How To Take A Great Photo For Your Social Media Channels

No longer do you need to be a professional photographer to take photos like one. With a few golden rules you’ll be snapping away and growing your followers and social media engagement levels in a flash!

Use Natural Light

Although we’re not blessed with too much of it in Yorkshire, always try and take your shots in natural light. If you’re taking a shot inside or in low level light, harsh shadows and highlights can create unwanted light and dark areas in your photos. Try and take photos near windows where light diffuses into the room. If you’re shooting outside, midday sun can sometimes be too much. The golden half an hour before and after sunset and sunrise offers some of the best lighting as the sun’s low on the horizon.

It’s all about composition

You may have wondered why they’re an option, but gridlines can instantly improve your photo composition. Using a technique that was first adopted by illustrators and painters, the rule of thirds will slightly offset your main subject, drawing the attention of the viewers eye. Simply turn on your gridlines and place the main subject at the intersection of one set of vertical and horizontal lines. It’s as simple as that!

Use negative space

If you’re trying to draw attention to a particular item or subject, surround I with negative space. With empty space around your subject the viewers’ attention will be drawn to your main subject.

Symmetry

A simple way to grab people’s attention is symmetry. With identical images side by side or above and below each other, a mundane subject can become an artistic masterpiece!

Get a new perspective

Try something new after all people are used to seeing the world at eye level. Try and get a shot from above to get a birds eye view or from low down to get a worms eye view. Whichever way you try it’s good to experiment and to keep your viewer interested. Sometimes the most common sights can be the most interesting when viewed from another angle.

Utilise filters and editing tools

This may shock you but not every photo you see is the original! Editing, filtering and touching up apps are everywhere. You can edit on your built in phone editor, in specially created photo editing apps or in your chosen social media channel.

But remember that not every picture can be rescued through editing. You need to make sure the basics of composition and lighting are followed to give you the best possible chance of creating that show stopping photo.

We hope that’s given you some useful tips for your future Social Media posts but if you’re looking for more help, get in touch, we’d love to talk!