Who is the buyer?
Target them. Even the photo does not have to be pretty. It needs to be interesting to the audience first.
Eg. Linkedin – it needs to be relevant to your audience
Build your audience according to who you could sell to.
You can use typography in your visuals given that it is consistent –
Use same text, same font, same color, same layout.
You might need to give credit for photographers.
Put in contract that you can use the photos anywhere, anyway you like.
On Instagram, your images need to be beautiful / pretty.
Typography on images is not welcome in Instagram.
People should feel better when you look to your content / images. Be positive all the time.
Emails – you need offer people something.
Just plain information is never interesting.
Images on your website should not be named IMG-5232 .
It should be named like someone put that keyword on Google.
Pinterest is used about how to stuff.
Aperture
In optics, an aperture is a hole or an opening through which light travels. More specifically, the aperture and focal length of an optical system determine the cone angle of a bundle of rays that come to a focus in the image plane.
Shutter Speed
In photography, shutter speed or exposure time is the length of time when the film or digital sensor inside the camera is exposed to light, also when a camera’s shutter is open when taking a photograph.[1] The amount of light that reaches the film or image sensor is proportional to the exposure time. 1⁄500 of a second will let half as much light in as 1⁄250.
ISO
White Balance
A white paper should look white in a correct white balance settings.
Camera Presets
Use 300 dpi for print images, this is dots per inch
72 dpi – dots per inch for web
Websites images needs to be the size that they need to be. No need for uploading massive hires images.
Work with RAW formats. You can downsize a RAW format but you can not upsize a lower quality.
If you are using it in only social media etc you don’t have to work with RAW
16:9 vs 4:3
For Instagram you might want to use 4:3, a more square feel
16:9 is more suitable for desktop / TV type of screens.
CMYK vs RGB
Get a proof of paint in the post
Printed material shows colors differently
Exposure
Look for texture.
Parts of the photo should not be all white (over exposed) or all black (under exposed)
You can correct some shooting errors to a degree in Photoshop
Rule of Thirds
Professionals do not take flat photos
Amateurs take flat photos
Pros want something to be in focus and rest out of focus
Depth of Field
Be Consistent
Use same background, colors, layout etc for branding
Uniform the styles
Close up
Copyright
You automatically have copyright of the material / documents / photos that you created.
You can search with usage rights on Google Images
Pixabay License
Free for commercial use
No attribution required
A Creative Commons (CC) license is one of several public copyright licenses that enable the free distribution of an otherwise copyrighted “work”.[note 1] A CC license is used when an author wants to give other people the right to share, use, and build upon a work that he or she (that author) has created. CC provides an author flexibility (for example, he or she might choose to allow only non-commercial uses of a given work) and protects the people who use or redistribute an author’s work from concerns of copyright infringement as long as they abide by the conditions that are specified in the license by which the author distributes the work.
Royalty free does not mean free
It means you don’t have to pay commission every time the photo / video is used
Advertising standards
Shooting photos of people
They need to sign if they wanted their photo taken
To edit
To be shared on eg website
To be shared on social media
Separately
If you are shooting in a crowded place, make sure other people are out of focus and non-recognizable
Talent Release Form
If under 18, no one can sign for them. So you need parents signatures.
Editing Software
I’m founder and director of The Digital Agency; a certified Google Partner and Shopify Partner digital marketing agency operating in London and Istanbul. The Digital Agency has a solid track record of delivering high growth in eCommerce, Facebook & Google advertising, social media communication, search engine optimization, eCommerce and website production through 16 years of experience with 140 brands in 500 projects. Visit The Digital Agency here