3 Photo Styling Tips to Instantly Improve Your Photography
Editor’s Note: We’re super excited to welcome Rachel Smith of The Crafted Life for a guest post on 3 photo styling tips to instantly improve your photography. If you want to create stunning on-brand photographs for your blog, website, social media and online shop check out her Photo Styling 101 workshop.
-Nicole
Hello! Rachel from The Crafted Life here. With a new year comes new goals, both personally and professionally. If 2016 is your year to improve your photography for your online shop, blog, or social media, here are three must-follow tips to help you take your photos to the next level:
- Natural light is a must. Just because you might make something cool at night, don’t mean you have to photograph it at night. Regardless of how well you style a shot, if the lighting is poor, the overall photo quality decreases. When shooting in natural light, you are going to get a cleaner, sharper, and evenly lit photo.
- Move around. Sometimes all it takes to get the perfect photo is to tweak a few small details or to swap out one prop for another. Play around with your setup and have a variety of images to choose from (I take about 10-20 shots per each Instagram I post). Be thinking angles and setups before it comes time to shoot, but don’t be afraid the mix it up and experiment with something new midshoot. That’s the beauty of shooting with a digital camera!
- Take the time to edit. I know. That one sunset was #nofilter worthy. But the truth of it is that 99% of your photos are going to need some post processing help. Really take the time to edit your photos to the best of your ability… then edit them again until you nail a process that works for you and your brand. If you’re just using Instagram editing, maybe experiment with other photo apps to see what other types of results you can get. When going through my photos, I tend to edit them (via VSCO) the exact same way to build up a comprehensive brand. Once you have a system in place, it should only take you about 2-3 minutes to go through the motions of editing.
Above all, remember that it takes time and practice! Have fun with it and give yourself a break. You’ll get there.
xo,
Rachel
P.S. If you want more tips on photo styling check out these posts: Three must-have photos to increase sales in your online shop, Four tips for taking awesome online shop and blog photos, and DIY photo backdrops and take a peek at Rachel’s Photo Styling 101 Online Workshop.
AND… Rachel has teamed up with Jordan Brantley to create some awesome FREE printables. Check them below and download them here.
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Great tips! After taking photos for my handmade shop I have learned all of these to be true! Also, practice makes perfect- I have finally found a formula that works for me when editing photos. One more tip… when taking photos of products remember to keep in mind the type of background you are using. Some things looks better with a clean white background and others with a busier background. It really make a difference when showcasing products!
Absolutely!