Why are photos important on social media posts?

Tip 1 – The rule of thirds: Images where the subject is off centre are always much more interesting. Divide your camera frame into 9 squares (see below) and place your subject on one of the intersecting lines – instantly your photo will look much better.

Tip 2 – Use leading lines to create interest in your shot. So – a bit like the rule of thirds, you are basically just making your shots that little bit more creative than just photographing from straight on. For example, use things like walls, horizontal lines and a pathway to add that interest. See below for an example.

Tip 3 - Do NOT use flash! Particularly if you are using a phone, the flash is never good and the photos end up looking really rubbish. So – take my advice, take your photos on overcast days – you won’t get any shadows or rings under the eyes. Or – if you can’t avoid a bright sunny day, head for some top-shade. This is created either by doorways or under trees. Your subject will still be lit beautifully but won’t be blinded by the sun.

Tip 4 – on the same subject as tip 3 (ie – lighting….) try to shoot your photos during the ‘golden hour’. This is the time either shortly after sunrise or before sunset during which almost all photos look absolutely gorgeous. (Think those holiday photos early evening when the sun is going down). Literally everything looks good in this light! Again, see below for an example.

Tip 5 – Control Exposure. This is fairly limited on smart phones, but can still make a big difference. On I-phones when you have a photo you’d like to take, simply tap and hold the screen on the part you would like to be exposed correctly and you will see a slider. This allows you to increase/decrease exposure, and lock it.

Tip 6 – minimize your editing effects. I’m a sucker for a filter on instagram, and it can be fun to apply them but before you do it, ask yourself is it really necessary? Is it possible they detract from the image? Sometimes, a simple crop, good lighting and composition are all that is necessary.

Tip 7 - Keep your lens clean! It may sound really obvious, but you’d be amazed what I see…..your phone sits in your pocket, your handbag, on your desk etc. and gathers finger prints and goodness knows what else in the process. Before you take a photo – give it a little wipe and you’ll be guaranteed crystal clear photos every time!

And finally.....a couple of tips on using photos on social media:

Tip 1 - When you post a photo on social media, tag people in a photo – Tagging other users makes conversation easy and sharing more likely. You can tag up to 10 people .

Tip 2 - Share up to four photos in a single tweet – This is a relatively new feature on Twitter, which allows you to upload multiple photos and automatically create a collage using your iPhone, Android device or straight from Twitter.com. For this to work, you need to download the latest Twitter app.

Tip 3 - maybe add more than one photo and ask for comments. The post that I have used personally which received the most comments, likes and shares ever was when I added 4 photos asked people to choose their favourite. I had over 1200 views!

So - hopefully those were useful tips.

But remember…….if you want really want to show you are serious about your business, consider having some custom photos taken of you and your business. You'd be surprised how reasonable this is and you will have a library of photos which you can use to tweet/blog/post away for a very long time. Take a look here for some great examples of businesses I have worked with to stock them up with professional photos to help market their business.