Social Media Photography Essentials
But i don't have a fancy camera
You don’t need fancy equipment to take great marketing photos, now we all have smart phones in our pocket capable of taking photos of a suitable quality for social media platforms. All you need is some basic photography skills and inspiration for your subjects. If the photos you add to social media don’t look professional, they’ll hurt your brand image.
Rule of thirds
The rule of thirds is one of the most basic photography skills you should know. This technique will improve the composition of your photos and create balanced, visually appealing images.
You can enable grid lines on your smartphone to assist you with the rule of thirds. On an Apple phone you go to Setting > Camera > Add Grid Lines. These grid lines are guidance only and do not show up on any photographs. Position your subject where the lines intersect. Do not automatically position to the centre. If you take your subject off centre on the intersection lines you create more breathing space in your image.
Find Symmetry
If you have the opportunity to capture symmetry in an image, you should definitely do so. Capturing the symmetry elevates the image and brings it to a more professional level.
Crop instead of zooming
Instead of zooming (where you can lose resolution) we can crop the image using our editing software to keep the sharpness of an image. So do send images with a great subject matter even if you are not delighted with the image. It is incredible what manipulations we can do to an image.
Reflections Work
There is sometimes the opportunity for great reflections , it adds another level of interest to the image.
Look For Patterns
There are many patterns in every shot you take. Take an image from another angle (don’t be afraid to crouch and bend to get the perfect shot).
Take images with people in them
Adding subjects in photos is proven to get more likes and more comments than photos without. To take images of people face on you will need authorisation from them individually (we can provide you with an authorisation form if required) however, to photograph staff bent over busy at work and unrecognisable is fine.
Legal & Responsible
Ensure that all images taken show correct procedure and where appropriate items like correct PPE are worn at all time. A decorator balancing on a wobbly table will do so much damage to your brand (even if they are the best decorator in the world).
Authorisation
Be careful never to identify security measures or anything that could put the subject at risk. Ensure not to photograph any item that could be directly associated to someone (e.g. car number plates). Where required authorisation may be necessary. Clearly, never use images that you are not authorised to use. Where image copyright is requested always state the (c).
Image Direction
It is normally better for social media that images are taken as landscape, however we can crop any image so snap away and send us everything that you have.