How To Get Great Images For Your Social Media Posts
By William Lulow
The photography business today is certainly not like it used to be and the digital revolution, probably thirty years in the making is largely responsible. Today, anyone with a cell phone can take a picture, maybe edit it a little, and post it to the social media. And, if they care to study any of the abundant YouTube “How To” videos, can learn some professional techniques. You can even do a video and post that too!
The question really becomes “What kind of quality are you looking for in your posts?” Because, if you’re looking for real quality, you’re not going to achieve it with a “DYI” image or video. There’s just too much involved and too many variables to produce consistent, professional-type results by yourself. And, as a photography teacher, many of the videos you can get online, even though some are very well produced, only show you one point-of-view, from one angle. Some of the more sophisticated videos can perhaps teach you a thing or two, but for my money, nothing takes the place of instruction provided by a qualified teacher.
I have studied photography pretty near all my life. It has been a life’s work of learning, doing, experimenting and instruction. So, if your goal is to add quality photography to your online presence, get some real professional instruction before trying it yourself. Now, it may be that you only need to learn one specific technique that will help you illustrate what you want to show. So, try putting into your YouTube search more specific details. That may help. But better still, try to get a good teacher to explain how to get the results you’re after.
As a professional photographer I certainly understand that a business person can’t call me to photograph every little item that they might want to post on social media. And, many people come up with images they want to post on the “spur of the moment.” But, a quick consultation might just help you improve your online presence so that you can “do it yourself.” I can provide a quick, inexpensive hour to help get you started on equipment you might need to do your own photographs, how to set it up and what to look for to get some photographs worthy of posting. This may not suffice for some more complicated shots, but it should be enough to raise the level of “professionalism” for your images.
Don’t rely on your cell phone to give you quality images to post. These cameras are basically just to document your own personal lifestyle or event. They are good and getting better, but they don’t take the place of “real” cameras and lenses that are capable of much more quality. (I believe the new iPhone X has about 18 million pixels, which is a fair amount and should provide decent quality images), but if you don’t add some interesting lighting, camera angles or background, your posts will be run-of-the-mill and not attract the kind of attention you may seek. I have had people ask me how to improve quality, try it themselves, then come back for real professional results.
Don’t settle for “good enough” quality. Demand better! Let a seasoned pro show you how to get it done.
Call the studio to set up a consultation.
