Over 1.8 billion photos are uploaded to the internet every day. A good quality, stand out image is what could bring your social media game to the next level.
1. Don’t be afraid to use your smartphones camera
Most of us already have a professional-quality camera – our smartphones boast powerful camera lenses and settings that will optimise your photos depending on the types of light and environment you might be shooting in. It is completely acceptable to shoot products using a smartphone.
2. Change Your Perspective
Changing perspectives can make all the difference, taking photos from outside the regular sitting or standing position creates beautiful angles and more dimension to your images. You can do this by shooting your subject from high or low angles.
The high-angle shots show more detail in this case, a low-angle shot would lose a lot of detail and design that is showcased beautifully here.
Low-angle shots are photos shot from anywhere below the eyeline, aiming the camera slightly upwards. These work well when you have a single object that’s too big to fit in the frame when you get up close. Psychologically, the low angle shot creates the effect of a strong and powerful subject.
3. Create a sense of depth
A sense of depth in product photos will bring the focus to your product while giving your image an artistic feel. To do this we place the product or subject in the fore front of the image against an out-of-focus background.
You could even do the complete opposite and frame the main product or subject slightly behind an object in the foreground.
4. Play around with symmetry
Create visual contrast to set your post apart from the rest. Do this by staging your product symmetrically, eye-catching compositions often have unequal elements on opposite sides of the frame, our brains like symmetry, just not too much. Doing this little trick will give your pictures a sense of organisation without looking too staged and predictable.
5. Stage your shot
Depending on what type of product of subject you’ll be photographing will determine which visual elements you have control over.
If you have full control over a subject, don’t hesitate to move things around to get optimum lighting and composition – move things around and try adding in extra lighting or playing with the layout to get the most visually appealing picture.
When photographing larger subjects, don’t just shoot from the first place you find. Moving around the product or subject can change the composition of your photo even if all the elements are anchored in place. For example, a low-angled image of a car at a slight angle will create a feeling of power and allow the viewer to see more of the subject.
6. Keep it simple
If you’re taking iPhone photos for social media like Instagram, don’t forget that most people will see your work on small mobile screens. As of June 2021 mobile screens were the most used device to connect to the internet with 93% of Australians.
A complex composition that looks great on a massive billboard may look busy and confusing on a smaller screen. Cutting your compositions down to a few key elements will improve engagement and be more appealing to viewers.
7. Pick the right orientation
There’s a few things to consider when taking photos of products or subjects. When choosing between horizontal and vertical photos, don’t forget that different social media platforms and formats have different requirements. For example, a vertical image works best on Instagram Stories, while a horizontal photo on Instagram Stories just isn’t the same and would look better on Facebook or Twitter.
Portrait orientation is effective when you want to keep the viewer’s attention focused on the subject. This works great for full-body or product photos.
Landscape orientation works best when shooting larger subjects, like cars or large venues with beautiful landscapes. This orientation gives you more room to compose visual elements horizontally. It also makes it easier for the audience to move their attention between important elements in the same picture.
When you take the image try look at the negative space, too much negative space could mean a product or subject gets lost in the photo. You need to find a good balance of space to capture the audience’s attention.
8. Don’t over edit
Editing images should be minimal, keep this in mind when you are shooting your product, your final image shouldn’t need major edits and alterations – this will end up being an overwhelming job for you.
Most smart phones will have a feature built into the camera where you can go back into an image and ‘auto-correct’ your photos or add a mild filter. This is great if you have zero experience editing and don’t know where to start, playing around with exposure to brighten an image or slightly tweaking the saturation of a photo will simply enhance the photo without completely changing it.
The only issue with editing is that there are many things that could overwhelm you if you’re attempting to do this on your own without any formal training.
If you ever find that you’re struggling to get the perfect shots for your social media or website content, don’t hesitate to reach out to Adllins Media, we would love to help!
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