They say that a picture is worth 1,000 words. There's no place this rings more true than with social media. With mere moments to grab your audience's attention, it's become vital that you not only have photos to accompany your content, but they're high-quality photos that will prompt people to engage. Thankfully ever-evolving technology means that the camera in your smartphone is more than capable of taking these photos. But here are some tips and tricks you can use to help make your images memorable.
5 Tips for Taking Stunning Social Media Photos
- Take landscape photos. There are multiple benefits that come with taking your photos in landscape. Not only does this make the image better suited for posting, but it makes it easier to crop to a portrait size if needed. Alongside this, turning your phone horizontally before taking the image lets your audience see more of the background or scenery of your location. With this added context, it makes it easier to tell the story your brand wants to tell.
- Don't zoom. While phone cameras are producing better quality images, this all ends once you start hitting the zoom button. When needed, move closer to the subject of your photo. Zooming only causes your image to appear blurry or grainy.
- Utilize natural light. The last thing you want after spending all afternoon taking photos is to realize that they're way too dark to use. Take advantage of the sun! If possible, move your photo shoot outdoors. If that isn't an option, be sure to shoot next to a window. Position the camera between the window and your subject to make sure the sun is perfectly illuminating, and not creating a dark silhouette.
- Remember the rule of thirds. As one of the most basic photography skills to know, this will leave your photos looking like a professional took them. When looking at the image through your phone, try to imagine two horizontal and two vertical grid lines appearing over it, breaking the photo up into 9 boxes. Position anything important where these grid lines intersect with each other. Images that aren't perfectly centered creates an interesting contrast and makes your subject more of a focal point within the image.
- Have fun! Taking photos for your brand's social media shouldn't be a chore. While it's important to take posed, professional photos, your audience wants to see more candid, behind the scenes photos. Capturing these types of photos not only will help make everyone involved more relaxed, but your audience will be able to see this in the photos you share.
Facebook posts with images see 2.3 times more engagement than those without images. With this difference, it's become essential that your brand accompanies every social media post with an image. Follow these tips and soon your feed will be full of beautiful images that your audience will love to look at. Not sure where to start? Contact the digital marketing professionals at Informatics. A member of our expert team would love to speak with you!
