September 24, 2025 • 21 mins
Could your clinic's photos be doing more to help you connect with new clients?
In this episode of Radio Front Desk, Denzil is joined by photographer and business owner Ian Harland to explore how authentic photos can make your clinic stand out, build trust with potential clients, and even boost your SEO.
Ian has captured many of Jane’s marketing photos, and here, he shares his tips on creating visuals that feel both inviting and reflective of the care you provide.
What You’ll Learn
- Why brand photography is key to building trust and attracting clients online
- The types of photos every clinic should (and shouldn’t) use in their marketing
- How authentic photos improve your website’s SEO and discoverability
- DIY photography tips for practitioners on a budget
- How to find and work with the right professional photographer for your brand
Guest Bio
Ian Harland is a Vancouver-based photographer capturing compelling visuals across a diverse range of subjects and industries, with Jane App being one of his valued clients in the health and wellness sector. With a keen eye for detail and a passion for authentic storytelling, Ian's work spans outdoor adventures, travel, portraiture, and collaborations with businesses to enhance their visual presence.
Resources mentioned
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Radio Front Desk is Brought to You by Jane
We like to make sure that when we tell you more about Jane, it’s super helpful. Here’s one we think you might like:
In this episode, Ian reminded us that authenticity builds trust, and that’s something we believe in at Jane, too. That’s why when you’re switching to Jane, you’ll always get real human support. No bots, no generic scripts, just a friendly team that listens, understands your clinic, and helps you move your data over with care.
Because just like authentic photos make your clinic more inviting, authentic support makes all the difference when you’re starting something new.
Learn more about switching to Jane
Disclaimer: This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be considered as professional medical, legal, or financial advice.
The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the guests and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the podcast host or its affiliates.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
I was recently looking for an accountant in
Vancouver and it was sofrustrating looking at all these
websites where I couldn'treally tell who was behind the
company, what they were about.
Lots of the photos were just apiece of paper with a pen on it
and it was like really, reallyrough stock photography.
A girl wearing like a whitebutton-up shirt with a super
blurred background it's like whois she?
(00:21):
I don't know.
Background it's like who is she?
I don't know.
Speaker 2 (00:26):
Welcome back to Radio Front Desk.
I'm your host, denzel Ford.
I have a hot take.
Too many businesses rely onfree stock photography and it's
kind of the easy way out.
You know what I mean Perfectlypolished, a little too generic
and the same faces and posesthat you've seen a hundred times
(00:48):
on different websites.
That's why I wanted to bring onphotographer Ian Harland.
Ian's taken photos for Jane andhe has such a gift for
capturing that authentic spark.
You know the real people andthe real work behind a business.
In this episode we'll talkabout why authenticity matters
so much in your photos, what toavoid when your clinic's images
(01:09):
are feeling flat and some easyDIY tips for capturing your own
brand.
Let's get into it, ian.
Welcome to Radio Front Desk.
How are you doing today?
Speaker 1 (01:23):
I'm doing well.
Speaker 2 (01:24):
thank you for having me I'm really excited to talk to
you.
You are a photographer and yourun a photography business.
You've taken photos for jane,which is how we came to know one
another, and I've always beenin awe of what you do.
Every time you do a shoot forus, I'm just like how this is so
wonderful, and how did youcapture the moments that we're
(01:47):
trying to capture?
so I wanted to have you on theshow and just dig into your
process a little bit in a waythat maybe would be helpful for
our listeners, who need to getphotographs for their businesses
absolutely to start off, youare a business owner.
Could you just describe that alittle bit?
What's it like for you having aphotography business?
Speaker 1 (02:07):
Absolutely.
I started my photographybusiness right out of high
school and I think I had thisidea that I'd just be able to do
lots of photography.
That was what I was confidentat, it was what I felt like I
was good at.
But I quickly realized, as I'msure many of these clinic owners
realize as well, the businessis much more than just the
service that you provide.
(02:27):
It's the marketing that goesinto it, it's the accounting,
it's all of the small movingpieces that you never really
think of, and it was a bit of arude awakening when I was 18 and
I suddenly had to do taxes andmarketing and websites and then
just attracting the clients thatI wanted for my business.
(02:47):
Eventually I'd like to thinkthat I kind of have figured it
out and I've got clients thatI'm really happy with.
But it was definitely achallenge when I first started
and it still makes up lots ofthe work that I do nowadays as
well.
I would say that a minority ofmy actual work is the taking
photos or editing.
Lots of it is just clientrelations and putting myself out
(03:11):
there to potentially new jobsand projects.
Speaker 2 (03:14):
Yeah, I'm just going to throw out a keyword for
everything you just described,which is brand photography.
Speaker 1 (03:19):
So, clinics.
They have a brand and they needa visual representation of that
so what type of photos are mostimportant, like headshots or
showing yourself in action yeah,I believe that to create trust
with potential clients online,showing photos in action is one
of the most powerful, because itfeels very relatable, and I
(03:42):
think that that's something thatpeople really want.
When they see photos online,they want to have an idea of
what it's like working withpeople.
They want to see what thebusiness is all about, and if
it's just all very posed photosor like just a clean interior
shot or something like that,then you're kind of like missing
that human element.
Speaker 2 (04:01):
One of our other interviews was Meg and nina from
articulate design andconsulting.
So they they operate a firmthat designs clinics yeah and so
they help clinics take thevision of the care that they
offer and turn that into a spacethat represents that care, and
one thing they talk about,though, is like your clinic
doesn't have to be like a verymedical.
(04:22):
It doesn't have to have like amedical vibe underneath it, so
chiropractors don't need aphotograph like a very medical
it doesn't have to have like amedical vibe underneath it, so
chiropractors don't need aphotograph of a spine on the
wall massage therapists don'tneed a photograph of all the
muscles and the anatomy of themuscles so.
I think that translates verywell to photography.
So I wonder if you could justtalk about that a little bit,
what you think of that and thepower of photos yeah well, one
(04:45):
thing that we've touched on alittle bit, what you think of
that and the power of photos.
Speaker 1 (04:48):
Yeah Well, one thing that we've touched on a little
bit is the power of photographyto build trust with clients or
potential clients, and probablysimilar to what these interior
designers were talking about islike when it comes to medical
clinics you don't needeverything to feel so sterile,
(05:09):
even with the photos.
Photos, so you don't need tohave a straight face necessarily
.
Yeah, for the team headshots.
Speaker 2 (05:11):
Having a bit of personality, showing off the
space, a bit appearing likerelatable is what people are
looking for and that's what willmake you stand out I guess too,
as you're talking, the productthat you're giving is the care,
and so the product that you'reoffering is the care that you're
giving, and so thesephotographs sort of represent
your product yeah, absolutely,that's a great point.
Speaker 1 (05:30):
Yeah, you want the photos and like the interiors to
feel more like a warm huginstead of completely devoid of
any life or care or any of thatwhat?
Speaker 2 (05:40):
what photos should you not have in your marketing
materials or on your website?
Speaker 1 (05:44):
there are some good stock photography out there.
Speaker 2 (05:47):
What that does feel relatable.
Speaker 1 (05:49):
No, but I think that for the most part it should be
avoided, because lots of time itdoes feel like a little bit
sterile and devoid of life.
Speaker 2 (05:58):
My thing with stock photography is that this is
actually why you're here with us, the reason we went to find you
is because we launched atelehealth solution during COVID
and every tech company outthere had the same three
photographs the same womantalking she had the same blue
shirt with white polka dots on.
And it just bothered me so muchthat our product was being
(06:21):
marketed the exact same imagesas all these other companies
that had telehealth, some ofthem not even in our industry,
necessarily Like those photoswere so overused across so many
technology verticals.
Speaker 1 (06:34):
Yeah, yeah, just to be clear, I am not advocating
for stock photography.
I'm saying that some of it'sdecent, but most of it should
probably be avoided becausepeople are looking for that
personal touch.
Yeah, I was recently lookingfor an accountant because I'm
just kind of like I don't wantto deal with that anymore, and I
was looking for differentaccountants in Vancouver and it
was so frustrating looking atall these websites where I
(06:56):
couldn't really tell who wasbehind the company, what they
were about.
Lots of the photos were just apiece of paper with a pen on it.
It was like, yeah, reallyreally rough stock photography.
A girl wearing like a whitebutton piece of paper with a pen
on it.
And it was like really, reallyrough stock photography.
A girl wearing like a whitebutton up shirt with a super
blurred background.
It's like who is she?
I don't know.
Speaker 2 (07:12):
I want to really emphasize what you just said.
Like if you look at a website,even for an accountant,
something that's very just.
We all got to do it.
If you look at a website,there's no human presence.
Speaker 1 (07:25):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (07:26):
It's images that and in this day and age I really
think most human beings thathave access to the Internet can
tell you whether something is astock photo or not.
Speaker 1 (07:35):
There's a very like.
Speaker 2 (07:37):
It's too perfect and our eyes have a sense for that.
Absolutely so.
If you look at a website likethat, it's just the human
psychology behind it is there'snothing to latch on to, there's
nothing to connect to, there'snothing to, almost like you see
nothing of yourself reflectedback to you, and so there's,
there's.
You're just gonna like go tothe next one, go back to google
(07:57):
and look at the next one downabsolutely.
Speaker 1 (08:00):
Yeah, I completely agree, and I think that that's
only going to become more andmore pronounced in the age of
companies who are trying to, intheir mind, maybe save money by
going with, like an ai contentproduction which is just a
different version of stockphotography.
Speaker 2 (08:15):
That's such an interesting aspect to this,
because you can generatephotographs with AI.
Speaker 1 (08:21):
What do?
Speaker 2 (08:21):
you think of that?
Speaker 1 (08:22):
Well, I absolutely believe that these AI
photographs will, like they cancompletely do the whole like
stock photography vibe decentlywell, but they're still kind of
like missing that human touchand like the story behind why
the company is what it is andlike how it's different from
other people.
Yeah, I mean, I recently my mypartner was showing me some like
(08:43):
AI headshots that their companyhas done and I was like really
impressed by them, but they werealso kind of like missing the
like, the actual human sparkstill.
Maybe in the future they'llbecome better, I don't totally
know.
Then, maybe like the sellingpoint for like actually hiring a
photographer would just be thatbenefit of having a real
headshot taken is like the senseof place that you get.
Speaker 2 (09:04):
Yeah.
Yeah, somebody passed me a newheadshot for our team to use for
them recently and it was doneby AI and it looks better than
some of the previous ones.
Speaker 1 (09:17):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (09:18):
In the sense of it's more put together.
But it's also the thing I don'tlike about it is that I know
this person very, very well andit doesn't actually capture who
they are, and that is my issuewith it is that it it was just
like it went really far awayfrom who I see this person right
who they really are.
Speaker 1 (09:37):
Yeah, and I thought that was it's almost like a
character version of them, likean avatar in a way yeah yeah, or
they.
They look a little bit younger,a little bit skinnier.
I don't know yeah, I'm curiousto see where it goes, but I do
think that people are searchingfor that authenticity that, at
(09:58):
least at the moment, can only becaptured from real photographs.
Speaker 2 (10:02):
I love that.
I mean, I think that's kind ofwhat I'm thinking too that it's
like using photographs tocapture the authenticity of what
someone is going to experiencewhen they come in for your
services.
Speaker 1 (10:13):
Yeah, yeah the trend that's been going across, like
all of the different photographyspheres that I've been in.
Just last week I was I was partof like an hour and a half
branding session withdestination vancouver.
They're another one of myregular clients.
I do shoots for them mostmonths and throughout that
presentation they were justdrilling in the idea that we
(10:34):
want photos that feel veryauthentic, inviting, real, like,
draw people in and like that'swhat people are looking for
nowadays.
Speaker 3 (10:42):
Yeah, hey there, christina, here Just a quick
moment to share that thisepisode is brought to you by
Jane.
We know how much heart you putinto building a practice you're
proud of, and that's why we'rehere to make things like
scheduling, charting andpayments run a little smoother.
If you'd like to take a peekhead to janeapp forward, slash
pricing, because we love a goodbonus.
Don't forget to use the coderadiofrontdesk for a one-month
(11:04):
grace period.
Okay, I'll keep it short andsweet.
Back to the episode.
Speaker 2 (11:09):
Let's lead this into if we're going to do a photo
shoot, and let's just start witha limited budget version of it
if somebody was maybe doing itthemselves?
How do you think about keepingthe brand cohesive visually?
Speaker 1 (11:23):
yeah, I highly recommend that people look at
the photography that theyalready have that's representing
their brand, See if it alignswith what you want your branding
to be and then from there youcan start to see if there's a
certain direction that you wantto go into.
(11:43):
And one thing that I do whenI'm doing branding shoots with
clients or even just likestandalone shoots, I'll look at
what's been done in that spacein the past and I'll pull photos
whether it's from magazines,other industry leaders,
competitors, even art and I'llpull these all together and then
I will use that as a referencefor future content creation.
Speaker 2 (12:09):
And then I'm trying to think of the clinic owner,
owner, how they could thinkabout creating that kind of a
board for themselves, and thenwhat do they do with that?
Speaker 1 (12:17):
yeah, once you have that board set up, then you'll
have an idea of what kind ofphotos you need.
So at that point there thenit's like creating a shot list.
So a shot list is literallyjust a list.
Where it's like we'll getcandid shots of practitioners in
action, we'll get headshots ofthe team.
Where it's like we'll getcandid shots of practitioners in
action, we'll get headshots ofthe team.
We'll photograph the space,we'll get some detail shots of
(12:39):
some of the little things thatwe've made, we'll get an
exterior shot and from therethat's the starting point of
what you need to do in thephotos.
Speaker 2 (12:48):
What would a first photo shoot look like?
And let's just do if you weredoing it yourself.
Speaker 1 (13:00):
Yeah, first of all, like, and I'm gonna assume, on
your iphone.
Yeah, whatever gear you have isis fine.
Like phones are now pretty good.
You can get decent shots withthem, as long as you have decent
light which we can go into.
When I first enter a space, Iwould try to declutter it, even
though clinics are workingspaces with photography.
Ideally you want it to look asclean as possible, but there is
also a balance to be struck.
You know like you can imaginethis space here, for example, if
(13:22):
we removed everything and itwas just like a bare couch and a
bare chair.
That's boring.
So you want to strike thatbalance where it feels like a
good mix of lived in anddecorated but also not cluttered
.
Once that's done, I would lookat the lighting that we have
available.
Lighting is something that ishuge in the quality of the
photos, arguably even moreimportant than the camera in
(13:44):
some situations.
So natural light is your friend.
It creates beautiful, just softlight that's very flattering on
the human skin.
So ideally, if there is windowspace, we want to open those up.
Turn off the top lights.
The other reason you want toturn off the top lights if you
have window light is because toplights are often more orangey
(14:04):
and then the window light is abit more blue.
So that color contrast isanother thing that just makes it
look a little bit more amateurand not as refined.
From there, just going throughthe different shot list for
things like headshots, if youshoot it at a wider angle, like
just having it on like thenormal zoom on a phone, there's
(14:25):
going to be a bit of distortionwith the face.
But if you zoom into, like timestwo, times three, if times four
is an option, maybe, do thatyou get less facial distortion
and you'll also get a bit moreof a polished look.
And then, when it comes togetting practitioners in action,
I would highly recommend justgetting them to do what they
normally do.
I recently did a shoot for thiscouple.
(14:47):
They do physical therapy andpersonal training and then one
of them is also a massagetherapist and for the first part
of the shoot they just hadtheir clients come in and they
ran them through what theynormally did.
So start off with stretching,then doing some sled pushes,
doing different workouts, andthat gave me tons of different
options to work with and it alsolet them interact with each
(15:09):
other in a way that was reallynatural, engaging and really
drew the viewer in a lot ofpeople who will see those photos
to connect with these peopleinstantly, compared to if
everything is like very, veryposed right, let's talk about
social media like how do youapproach that any differently?
can you be?
Speaker 2 (15:27):
more casual.
Should it be the same photosthat you took on your diy photo
shoot?
Speaker 1 (15:35):
yeah, yeah, I think the recycling content is a great
option.
I think there's probably thismisconception, as business
owners, that people are justseeing everything that we're
posting everywhere but, likemost people will not be seeing
almost any of it.
So what you're posting on yourwebsite and on your social media
, people likely won't see thatit's been posted twice.
(15:56):
So with social media, it'sreally important to be posting
consistently if growing and likebuilding an audience is
important.
So if you've got the contentand it's already on your website
, I don't see any problem withrecycling that and putting that
on social media.
Speaker 2 (16:10):
Do you have social media for your business?
Speaker 1 (16:13):
I do.
Yes, I've got one primaryInstagram account and I've
fluctuated how much effort I'veput into it.
When I was younger and startingmy photography career, I was
using it quite a bit a bit, butI quickly realized that I was
spending a disproportionateamount of time on social media,
(16:33):
to the positive impact it washaving on my business.
I realized that I could putmore time into things like
optimizing my SEO and dealingwith clients that I've already
had in the past than justconstantly pushing more photos
on social media can.
Speaker 2 (16:47):
Can you drill down into SEO, search engine
optimization a little bit?
Speaker 1 (16:51):
Yeah.
So search engine optimization isthe process of optimizing your
website and the various webpages on it so that Google and I
mean it's primarily Google, butalso the other search engines
will see it and then hopefullypush it to people who are
looking for certain services.
(17:12):
So if you're a therapist inVancouver, it would be pretty
amazing if you came up firstwhen people Google therapist in
Vancouver and in the past youwere able to do some stuff like
keyword stuffing, which isessentially where you just put
in the word therapist a milliontimes and it shows up high on
Google because Google is likethis is the best place for
people to get a therapist.
But Google's gone much moreintelligent about that and to
(17:36):
now do well on Google, you haveto create web pages that are
genuinely useful for people.
One of the things that Googlelooks at is how much time people
spend on certain web pages andlike that's why when you're
trying to like Google a recipe,you get someone's entire like
childhood story and like everytrauma they've gone through and
you just want to like see therecipe.
(17:56):
But for Google they're like oh,this person is finding must be
finding this webpage usefulbecause they're spending a lot
of time on it.
Speaker 2 (18:02):
Do the photos have any role in all of that?
Speaker 1 (18:04):
Yeah, I guess there are two parts that photos serve
in SEO that I can think of.
One of them is it engages thepeople who are on the website to
stay longer and see if itsolves the problem that they're
there for.
And then the other thing isevery individual photo can also
show up on Google Images, andthat can be another way that
(18:24):
people can potentially find yourwebsite, and what you have to
do to get them on Google Imagesis write alt text.
I think that it was initiallyfor visually impaired people,
but now it's turned into a toolthat Google can use to see what
a photo is about.
I was recently looking at mySquarespace website and they're
now using an AI tool to justautomatically see what's in the
(18:48):
photo and write a little blurbabout what it is that hopefully
it shows up on Google Images.
Speaker 2 (18:52):
Yeah, yeah.
So how can somebody find aprofessional photographer?
What should they be looking forif they're going to invest in a
professional shoot?
Speaker 1 (19:01):
So once you already have the mood board and possibly
the shot list already created,the shot list already created,
you'll have an idea of what youneed for your photography, and
there are many differentphotographers out there who all
have various styles, and it'simportant to align with one that
will reflect your branding.
(19:22):
There are some photographersthat specialize in a bit more of
that polished look and like andlike.
We've been talking about likeauthenticity through most of
this podcast, but the reality islike authenticity can mean a
lot of things to differentpeople.
And then the other thing isthat photography varies very
widely in pricing.
(19:42):
So if you're just starting out,some of the options may be a
bit more limited and you mayneed to start with someone who
isn't as progressed in theircareer yet.
Speaker 2 (19:52):
But then, if you do have the budget to invest in
more photography, that does openthe door to potentially working
with more photographers yeah,those are really helpful tips
and I love how you're callingout that sometimes authenticity
might actually be like a moreprofessional even in this case,
like a more clinical setting, ifthat's what your clinic is.
(20:12):
So I love that you called thatout.
I don't want to forget that.
Well, thank you, ian.
This has been such an amazingconversation with so many great
tips.
You can check out Ian'splaybook in our show notes.
We'll link it there.
And then, ian, if anyone outthere wants to find you, where
can they find your website?
Speaker 1 (20:30):
Hopefully it'll be linked below to help my SEO.
But yeah, it'sianharlandphotographycom.
I also have an Instagramaccount, Ian Harland Photo.
You can see my work on.
Speaker 2 (20:40):
Awesome.
Speaker 1 (20:41):
Thank you so much.
Speaker 2 (20:44):
That's it for today's episode of Radio Front Desk.
Huge thanks to Ian for sheddingsome light on his creative
process and reminding us thatphotography doesn't have to feel
super polished, as long as itfeels authentic to you.
If you'd like to see some ofIan's work or dive deeper into
his playbook for clinics, checkout the links in our show notes.
Thanks for tuning in to RadioFront Desk.
(21:06):
I'm Denzel Ford and we'll seeyou next time.
I was recently looking for an accountant in
Vancouver and it was sofrustrating looking at all these
websites where I couldn'treally tell who was behind the
company, what they were about.
Lots of the photos were just apiece of paper with a pen on it
and it was like really, reallyrough stock photography.
A girl wearing like a whitebutton-up shirt with a super
blurred background it's like whois she?
(00:21):
I don't know.
Background it's like who is she?
I don't know.
Speaker 2 (00:26):
Welcome back to Radio Front Desk.
I'm your host, denzel Ford.
I have a hot take.
Too many businesses rely onfree stock photography and it's
kind of the easy way out.
You know what I mean Perfectlypolished, a little too generic
and the same faces and posesthat you've seen a hundred times
(00:48):
on different websites.
That's why I wanted to bring onphotographer Ian Harland.
Ian's taken photos for Jane andhe has such a gift for
capturing that authentic spark.
You know the real people andthe real work behind a business.
In this episode we'll talkabout why authenticity matters
so much in your photos, what toavoid when your clinic's images
(01:09):
are feeling flat and some easyDIY tips for capturing your own
brand.
Let's get into it, ian.
Welcome to Radio Front Desk.
How are you doing today?
Speaker 1 (01:23):
I'm doing well.
Speaker 2 (01:24):
thank you for having me I'm really excited to talk to
you.
You are a photographer and yourun a photography business.
You've taken photos for jane,which is how we came to know one
another, and I've always beenin awe of what you do.
Every time you do a shoot forus, I'm just like how this is so
wonderful, and how did youcapture the moments that we're
(01:47):
trying to capture?
so I wanted to have you on theshow and just dig into your
process a little bit in a waythat maybe would be helpful for
our listeners, who need to getphotographs for their businesses
absolutely to start off, youare a business owner.
Could you just describe that alittle bit?
What's it like for you having aphotography business?
Speaker 1 (02:07):
Absolutely.
I started my photographybusiness right out of high
school and I think I had thisidea that I'd just be able to do
lots of photography.
That was what I was confidentat, it was what I felt like I
was good at.
But I quickly realized, as I'msure many of these clinic owners
realize as well, the businessis much more than just the
service that you provide.
(02:27):
It's the marketing that goesinto it, it's the accounting,
it's all of the small movingpieces that you never really
think of, and it was a bit of arude awakening when I was 18 and
I suddenly had to do taxes andmarketing and websites and then
just attracting the clients thatI wanted for my business.
(02:47):
Eventually I'd like to thinkthat I kind of have figured it
out and I've got clients thatI'm really happy with.
But it was definitely achallenge when I first started
and it still makes up lots ofthe work that I do nowadays as
well.
I would say that a minority ofmy actual work is the taking
photos or editing.
Lots of it is just clientrelations and putting myself out
(03:11):
there to potentially new jobsand projects.
Speaker 2 (03:14):
Yeah, I'm just going to throw out a keyword for
everything you just described,which is brand photography.
Speaker 1 (03:19):
So, clinics.
They have a brand and they needa visual representation of that
so what type of photos are mostimportant, like headshots or
showing yourself in action yeah,I believe that to create trust
with potential clients online,showing photos in action is one
of the most powerful, because itfeels very relatable, and I
(03:42):
think that that's something thatpeople really want.
When they see photos online,they want to have an idea of
what it's like working withpeople.
They want to see what thebusiness is all about, and if
it's just all very posed photosor like just a clean interior
shot or something like that,then you're kind of like missing
that human element.
Speaker 2 (04:01):
One of our other interviews was Meg and nina from
articulate design andconsulting.
So they they operate a firmthat designs clinics yeah and so
they help clinics take thevision of the care that they
offer and turn that into a spacethat represents that care, and
one thing they talk about,though, is like your clinic
doesn't have to be like a verymedical.
(04:22):
It doesn't have to have like amedical vibe underneath it, so
chiropractors don't need aphotograph like a very medical
it doesn't have to have like amedical vibe underneath it, so
chiropractors don't need aphotograph of a spine on the
wall massage therapists don'tneed a photograph of all the
muscles and the anatomy of themuscles so.
I think that translates verywell to photography.
So I wonder if you could justtalk about that a little bit,
what you think of that and thepower of photos yeah well, one
(04:45):
thing that we've touched on alittle bit, what you think of
that and the power of photos.
Speaker 1 (04:48):
Yeah Well, one thing that we've touched on a little
bit is the power of photographyto build trust with clients or
potential clients, and probablysimilar to what these interior
designers were talking about islike when it comes to medical
clinics you don't needeverything to feel so sterile,
(05:09):
even with the photos.
Photos, so you don't need tohave a straight face necessarily
.
Yeah, for the team headshots.
Speaker 2 (05:11):
Having a bit of personality, showing off the
space, a bit appearing likerelatable is what people are
looking for and that's what willmake you stand out I guess too,
as you're talking, the productthat you're giving is the care,
and so the product that you'reoffering is the care that you're
giving, and so thesephotographs sort of represent
your product yeah, absolutely,that's a great point.
Speaker 1 (05:30):
Yeah, you want the photos and like the interiors to
feel more like a warm huginstead of completely devoid of
any life or care or any of thatwhat?
Speaker 2 (05:40):
what photos should you not have in your marketing
materials or on your website?
Speaker 1 (05:44):
there are some good stock photography out there.
Speaker 2 (05:47):
What that does feel relatable.
Speaker 1 (05:49):
No, but I think that for the most part it should be
avoided, because lots of time itdoes feel like a little bit
sterile and devoid of life.
Speaker 2 (05:58):
My thing with stock photography is that this is
actually why you're here with us, the reason we went to find you
is because we launched atelehealth solution during COVID
and every tech company outthere had the same three
photographs the same womantalking she had the same blue
shirt with white polka dots on.
And it just bothered me so muchthat our product was being
(06:21):
marketed the exact same imagesas all these other companies
that had telehealth, some ofthem not even in our industry,
necessarily Like those photoswere so overused across so many
technology verticals.
Speaker 1 (06:34):
Yeah, yeah, just to be clear, I am not advocating
for stock photography.
I'm saying that some of it'sdecent, but most of it should
probably be avoided becausepeople are looking for that
personal touch.
Yeah, I was recently lookingfor an accountant because I'm
just kind of like I don't wantto deal with that anymore, and I
was looking for differentaccountants in Vancouver and it
was so frustrating looking atall these websites where I
(06:56):
couldn't really tell who wasbehind the company, what they
were about.
Lots of the photos were just apiece of paper with a pen on it.
It was like, yeah, reallyreally rough stock photography.
A girl wearing like a whitebutton piece of paper with a pen
on it.
And it was like really, reallyrough stock photography.
A girl wearing like a whitebutton up shirt with a super
blurred background.
It's like who is she?
I don't know.
Speaker 2 (07:12):
I want to really emphasize what you just said.
Like if you look at a website,even for an accountant,
something that's very just.
We all got to do it.
If you look at a website,there's no human presence.
Speaker 1 (07:25):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (07:26):
It's images that and in this day and age I really
think most human beings thathave access to the Internet can
tell you whether something is astock photo or not.
Speaker 1 (07:35):
There's a very like.
Speaker 2 (07:37):
It's too perfect and our eyes have a sense for that.
Absolutely so.
If you look at a website likethat, it's just the human
psychology behind it is there'snothing to latch on to, there's
nothing to connect to, there'snothing to, almost like you see
nothing of yourself reflectedback to you, and so there's,
there's.
You're just gonna like go tothe next one, go back to google
(07:57):
and look at the next one downabsolutely.
Speaker 1 (08:00):
Yeah, I completely agree, and I think that that's
only going to become more andmore pronounced in the age of
companies who are trying to, intheir mind, maybe save money by
going with, like an ai contentproduction which is just a
different version of stockphotography.
Speaker 2 (08:15):
That's such an interesting aspect to this,
because you can generatephotographs with AI.
Speaker 1 (08:21):
What do?
Speaker 2 (08:21):
you think of that?
Speaker 1 (08:22):
Well, I absolutely believe that these AI
photographs will, like they cancompletely do the whole like
stock photography vibe decentlywell, but they're still kind of
like missing that human touchand like the story behind why
the company is what it is andlike how it's different from
other people.
Yeah, I mean, I recently my mypartner was showing me some like
(08:43):
AI headshots that their companyhas done and I was like really
impressed by them, but they werealso kind of like missing the
like, the actual human sparkstill.
Maybe in the future they'llbecome better, I don't totally
know.
Then, maybe like the sellingpoint for like actually hiring a
photographer would just be thatbenefit of having a real
headshot taken is like the senseof place that you get.
Speaker 2 (09:04):
Yeah.
Yeah, somebody passed me a newheadshot for our team to use for
them recently and it was doneby AI and it looks better than
some of the previous ones.
Speaker 1 (09:17):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (09:18):
In the sense of it's more put together.
But it's also the thing I don'tlike about it is that I know
this person very, very well andit doesn't actually capture who
they are, and that is my issuewith it is that it it was just
like it went really far awayfrom who I see this person right
who they really are.
Speaker 1 (09:37):
Yeah, and I thought that was it's almost like a
character version of them, likean avatar in a way yeah yeah, or
they.
They look a little bit younger,a little bit skinnier.
I don't know yeah, I'm curiousto see where it goes, but I do
think that people are searchingfor that authenticity that, at
(09:58):
least at the moment, can only becaptured from real photographs.
Speaker 2 (10:02):
I love that.
I mean, I think that's kind ofwhat I'm thinking too that it's
like using photographs tocapture the authenticity of what
someone is going to experiencewhen they come in for your
services.
Speaker 1 (10:13):
Yeah, yeah the trend that's been going across, like
all of the different photographyspheres that I've been in.
Just last week I was I was partof like an hour and a half
branding session withdestination vancouver.
They're another one of myregular clients.
I do shoots for them mostmonths and throughout that
presentation they were justdrilling in the idea that we
(10:34):
want photos that feel veryauthentic, inviting, real, like,
draw people in and like that'swhat people are looking for
nowadays.
Speaker 3 (10:42):
Yeah, hey there, christina, here Just a quick
moment to share that thisepisode is brought to you by
Jane.
We know how much heart you putinto building a practice you're
proud of, and that's why we'rehere to make things like
scheduling, charting andpayments run a little smoother.
If you'd like to take a peekhead to janeapp forward, slash
pricing, because we love a goodbonus.
Don't forget to use the coderadiofrontdesk for a one-month
(11:04):
grace period.
Okay, I'll keep it short andsweet.
Back to the episode.
Speaker 2 (11:09):
Let's lead this into if we're going to do a photo
shoot, and let's just start witha limited budget version of it
if somebody was maybe doing itthemselves?
How do you think about keepingthe brand cohesive visually?
Speaker 1 (11:23):
yeah, I highly recommend that people look at
the photography that theyalready have that's representing
their brand, See if it alignswith what you want your branding
to be and then from there youcan start to see if there's a
certain direction that you wantto go into.
(11:43):
And one thing that I do whenI'm doing branding shoots with
clients or even just likestandalone shoots, I'll look at
what's been done in that spacein the past and I'll pull photos
whether it's from magazines,other industry leaders,
competitors, even art and I'llpull these all together and then
I will use that as a referencefor future content creation.
Speaker 2 (12:09):
And then I'm trying to think of the clinic owner,
owner, how they could thinkabout creating that kind of a
board for themselves, and thenwhat do they do with that?
Speaker 1 (12:17):
yeah, once you have that board set up, then you'll
have an idea of what kind ofphotos you need.
So at that point there thenit's like creating a shot list.
So a shot list is literallyjust a list.
Where it's like we'll getcandid shots of practitioners in
action, we'll get headshots ofthe team.
Where it's like we'll getcandid shots of practitioners in
action, we'll get headshots ofthe team.
We'll photograph the space,we'll get some detail shots of
(12:39):
some of the little things thatwe've made, we'll get an
exterior shot and from therethat's the starting point of
what you need to do in thephotos.
Speaker 2 (12:48):
What would a first photo shoot look like?
And let's just do if you weredoing it yourself.
Speaker 1 (13:00):
Yeah, first of all, like, and I'm gonna assume, on
your iphone.
Yeah, whatever gear you have isis fine.
Like phones are now pretty good.
You can get decent shots withthem, as long as you have decent
light which we can go into.
When I first enter a space, Iwould try to declutter it, even
though clinics are workingspaces with photography.
Ideally you want it to look asclean as possible, but there is
also a balance to be struck.
You know like you can imaginethis space here, for example, if
(13:22):
we removed everything and itwas just like a bare couch and a
bare chair.
That's boring.
So you want to strike thatbalance where it feels like a
good mix of lived in anddecorated but also not cluttered
.
Once that's done, I would lookat the lighting that we have
available.
Lighting is something that ishuge in the quality of the
photos, arguably even moreimportant than the camera in
(13:44):
some situations.
So natural light is your friend.
It creates beautiful, just softlight that's very flattering on
the human skin.
So ideally, if there is windowspace, we want to open those up.
Turn off the top lights.
The other reason you want toturn off the top lights if you
have window light is because toplights are often more orangey
(14:04):
and then the window light is abit more blue.
So that color contrast isanother thing that just makes it
look a little bit more amateurand not as refined.
From there, just going throughthe different shot list for
things like headshots, if youshoot it at a wider angle, like
just having it on like thenormal zoom on a phone, there's
(14:25):
going to be a bit of distortionwith the face.
But if you zoom into, like timestwo, times three, if times four
is an option, maybe, do thatyou get less facial distortion
and you'll also get a bit moreof a polished look.
And then, when it comes togetting practitioners in action,
I would highly recommend justgetting them to do what they
normally do.
I recently did a shoot for thiscouple.
(14:47):
They do physical therapy andpersonal training and then one
of them is also a massagetherapist and for the first part
of the shoot they just hadtheir clients come in and they
ran them through what theynormally did.
So start off with stretching,then doing some sled pushes,
doing different workouts, andthat gave me tons of different
options to work with and it alsolet them interact with each
(15:09):
other in a way that was reallynatural, engaging and really
drew the viewer in a lot ofpeople who will see those photos
to connect with these peopleinstantly, compared to if
everything is like very, veryposed right, let's talk about
social media like how do youapproach that any differently?
can you be?
Speaker 2 (15:27):
more casual.
Should it be the same photosthat you took on your diy photo
shoot?
Speaker 1 (15:35):
yeah, yeah, I think the recycling content is a great
option.
I think there's probably thismisconception, as business
owners, that people are justseeing everything that we're
posting everywhere but, likemost people will not be seeing
almost any of it.
So what you're posting on yourwebsite and on your social media
, people likely won't see thatit's been posted twice.
(15:56):
So with social media, it'sreally important to be posting
consistently if growing and likebuilding an audience is
important.
So if you've got the contentand it's already on your website
, I don't see any problem withrecycling that and putting that
on social media.
Speaker 2 (16:10):
Do you have social media for your business?
Speaker 1 (16:13):
I do.
Yes, I've got one primaryInstagram account and I've
fluctuated how much effort I'veput into it.
When I was younger and startingmy photography career, I was
using it quite a bit a bit, butI quickly realized that I was
spending a disproportionateamount of time on social media,
(16:33):
to the positive impact it washaving on my business.
I realized that I could putmore time into things like
optimizing my SEO and dealingwith clients that I've already
had in the past than justconstantly pushing more photos
on social media can.
Speaker 2 (16:47):
Can you drill down into SEO, search engine
optimization a little bit?
Speaker 1 (16:51):
Yeah.
So search engine optimization isthe process of optimizing your
website and the various webpages on it so that Google and I
mean it's primarily Google, butalso the other search engines
will see it and then hopefullypush it to people who are
looking for certain services.
(17:12):
So if you're a therapist inVancouver, it would be pretty
amazing if you came up firstwhen people Google therapist in
Vancouver and in the past youwere able to do some stuff like
keyword stuffing, which isessentially where you just put
in the word therapist a milliontimes and it shows up high on
Google because Google is likethis is the best place for
people to get a therapist.
But Google's gone much moreintelligent about that and to
(17:36):
now do well on Google, you haveto create web pages that are
genuinely useful for people.
One of the things that Googlelooks at is how much time people
spend on certain web pages andlike that's why when you're
trying to like Google a recipe,you get someone's entire like
childhood story and like everytrauma they've gone through and
you just want to like see therecipe.
(17:56):
But for Google they're like oh,this person is finding must be
finding this webpage usefulbecause they're spending a lot
of time on it.
Speaker 2 (18:02):
Do the photos have any role in all of that?
Speaker 1 (18:04):
Yeah, I guess there are two parts that photos serve
in SEO that I can think of.
One of them is it engages thepeople who are on the website to
stay longer and see if itsolves the problem that they're
there for.
And then the other thing isevery individual photo can also
show up on Google Images, andthat can be another way that
(18:24):
people can potentially find yourwebsite, and what you have to
do to get them on Google Imagesis write alt text.
I think that it was initiallyfor visually impaired people,
but now it's turned into a toolthat Google can use to see what
a photo is about.
I was recently looking at mySquarespace website and they're
now using an AI tool to justautomatically see what's in the
(18:48):
photo and write a little blurbabout what it is that hopefully
it shows up on Google Images.
Speaker 2 (18:52):
Yeah, yeah.
So how can somebody find aprofessional photographer?
What should they be looking forif they're going to invest in a
professional shoot?
Speaker 1 (19:01):
So once you already have the mood board and possibly
the shot list already created,the shot list already created,
you'll have an idea of what youneed for your photography, and
there are many differentphotographers out there who all
have various styles, and it'simportant to align with one that
will reflect your branding.
(19:22):
There are some photographersthat specialize in a bit more of
that polished look and like andlike.
We've been talking about likeauthenticity through most of
this podcast, but the reality islike authenticity can mean a
lot of things to differentpeople.
And then the other thing isthat photography varies very
widely in pricing.
(19:42):
So if you're just starting out,some of the options may be a
bit more limited and you mayneed to start with someone who
isn't as progressed in theircareer yet.
Speaker 2 (19:52):
But then, if you do have the budget to invest in
more photography, that does openthe door to potentially working
with more photographers yeah,those are really helpful tips
and I love how you're callingout that sometimes authenticity
might actually be like a moreprofessional even in this case,
like a more clinical setting, ifthat's what your clinic is.
(20:12):
So I love that you called thatout.
I don't want to forget that.
Well, thank you, ian.
This has been such an amazingconversation with so many great
tips.
You can check out Ian'splaybook in our show notes.
We'll link it there.
And then, ian, if anyone outthere wants to find you, where
can they find your website?
Speaker 1 (20:30):
Hopefully it'll be linked below to help my SEO.
But yeah, it'sianharlandphotographycom.
I also have an Instagramaccount, Ian Harland Photo.
You can see my work on.
Speaker 2 (20:40):
Awesome.
Speaker 1 (20:41):
Thank you so much.
Speaker 2 (20:44):
That's it for today's episode of Radio Front Desk.
Huge thanks to Ian for sheddingsome light on his creative
process and reminding us thatphotography doesn't have to feel
super polished, as long as itfeels authentic to you.
If you'd like to see some ofIan's work or dive deeper into
his playbook for clinics, checkout the links in our show notes.
Thanks for tuning in to RadioFront Desk.
(21:06):
I'm Denzel Ford and we'll seeyou next time.
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