Dec 21, 2016 admin
Seasons greetings! Though the temperature may be dropping and the snow starting to pile up, the InkHouse blog is firing up with some photo-taking tips that will help you survive the winter. The good news is you don’t have to be the next Ansel Adams to take stunning photos that drive engagement. Here are some easy guidelines to follow for everybody from the amateur iPhone-ographer to the seasoned vet:
1. Lighting
The first thing to always do when you’re about to take a photo is look around the area you’re in and identify the predominant light source. Is it the sun? Is it a spotlight? Is it those terrible incandescent lights you find in most office buildings? Whatever the source, find it and ensure that your subject is positioned in such a way that they will receive the most light.
2. Composition
You could have the coolest photo subject in the world but, if your photo isn’t well-composed, the number of likes may suffer. One common rule that photographers like to follow is the Rule of Thirds. If you were to break your photo into nine parts, you want the main point of interest to fall at one of the four main intersections:
This quick composition trick ensures that your main subject will always be front and center while still leaving room in other parts of the photo for secondary subjects to shine.
Take this photo of InkHouse’s 2016 Thanksgiving Family Dinner as an example. While the focus of the photo is on the delectable treats in the foreground, you still can see a group of employees in the background. As often is the case, this photo could have simply been a food photo, but arranging the food so it’s slightly off center and allowing the secondary subject to take part creates more of a story that appeals to followers.
So you’ve taken some great shots, you’ve identified the perfect one to post, and Instagram prompts you with over a dozen filters and a range of other editing features (see Four Steps to Writing The Perfect Instagram Caption). Don’t panic. And don’t over edit. One of the biggest mistakes people make when posting photos for personal or professional purposes is throwing an aggressive filter on their photo and cranking the saturation up to 11. If this sounds like you, you might want to rethink your approach next time you spend a half hour scrolling through the different filters. Sometimes the simplest tweaks can perfect a photo: upping the brightness a touch, sharpening it a smidge. That way your photo ends up coming out like the one on the right, not the left.
So there you have it. Some easy tips to help you become a successful photographer of whatever it is you’re looking to promote. It could be your company holiday party or your family’s oh-so-flattering Christmas sweater(s).
Happy Holidays!
