Great images are a key component of any digital marketing strategy but getting those images — that work for your website and for your social media sites — can be tough. Here are some tips for your photographer — or for you if you are both digital marketer and photographer, as happens often in small shops and for smaller jobs.
Remove the clutter from the frame. All too often, a great shot is ruined because of distractions and ugly junk in the frame. Drag pocketbooks, water bottles, coffee cups, and winter coats out of the frame. I’ve had otherwise great images ruined by a stack of coats on a table in front of the subjects or collection of coffee cups in the middle of the meeting room. Take a moment to remove these items before taking your shot.
Take both landscapes and horizontals. Most web and social media images work best as landscape, but take some portraits as well.
Consider scale. Close-ups on particular items can work wonderfully on social media banners. Mix it up with panoramas, close-ups, people, things, individuals, and groups.
Light it up. Don’t take photos of subjects in dark rooms in front of windows. Be sure that there is light on your subjects.
Get off center. Your subjects should not always be centered. Most social media images look best when subjects are slightly to the right.
Provide a sense of place. If the location is important — such as an event — be sure to capture that in the photo if you can. For example, if you are in DC, try to get the Capitol building in frame. If you are at a Conference, capture the name of the Conference center in the photo.
Image: taking photos at the 2016 New York Walk to Fight Lymphedema and Lymphatic Diseases with videographer Steve Palmer.