If your business has a social media channel such as Facebook or Instagram, the quality of pictures and images posted there has a major influence on how or if your followers react. Brains can process images 60,000 times faster than text. It’s important to shoot your social media pictures well, so your followers are immediately attracted to the image and rather check it out better instead of dismissing it and scrolling down further. You don’t need professional photography equipment to take great pictures, it’s all about how and what you’re capturing.
Our marketing team has gathered a handful of useful tips for how to shoot images for you social media marketing:
1. Think about a motive.
Before you start shooting anything, think about something interesting to photograph. Yes, you can show clients your product and your services, but they also want to get to know you and your business better. Depending on your business, you may want to show behind-the-scenes photos, have a peek into the product fabrication, introduce your team members (if they are willing), see you in action or accompany you on your business travels. Be creative and have a look what your competitors post to get some external inspiration, too. Also think about the message you want to add to your photo later on, so your image and your text complement each other and make sense.
2. Select the right background.
If you’re shooting products, make sure your background is as it should be: cleaned up, clutter-free and not distracting from the product itself. When your clients can see your trash cans in the background or mountains of dishes in the corner of the photo, it probably won’t make such a good impression. For shooting product photos for social media, it’s always best to have very simple backgrounds. If you can’t find a suitable background, try to find a space next to a wall and use a big sheet of paper, carton or fabric: Tape it on the wall and then spread it out, so you can place your product on it. A last option is to blur out the background when you’re taking the picture.
3. Select the right lighting.
This goes a bit hand in hand with the background. Make sure that you have sufficient lighting when you’re shooting your social media pictures. Bright lighting makes weird shadows disappear (such as the shadow of your phone) and it makes the colours pop. Natural lighting is always the best, but if it’s not available, make sure your artificial lighting does not have a strongly i.e. orange tinge that might change the colour of your products.
4. Arrange it prettily.
The last step is the arrangement of your product. Depending on your type of product, you might be able to show it off in great detail, stack it, show its parts or arrange it neatly next to some other products. If it’s food, people love to see it displayed beautifully or cut open to see what’s hidden inside. If you’re selling pens, draw something with them to show off their gorgeous colours and shoot the product next to the drawing. Always make sure that your focus is on the project you’re shooting – if you show background, make sure it’s as less as possible. You can be creative and shoot it from different perspectives like from the top, from the bottom or sideways, but refrain from shooting images with weird angles. It makes it harder to process and sometimes uncomfortable to look at, i.e. when you have to tilt your head 48.7 degrees to see the product right.
Summary
The current social media pictures trend goes to sleek and very focused imagery with an artsy flair. Just try around shooting as many images as you can, then later on sort through them and judge them based on their background, lighting, motive and arrangement. If you’re insecure, it’s always best to start from scratch and photograph your products in front of an empty or single-coloured background. Later on, you can step it up with more additional products, different arranging or other backgrounds.
Learn from your mistakes and keep on getting fresh inspiration by following other brands who do it well. If you need help, the relación team is happy to give you guidance for your social media marketing or organise a professional shooting of your product or business.
