Why photos give directions#
A visitor who has never seen your shop often arrives with a map and a rough idea of where to go. The last fifty metres are where most people get stuck. They walk past a row of similar frontages, or they stop at the wrong door. A photo of your shopfront, taken from the street, answers the question they are really asking: which one is it?
Think of a photo as a set of directions rather than an advertisement. It does not need good lighting or a clever angle. It needs to show what a person will see when they reach the right spot, so they can match what is in front of them to what is on their screen.
Shoot the street, not just the shop#
Stand where a visitor would stand after leaving the station, and take a photo facing your shop. Include the neighbouring buildings, the corner, the kerb and anything that makes the spot easy to recognise, such as a tree, a bus stop, a convenience store or a bridge. These landmarks often matter as much as the shop itself, because they tell a visitor they are on the right road.
Take a second photo from the opposite direction, so a visitor coming from the other side can also confirm their position. Keep both photos sharp and level. A crooked, blurred image helps no one.
Make the sign and door easy to match#
Once someone is close, they look for the sign and the entrance. Photograph your sign straight on, in daylight if you can, so the lettering is readable. If your sign is in Thai, include the Thai name and, if you have one, the English name, because visitors often search in one language and read the other on the street. Take a close photo of the door itself, showing the number on the building if there is one.
Be careful not to crop out the details that let a visitor check they are in the right place. A tight shot of the door alone can look like any other door in the street. Pair the close shot with a wider one, so the two images together show the way in.
Keep photos accurate and check the rules#
Update your photos when the frontage changes. A new sign, a repainted door or a shifted entrance will confuse visitors who are following an old picture. Walk the route from the nearest station, whether BTS, MRT or the Airport Rail Link, and check that the photos still match what a visitor will see. Where the site gives directions, a walk time is estimated from map data using the straight-line distance multiplied by 1.3, at a walking speed of 75 metres a minute, so it is a guide rather than an exact figure.
Thai rules limit how cannabis can be advertised, and some of what a photo shows or says may fall under what Thai rules keep off a shop's page. Keep the images to the shopfront and the route, and check with a lawyer before you publish anything, so you know what is allowed for your business.