Social channels bring brands and consumers together in inspiring and meaningful ways. But across platforms, it’s often the photo that first catches a consumer’s eye.
With consumers taking a closer look at what brands have to offer, now is the perfect time to develop a consistent look across your social platforms.
Here’s a checklist of seven tips to help your mobile photos better convey your message.
-
Choose the best light. Natural is best.
-
- When shooting outside, make sure your subject is not backlit – you want to avoid shadows on faces and objects.
- Move the subject away from the background to create depth while minimizing shadows.
-
No zoom, No flash.
-
- While these features are great to have on a mobile device, use them sparingly.
- Zoom and flash features compromise focus and can add pixilation. Instead, move closer and use well-lit spaces.
-
Keep snapping.
-
- Take multiple photos from varying perspectives to ensure you’ve got one stand-out photo. When possible, change angles, distance, and height.
- This helps ensure that you end up with one great shot that’s interesting and in focus.
-
Be cohesive.
-
- To create a cohesive aesthetic in your social feed, consider applying the same filter or color overlay to all of your photos.
- This can be as simple as choosing to use all black and white images or adding a color overlay to achieve a duotone look.
- Apps like VSCO’s A6 filter offer minimal, subtle shifts that help create a modern aesthetic.
-
There’s an app for that.
-
- Taking photos with your smartphone is a quick way to ensure moments are captured. This doesn’t mean you’ve got a branded look.
- Take advantage of mobile to laptop apps like Adobe Express that allow you to use the same template time and time again to layer text and logos over mobile pics.
-
Use what you’ve got.
-
- Sometimes it just isn’t possible to get up close. Instead, find an object near you like a sign, flyer, or interesting object and then use your words to craft a message that compliments what you’d like the concept to convey.
- Sometimes it just isn’t possible to get up close. Instead, find an object near you like a sign, flyer, or interesting object and then use your words to craft a message that compliments what you’d like the concept to convey.
-
Stock is your friend.
-
- A branded look doesn’t always mean that you have to take live pics. Choosing a set of stock images that are part of a collection also promotes a cohesive, branded look.
- Use these images as a starting point, apply branded treatments, and use the photo as a jumping-off point that grabs attention to share your message. Shutterstock is a great place to start for stock photography and a blog full of helpful tips.
