Last month we focused on the importance of professional interior photography as an interior design business owner. Now that you better understand the importance of utilizing professional interior design photos for business growth, let’s get into how you can put these photos to work in boosting your brand awareness. 

And, as a little gift to you, I’m going to break down exactly how to organize your photos so you can get the most out of them. I’ve created an entire system to set you up for ongoing efficient use and sharing. 

Optimize Your Online Marketing 

Your internet presence is everything. Since pictures and video are the main (if not only) way you can show off your work, it’s essential that they’re captivating enough to snag potential clients' attention. So let’s get into how you can use your new professional photos to optimize your online marketing. 

Level Up on your Website

First things first, let's talk about your website. As an interior design business owner, your online home is the perfect place to flaunt your creativity and expertise. By integrating those stunning interior design photos seamlessly into your website's design, you'll instantly catch the eye of potential clients.  

Remember, a picture is worth a thousand words, so make sure your portfolio speaks volumes about your unique style and design prowess.

Spice Up your Social {Media}

Social media enthusiasts, this one's for you! Elevate your game and pair your professional photos with captions that show your personality and narratives that breathe life into your interior design projects. 

Tell the client story behind each project. It’s okay to brag about the challenges you overcame, and share the pure joy of seeing your clients' faces light up with delight. If you want to double down on a social media post and leave a serious impression, pair one of your project photos with a client testimonial. 

The whole idea here is to show your followers what makes your approach special and why they should be knocking on your door for their next dreamy makeover! 

Boost Your Blog 

Photo-driven blog posts packed with design tips and insights. Your portfolio of professional interior design photos is a treasure trove of inspiration, and you can use them as the heart and soul of your blog posts. 

With each post, you can reveal the design secrets behind your most captivating projects and offer practical advice that readers can implement in their own spaces. By combining your stunning visuals with expert tips, you'll captivate your audience, leaving them hungry for more of your brilliant ideas and design wisdom.

Nail Your Newsletters 

Photo-rich newsletters will help to keep your audience eagerly awaiting your next update. Newsletters are an excellent way to nurture your relationship with clients, collaborators, and design enthusiasts. 

Make your newsletters pop with those mesmerizing professional interior design photos, accompanied by exciting updates about your latest projects, design trends you're crushing on, and upcoming events. 

A well-crafted newsletter can be a delightful escape for your readers, giving them a glimpse into your design world and leaving them inspired to create their dream spaces with your guidance.

In a nutshell, valuable and visually compelling content is the secret sauce that takes your status as an interior design business owner from good to unforgettable. 

By optimizing your website, leveling up your social media, and creating photo-driven blog posts and captivating newsletters, you'll establish yourself as a trusted expert, forge deeper connections with your ideal customers, and watch your brand awareness flourish.

Organizing Your Professional Interior Design Photos

Alright, babes. What I’m about to share here is how I organize my images, so I can make the most of them when it comes time to put those images to use. This way has been tested by a real life interior design business owner (yes, I mean me) and said interior design business owner has already worked all the kinks out of this system. 

Whether you have a marketing team that will use the images, or you’ll be doing it all yourself, you’ll still need to consider ease of access and sharing. 

As an Interior Designer, time is money and I can’t have you wasting either. A key factor in successful imagery organization is maintenance, so be sure to set aside a little time each week to keep up with your image bank. 

Now prepare yourself… this next section is just one giant pro tip…

Here’s my step-by-step guide to organizing your professional interior design photos:

1. Choose your favorite file sharing platform (Dropbox, Google Drive,, etc.) and as needed create a new account, or create a NEW folder dedicated to your Professional Interior Photography. I use Dropbox because I need all the storage due to having so many high resolution images and videos, but Google is a fantastic option as well.
2. Within your “Professional Interior Photography” folder I recommend you create a“Project Portfolio” folder. This will give you a little freedom should you want to add other images later, like a branding, events or company/team headshots folder..
3. In your main “Project Portfolio” folder, create sub folders for every single project and we use the project name as the title for each folder. 
4. Start organizing your images into their respective project folders. This might take some time depending on where you are in the process, but trust me, it’s time well spent. This is front-loaded time and effort that will pay off BIG TIME in the long run. Only add photos that you approve to be public-facing - this makes life easier when you’re outsourcing to someone else, no need to remove, replace, etc. if all are approved and good to go. 
5. If your project was a whole house design or featured multiple rooms, make a folder for each space within the main project folder.
6. Then, finally, create a folder in each space to further separate your images into “Befores,” “Process” and “Afters.”
7. In addition to those three folders, it’s also helpful to have a “Project Notes” document where you can keep relevant information about the project and the client that will help you recall the project details later on and, help anyone else that may be assisting you in your marketing come up to speed, quickly. This can include your client ramp up form, mood boards or even just a brain dump of everything you can remember about the project. Putting this information out there now will help ensure it’s not forgotten when you need to put it to use with your photos.
8. This next step is one that you can save for a rainy day, but it will only make your life easier once it’s done. Go through your photos and rename them so you can match befores and afters of the same angle. 
9. Another great step to saving time later is organizing your notes for each project. Or, if you don’t have notes for each project, add some. Again, this is only going to make it easier to use your professional interior design photos when you need them

Whew, that feels like a lot, doesn’t it? But trust me on this, from one interior design business owner to another, this is not a waste of time. And it will save you hours and hours of work down the road… and that’s time that you could spend making money! 

Professional interior photography is something I cover extensively in my Interior Design Business Bakery. This intimate 12-month mentorship program is crafted to show interior designers how to grow their businesses with profits baked in, and quality images are a key element in making it happen. 

During those 12 months myself you’ll have help from me, along with a group of industry experts (including a social media guru) to help you achieve your number one goal as an interior design business owner- a beautiful, profitable design business you love, and one that will love you back! 

Visit my website to learn more about The Bakery and how I can help you develop your brand into a thriving, profitable interior design business! 

Xoxo,

Michelle