The 42% Secret: Why Your Emails Need Professional Photography Right Now
Revamping portraits of faculty and staff at the National Institute of Education.
Here’s something powerful: campaigns with images had a 42% higher click-through rate than campaigns without images. But here's what I've learned after working with dozens of clients—it's not just about having images. It's about having the right images.
Let me tell you why branded photography consistently delivers results that shock my clients.
One client reached out to me because they were frustrated. Their MBA-related program's email newsletters looked professional—well-written, perfectly formatted, mobile-optimised. Everything the marketing blogs told them to do. Yet their click rates were stuck around 1.8%.
"I keep seeing our competitors' emails in my own inbox," they told me during our initial consultation. "They're using the same stock photos we see everywhere. Students in libraries, handshakes in boardrooms, generic classroom shots. Nothing that actually shows what makes our program different."
That's when I knew we had to dig deeper.
The numbers don't lie: the average email click rate across all campaigns hovers around 2.00%. That means 98 out of 100 people scroll right past carefully crafted messages. But my clients who invest in branded photography? They're consistently seeing click rates of 3% or higher.
This client's transformation started when we replaced their generic stock images with authentic, branded photography that told their program's unique story.
Corporate business portraits with the Singapore skyline.
What My Clients Discovered About Visual Storytelling
After working with this team, I've seen this pattern repeat with client after client. There's something about custom photography that generic images simply cannot deliver.
Branded photography builds instant credibility:
When prospective students see custom photography that clearly belongs to a specific program—not a random stock photo they might spot in three other universities' marketing—it signals that this institution has invested in quality and authenticity.
It creates emotional connection in seconds:
One of my favourite shots from this campaign shows evening cohort students collaborating over laptops in their comfortable campus lounge. The warm lighting, the engaged expressions, the specific architectural details of their space—prospects weren't just seeing education. They were seeing themselves in that environment.
It makes programs impossible to ignore:
This client's visual identity is now cohesive across every touchpoint. When their audience sees their emails, they immediately recognize the brand. That recognition translates directly into clicks.
The Sweet Spot: What Actually Works
Here's what I've learned from analyzing the performance of hundreds of email campaigns for my clients:
Quality beats quantity every time. The peaks are at 1 image, 3 images and 5 images, but the magic isn't in the number—it's in the story. This client's best-performing emails feature one hero image that perfectly captures their program's essence, supported by maybe one or two secondary visuals.
Make images functional, not just decorative. The highest-performing emails I've shot for clients use images as clickable pathways. That hero shot of students in the innovation lab isn't just beautiful—it's a direct link to program information pages.
Context transforms everything. During our planning session, my client and I talked about moving beyond the obvious shots. Instead of photographing empty classrooms, we captured real moments: a working professional presenting their capstone project, graduate students deep in discussion during a case study, the confident handshake of a career-changer at graduation.
Working with faculty and staff to create photography portraits at the National Institute of Education.
The Results That Keep My Clients Calling
Three months after our photo shoot, this client sent me their quarterly email performance report. I had to read it twice. "We're consistently hitting 3% or higher click rates now," they wrote. "But the real surprise? Our enrollment inquiries have increased by 28%. People aren't just clicking—they're taking action."
This isn't unusual. My clients regularly see:
40-50% increases in email click rates
Higher engagement across all digital channels
Increased conversion rates from email to website
Stronger brand recognition and recall
Your Next Steps (Because Great Photography Needs Great Strategy)
If you're ready to see similar results, here's what I recommend based on what's worked for my clients:
Start with story, not just aesthetics. Before we shot a single frame for this client, we spent two hours talking about their program's unique value proposition. What transformation do you provide? What's the emotional journey your students take? Your photography should capture that narrative.
Invest in authenticity. Stock photos scream "budget constraints." Custom photography whispers "we care about quality." That perception matters more than you might think when people are deciding whether to click.
Think in campaigns, not just single images. My client and I planned their entire year of email campaigns during our pre-shoot planning. We created a library of images that could work together, maintaining visual consistency while providing variety.
Measure and optimize. Click rate is currently the most accurate indicator of email newsletter engagement with recent privacy changes affecting other metrics. Track your before and after performance religiously.
The Investment That Pays for Itself
Here's what one client told me six months after our collaboration: "I used to dread sending emails because I knew they'd just get ignored. Now I actually get excited about our campaigns because I know they work."
The institutions winning inbox attention in 2025 aren't just creating content—they're creating experiences that start the moment someone sees their message preview. While competitors struggle with industry-average performance, my clients are capturing nearly 50% more clicks with photography that actually represents their unique value.
The best part? They called me last month about expanding our work to their undergraduate recruitment campaigns. "If it worked this well for continuing education," they said, "imagine what it could do for our other programs."
When your photography tells your story authentically, people don't just see your message—they see themselves in your future. And that's when clicking becomes inevitable.
What story is your brand ready to tell?
“When your photography tells your story authentically, people don’t just see your message—they see themselves in your future. And that’s when clicking becomes inevitable.”