Easy photo tips to incorporate into your business
Many of the clients that I work with need to take “before,” “during” and “after” photos of projects — from general contractors to interior designers to recycled granite businesses, they want to show the impact of their work. Here are the basic tips that I share with them. (Be sure to download the whitepaper for easy reference).
- BEFORE PHOTOS — they can (and should) look bad. Bad lighting, messy, cluttered is good. You’re trying to show a dramatic improvement and there is no better way than with a completely unstaged photo. With that being said, the images should be a file size of at least 3mb.
- DURING PHOTOS — these are a little different than “before” photos. You want to show the process, but try to keep the chaos to a minimum. Once of the general contractors that I work with cleans up the job site at the end of each work day. For him, the end of the day (or first thing in the morning) are the best times to take the “during” photos. Tightly framed photos may be a good choice for you for “during” images as they can show the process withough showing the chaos. Again, minimum file size is 3mb.
- AFTER PHOTOS — If you are taking the photos yourself, block more time than you think you need. But, this is when you should consider hiring a professional photographer. If you hire a photographer, make sure you own all rights to the photos.
- Think about the photos you want to take and make a list so you don’t forget anything. Once you have your shot list…
- It’s time to clean and prep the area you are going to photograph. Yes, dust, fingerprints and smudges all show up in high resolution photos. And while they can be digitally removed, it’s better to have clean photos — there will still be plenty of other Photoshop® work to do.
- Stage the area: fluff pillows, put the toilet lid down, fold or roll towels, artfully arrange throws on beds, chairs or sofas, etc. Turn on all the lights, you may even want to consider using a shop light with a “daylight” bulb to help highlight an area.
- Take lots and lots of photos. The beauty of digital photography is that you can simply delete all the bad photos.
- Try shooting from different angles and see what happens. For outdoor shots, if possible, take some photos during the golden hour — that time just before sunset when everything glows. Wet down the outdoor surfaces first to get more reflection, add ambient lighting, candles and voila! Stunning photos!
Be sure to download our photo tip white paper to keep these tips handy.
