When taking photos for social media, you should be asking yourself three key questions.

What can I use this image for?

Is there a specific post you have in mind for this photo? Is there something specific to this photo you’d like to highlight? Could you use this image in multiple posts or multiple contexts? These are important considerations, though I will add that it is not a bad idea to just take lots of pictures!

Is this image high quality?

Is the lighting highlighting what I want to see? Will the consumer be able to tell what I’m showing? Am I posting this horizontally or vertically? These are great things to ask yourself! When taking pictures for social media, be conscious of where it will be going! For example, if you have a beautiful vertical photo, what will it look like when cropped to fit on Instagram?

Does this photo represent my brand how I want it to?

Your brand is a key element to your presence on social media. You want people to see an image and think, “oh, that’s [insert business name]!” Some great questions to ask yourself could be: Does this represent our vision? Could a consumer tell this is us? How much editing will I have to do on this image? Does my work shine in this image? Is this the quality I will be providing to customers?

For those of us who don’t have excess time or skill to take photos regularly, be intentional about the images you take! One image can go a long way when you take the right one! For those of us who can take photos all the time, DO IT! The more unique photos you have to share, the more there is for your customers to see. Don’t second-guess yourself on whether something is worth documenting, but ask yourself those key questions and post consistently!

Social media guidelines

Your images for your business might be bad… but not for the reasons you’re thinking! Different social media platform allow for different-sized photos, so what platforms are YOU on? This should be top of mind as you’re taking and editing your pictures. Below is an example of how different images may be different across different social media!

Taking pictures for social media can be simplified into just a few things. Before we go into the exact tips and tricks, we recommend that you are taking pictures that you can crop to fit any social media! Take photos where your subject is well-lit and the photo doesn’t have too much going on, and take a variety of photos for each thing!

Here are a few tips to get you started:

• Take photos where the focus is in the center! If it’s a group of things, or a group of people, keep them centered!
• For product photos, use simple backgrounds! You may end up cropping out just the product, so make it easy on yourself!
• If you’re taking photos of your staff, make sure you don’t just get the standard smiling photos. Try candid photos of your staff working, helping customers or any other activity!
• ALWAYS take photos of special events. If your staff goes for an outing, or you’re promoting a special occasion, take some photos! This can help show your community what you’re up to outside of the business side.
• Have fun! Taking funny or interesting photos is always encouraged! They can keep a light-hearted tone for your social media.
• A smartphone is more than capable of taking good photos! If you’re working with a smartphone just make sure you’re being careful to take both vertical and horizontal photos.

Conclusion

To wrap things up, take a lot of pictures! You can never have too many, just make sure there’s a variety of subjects, contexts, and ideas! Photos are a message from you to your customer, you can say a million words with a picture!

Guest post by Nathan Hawthorne, Social Media Manager

Nathan has been with Madwire since March 2021. Specializing in social media management, Nathan loves that he can express his creativity, while also helping others! During his free time, he enjoys art of all mediums and mini-golf!