image is the first one visitors see when they land on your website. It only takes about 50 milliseconds, or 0.05 seconds, for someone to form an opinion about your website and decide whether they’ll stay or leave.
If that image doesn’t grab them by the horns and say, “WOW,” you are kissing customers away.
Does the hero image need to be a photograph?
You can really have any sort of visual as your hero image, from graphics to videos, so the quick answer to this is no.
However, when you only have 50 milliseconds to make a first impression, I’d argue that there should be some sort of photographic component to it. For instance, even if you are an artist and want to showcase your artwork out the gate, I’d consider overlaying it across a captivating photograph from your brand session, so that visitors can still easily make conclusions about your aesthetic and brand.
Videos are definitely the up and comer when it comes to content but again...you have a teensy tiny opportunity to get someone’s attention so make sure the first shot in your video is a good one and that it stays on long enough to account for any glitches in connectivity that might make your video turn on a few seconds late.
A “good” hero image
The distance from Executive Coach Pat McKeon and the skyline, his pose, and all the space to his left all play a part in this hero image.
While there are a dozen ways to use the hero image space, if you’re going to use a photograph, here are the ways I ensure my clients have one heck of an image to represent themselves with.
SPACE
When possible, I always try to account for enough space around my subject so that they a) stand out and b) can use the extra space around them for text if needed.
DEPTH
I work with business owners who are paving paths, sharing powerful messages and creating big impacts in the world so we really want to illustrate that they are big players in their respective fields. Skylines, buildings and urban settings are great backdrops for vibe that screams supreme confidence. The California coastline with its massive cliffs and vast distance for SoCal business owners is also a great environment for those shots. And if I’m anywhere in nature, I make sure to capture the scene as far back as possible with my clients in the forefront.
POSE
This is the most important pose of your entire shoot so figuring out what you want to say to your audience key. Do you want to give off a sense of being welcoming or inviting? Or do you want to show everyone that you are here and you mean business? This is where I heavily rely on the keywords we come up during our planning session to make sure we nail it.
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MEET YOUR BRAND PHOTOGRAPHER
Bernadette Marciniak is a branding photographer based out of Los Angeles & New York City. She works with coaches, healers, educators and creative business owners to create powerful imagery that converts audiences into clients.
A former photojournalist, Bernadette approaches brand photography from a storytelling standpoint, using the emotions of your ideal client to guide a photoshoot. Illustrating the achievable transformations of the people you work with is the most powerful way to create the visibility your business needs.
Bernadette loves good pizza, craft beer and red wine. She watches Parks and Rec, Friends and How I Met Your Mother on repeat.
