How To DIY Your Brand Photos... And What To Do When You Can't
We’re not going to sit here and tell you that you can’t take your own brand photos for social media.
In fact, we encourage you to.
Because unless you can afford to do a brand photoshoot every quarter of the year, you’re just not going to be able to stretch out your professional brand photos long enough on social media.
So today, we’re here to help you take high-quality brand photos for social media YOURSELF. That’s right. Free tips on how to be us.
You’re welcome.
FOCUS ON YOUR BRAND FIRST
If you’re here reading this blog right now, then you’re probably already in the process of planning your brand photoshoot. Good! That’s an essential first step to creating great brand photos yourself!
Brand photos are called brand photos for a reason… they show off your brand.
That’s exactly why brand photos take a little bit of extra planning.
It’s more than just a photo of you. It’s a photo of you in your natural work environment, doing what you do best. Brand photos make use of brand props and scenery to create an authentic and approachable photo to help your audience connect with your company on a more personal level.
Make it a point to pull in your brand colors, your professional tools, and any other props that make up your business’ personality.
GRAB A FRIEND… OR A TRIPOD
Not all of your photos should be selfies. Too many selfies are a bit too DIY for branded photography.
Having a friend that knows about basic photography concepts like framing and lighting would be a huge help. But most of the time you’ll be DIYing it.
In that case, you’ll need to use a tripod! This doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to go out and buy a fancy new piece of equipment. Something as simple as a phone propped up on a chair with a few books is enough to suffice.
Trial and error are key!
Aim to position the camera just slightly higher than eye level to avoid any weird angles (or double chins).
If you can, use a self-timer and try out a setting that allows you to snap multiple photos at once. Doing this helps you catch more than a single blink - allowing you to go through and delete the oopsies later on without missing out on a good photo!
GO TOWARDS THE LIGHT
No, really.
Focusing on your lighting from the start is going to make a world of difference in the outcome of your brand photos.
Good lighting elevates almost any photo.
If you’re indoors, choose a time and place with a lot of natural lighting available, if possible. Open the doors and windows to let in as much natural lighting as possible.
If you’re outdoors, you have a few choices. First, try to find some soft light. Soft light is most common 2 hours after sunrise and 2 hours before sunset when the sun isn’t as direct and harsh in your photos. If you do have to be in direct light, try to position your back to the sun so that you can avoid squinting in photos. Try a few different angles to make sure that your photos are still clear.
FRAMING IS YOUR FRIEND
Another essential photography tip for you: framing and composition!
The framing of a photograph is the difference between an average and a great one.
An essential aspect of framing is composition. The best place to start when composing your picture is to think of the rule of thirds. (Rule of thirds: When you divide your photo into 9 equal sections with 3 vertical sections in a row.) For the rule of thirds, you should have your focus on one of the intersecting lines. Although you may not do this for every picture, it's a good practice to remember.
Composition also includes headroom and negative space. These refer to the empty areas between and around your focus. Allow yourself some breathing room when designing your frame.
Pro Tip: Negative space works great to add text for landscape photos or stories!
Oh… and you don’t always have to be looking and smiling into the camera! Candid shots are GOLD.
MORE IS BETTER
When it comes to social media, the more content you can produce, the better.
Think about it. The average business posts between 3 to 5 posts a week across their social presence, on average. That’s up to 20 posts a month. 20 different photos.
And if you’re a business owner, you might not have time to produce content EVERY month. So the more you can “batch” in one sitting, the better!
When you sit down to take your brand photos, focus on getting more shots than you need. This does not mean that you snap 6 photos in a row of you in the same position, but rather, you capture multiple angles or perspectives of the same “set”.
This way, you can reuse that same set of photos over a period of time, without actually reposting the same exact photo every time. This technique also keeps your feed consistent while allowing you to make the most of your photos.
NOTHING LEFT UNTOUCHED
We would never tell you to alter your photos in a deceitful way.
But photo-editing exists for a reason. Editing your photos - even the slightest adjustment, makes a world of difference.
Unless a major adjustment is needed, we typically perform the following edits on our photos:
Don’t over-edit! The adjustments you make should look natural and should enhance what is already present.
Make sure your photos still look “on-brand” after editing. In other words, don’t apply a red filter if that’s not a part of your visual brand!
Stay away from the more “dreamy, flawless face” filters.
Less is ALWAYS more. End of story.
Try to find a nice balance with all of the adjustments you make.
The Adobe Lightroom mobile app is our go-to for on-the-fly adjustments!
MUSIC MAKES IT LESS WEIRD
If you’re not super familiar with being in front of a camera, then sitting down to take your brand photos probably sounds like a nightmare.
Music always makes the difference! We always encourage our clients to bring a playlist for their photoshoot to help them feel more comfortable throughout. But also because silence can just be… weird.
So throw on some music and have fun with it! Don’t be afraid to snap a few shots of you being goofy and singing and dancing along!
This tip fits well with one of our favorite photoshoot tips: just be you.
Whatever you need to do to feel comfortable and bring out your personality is key. Your audience could care less for a perfectly posed snapshot. The real magic lies in that authentically candid, “totally you” photo that brings out your unfiltered personality.
If you’re just batching photos for social media and you need lots of content quickly, you probably don’t need to hire a brand photographer.
But there are a number of scenarios that require a professional eye.
If you’re looking to launch a new product, service, or rebrand - hire a photographer. We’re not just telling you this because it’s our job. We’re telling you this because we want your business to succeed and your services or product to sell!
A trained professional will be able to create visual masterpieces that help you do just that.
If you’re unsure about your brand photo needs, we encourage you to send us a DM on Instagram or message us here for more insight. If you’re looking to hire a photographer to help you with your brand photos, go ahead and leave us a message on our contact page!
While you wait for a response from us, go ahead and check out a few of our posts about brand photos!
That’s all for now, folks!
TIME FOR SOME UPDATED HEADSHOTs?
WE CAN HELP WITH THAT!
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