Think Before You Shoot

We all know the difference between good pictures and bad pictures. The Internet has made us all photography experts – we can edit, filter and publish right from our phones. With social media at our fingertips, we can also judge bad photos at the drop of a hat. So whether you’re pushing Instagram photos out for your 30 closest friends to double-tap, or you’re publishing photos on your Fortune 500 company’s Facebook, photography matters.

Think composition.
Depending on the social platform you want to post to, think about framing as you’re lining up your shot. For example, Instagram’s photos are square and Facebook’s can be either square or rectangle. Are there any distracting objects in the background? Are you following the Rule of Thirds to capture more interesting shots? Think about the photo you’re taking as you take it – set it up!

Draw attention.
Make sure that the subject of your image is compelling – capture something that people will talk about. Remember that filters don’t make your photos beautiful, it’s what you’re capturing that makes all the difference.

Find the natural light.
Granted, there will be scenarios where you will have to use a flash, but do your best to find sources of light that are outside your camera. If you’re taking product shots and can position your product near a window, do that. If you have human subjects, make sure that they’re not standing under weird overhead lights. It’s always worth the extra minute to take lighting into account before you hit the shutter.  If you have time to plan ahead, consider the Golden Hour in Photography to take advantage of the time of day that offers the best natural light.

Zoom with your legs.
A zoom lens on a standard SLR camera is very different from the zoom function on today’s mobile phones. A zoom lens produces high quality close-up photos, while the zoom function on a mobile phone’s camera usually doesn’t cut it. As new, updated versions of mobile phones are released, their cameras’ zooming capabilities will likely improve. For now, if you’re using your mobile phone to capture a photo, instead of relying on the zoom function, think about stepping back to capture a bigger scene, or stepping forward to get a close-up.

Taking quick shots is fine – sometimes you can get lucky. However, setting up your shot and taking the time to assess the lighting, background and framing can make your photo that much better.

Updated: Apr 13, 2022