How to Take Beautiful Photos on Social Media

Photography is an essential part of business communication. With photos (and graphics in general), we can communicate with customers, or current and potential employees, in a more personal way. We can show products, services, offices, benefits, and everything we want to boast about. A nice and well-crafted photo will grab the viewers’ attention and will encourage them to consume our content and stay with us longer.

Here are a few tips that have helped me to take nice, professional photos. You can consider them for your company’s social media!

Light

Light is the most important element when creating frames. You can have great equipment, good settings, and beautiful accessories, but it will be hard to get a good result without good light. I always try to take advantage of natural light.

What helps me with product photography is to place myself next to a window (preferably obscured by a curtain, which is a diffuser of light. The light will be soft). If I am taking pictures of people in the office, I ask them to face the window. This way they are not hidden in the shadows, and I don’t have to brighten the photo too much when editing.

Try taking a photo of the same subject next to a window and inside the office, where there is less access to light. You’ll see the difference in quality at first glance. And it’s the quality of the photos that we want to focus on. If you start paying attention to each step at the beginning, the final shot will come out perfect. I can assure you of that.

Tripartite

To make your photo catch your audience’s attention, it is a good idea to use the principle of tri-division. It will make it easier for you to take a technically correct photo. This is, by far, the most important rule in composition. Following it lets us place significant elements in strong points (the intersections). To do it, we divide our photo into 9 equal squares, using 4 lines. The intersections of the lines immediately catch the viewer’s focus. When taking photos of people, I always set the highest line at eye level. In product frames, you can also place the product in the middle.

Take care of the details

Build the scene consciously from the beginning. Think about what is the main subject of the photo. Is it the item you are selling, the employees, or the specific task they are performing? From this point on, you have a clearly defined subject. If you establish from the beginning what is most important in the photo, the viewer will know it too.

Calmness will help you. And a steady hand or tripod. If you don’t take care of the right focus in the photo, it will not be fixed later. If the room is too dark or the exposure time is too long, the photos may come out of focus. It is worth getting a tripod. Then, you can be sure that your hand will not shake, and you will capture the perfect focus.

When photographing people in the office, I always do a series of shots. Out of those 10 quick shots, there will always be a perfect one. Do you think I take them immediately after I arrive at the office? Unfortunately, no. First, I clean up the space, remove all the clutter in the background, random cables, cups, or unnecessary chairs. I set up tables, chairs, and sofas to make it easier for myself and my models.

This is only the beginning, but these basics are enough for you to start making beautiful photos for your brand. Take your time to think about your frame, choose the subject of the photo, make sure the light and focus work well… and shoot!

I look forward to seeing your results. Remember I’m always happy to answer your photography-related questions.