In a fast paced world where most of us have already updated our Facebook status, squeezed in a workout and grabbed a venti soy latte all before 7am, it is important when marketing a business, to figure out what the most effective form of communication is. You want to get your point across quickly, efficiently and effectively. Ninety-three percent of communication is non-verbal. What you see greatly effects your decisions throughout the day and showing someone an image or photo is the simplest way to provoke the response you want. Now I know what you’re thinking- sure it would be nice to have gorgeous, professional photographs to upload to your Instagram, website or Pinterest promoting your business, but that will cost you a fortune! So, here are a couple tips to help you take your very own photographs, so you can stick to your budget (those venti soy lattes really add up).
Here are 5 basic tips that every amateur photographer should know…
- Get up close and personal – Especially if you are using a smart phone camera, the closer the better. Because the size of the lens is smaller, you are able to focus much more clearly on objects that are up-close. By photographing closely you also gain more control over lighting.
- Crop, Don’t Zoom! – While many smart phone cameras are now coming equipped with more and more megapixels (which make your photo quality better) you are still likely to sacrifice photo quality when you use your zoom. Learning to work with your cropping tool can be incredibly helpful. This will enable you to take the most clear photos with the option of going back to crop and enlarge the images at a later time.
- Go “au naturale” – Try your very best to find good natural light. Flash rarely works properly unless you’re working with a high-end camera. The flash can be used as an alternative to natural light, but isn’t preferable. If the area is too dark, do your best to move and find better light or take darker photos, editing them later. Be sure to have your subject face the light, otherwise you might end up with a dark silhouette instead of a clear, well lit photo!
- Level the playing field – Get level with your subject. For the best images try to see eye to eye with your subject. If it is higher or lower than your direct line of vision, duck down or get yourself up on a ladder so you are in line with the person or object you are aiming to photograph.
- Keep it clean – Clean your lens! It sounds obvious but you would be surprised how many people forget to clean their lenses regularly. If your lens is dirty the result will be blurry, dark photos that won’t look good no matter what filters you put on them. You can buy a gentle lens cleaning solution to use once in a while. Also, a soft cloth will work for cleaning regularly.
Don’t forget that it’s important to be creative. Mess around with your filter options, crop tool, and more. After all, this is supposed to be fun. So go ahead – give your newfound expertise a try, and let us know how it goes! If it still just isn’t working for you, that’s okay too! Give us a call at 201-345-4556 or shoot us an email at getstarted@crearemarketing.com and we’ll help you capture the images your business needs to stand out.