Let’s start with a fun fact: when it comes to promoting your business, brand, products, and services, quality images are a crucial part of your marketing campaign.

Now, your New Year business goals might include engaging more customers, improving your company image, increasing followers, and boosting sales. Well, sorry to be the one to burst your bubble, but in order to achieve all of these things, you need smart, professional images. And, um, we need to talk…

We get it: you hear professional images and think price tag. Your accountant is going to love us because we’ve got the beginners guide to snapping up the best shots for your business for zero dollars. No need to hire a photographer or invest in expensive camera equipment. We can guide you in capturing the perfect image with just your cell phone. Oh, and the love in your heart. Aw, shucks.

Poor images = poor engagement

Before we dive in, let’s agree on one thing: bad images damage your brand. Still not convinced? Ok, tough crowd. Think about those lovable but fickle folks on social media – we are so bombarded with posts containing witty content and dazzling images that we scroll mindlessly through Facebook and Instagram without much thought. We’re all visual people, and images help us form opinions on products, services, and brands.

Imagine shopping online for a new sweater. But sorry, we can’t show you the sweater. Oh, but believe us: it’s a lovely red color. You’d look great in it.  Are you going to buy it?  Probably not. Online shoppers expect to see images when committing to a product or service.

So if your business operates online, then yo, back up, give us the dance floor, and let us show you what we’re workin’ with.

Smartphone versus camera

For those of you who were on Santa’s nice list and got a DSLR camera for Christmas, well good for you. Show-offs. Take time to get to grips with that fancy lens, the lighting settings, and modifiers. Yes, yes, I saw the flash on that thing. We’ve seen bigger.

For the rest of us – those on the naughty list who are slumming it with last year’s cell phone model in their back pocket – listen up. We can beat the camera people. Do exactly as we say.

  1. The rule of thirds

Math is not our thing. We do marketing. Anyway, look in your phone settings for gridlines. There are two vertical line thingys and two horizontal line thingys spaced evenly apart. Apologies for the technical jargon. Now, some people like to center their subject slap bang in the center of the shot. These people are amateurs. A more appealing, arty shot can be achieved by placing the subject where the lines intersect, leaving two-thirds as negative space, which can be an open sky, a blank wall, or woodland. Impressive, we know.

  1. Symmetry

Nerd up at any photography class and they’ll tell you about the artistic importance of symmetry, and how it appeals to the eye. Ditto for repeating patterns. Apply these and you’ve got yourself an eye-catching shot.

  1. Reflections

If you want bonus points, capture reflections for an appealing, creative shot. This can be a sunrise reflecting off a windscreen, or your product reflected off a pool of water or a metallic surface.

  1. Faces

Now, not everyone has a beautiful face as we do. However, it’s good to know that social media photos with faces get more likes and comments. Pro tip: try and capture people in your photo acting candidly rather than posed. This includes looking into the distance rather than directly at the camera.

  1. Filters

When you are very good looking, like our team, you don’t need filters. However, you can make your subject more vivid by cropping or framing the subject correctly and playing with the brightness and contrast of the photo. Try apps such as Touch Color which allows you to grayscale a photo and colorize the subject, making it stand out.

Snap your way to the top

So, class, we can conclude that if you want a successful marketing campaign, followed by adoring fans and a wheelbarrow full of cash, you need quality images. At Hashtag Creative, we know how to engage people with web design and social media that stands out for the right reasons.

Let’s talk about what kind of images and content will elevate your business to new heights.