- Be consistent with your style of photography – When photographs are cohesive it’s more appealing to the eye. I’m not saying you have to have the same type of background, props etc for each photo you take, perhaps if you add the same filter or edit them similarly it makes it very easy to recognize when trying to create a brand (or finding your niche). I like very washed out almost B/W photos. Your style of editing is entirely up to you.
- ISO when shooting on manual – ISO is the level of sensitivity of your camera to available light. When shooting stills (makeup products, flat lays) your best bet is to just leave it on the auto setting to get the highest image quality possible. I find adjusting to any setting above 200 starts to ruin the photo and create a lot of noise (visual distortion/graininess).
- Blurred background – The best way to understand aperture is to think of it as the controls for the pupil of an eye – the wider it gets, the more light it lets in. I recently purchased the 50mm 1.4 Canon lens to achieve this technique and I’m very happy with the results thus far. You can achieve a very shallow depth of field with this lens and the subject is extremely sharp at an f1.4.
- It really all comes down to editing – Photos have so much character after being edited. You can always use apps on your phone to do this and are so simple to use these days, some even include tutorials! My favorites are Afterlight, Snapseed, SKRWT and VSCO cam. Photoshop and Lightroom are a little more complicated but YouTube has a ton of videos to help you learn how to use them. I believe the subscription for PS & LR is $9.99 a month for a full year.
- Inspiration is everywhere – Pinterest, IG and other blogs are go-to places for a good kick in the ass when feeling stuck or uninspired. It’s hard to consistently create content everyday, I know that bloggers do it all the time but personally feel that it’s more of a chore that way. I like when a product genuinely excites me so that I can come back and share my thoughts on it. I’ve found that if I schedule photos/posts too far in advance it takes the fun and credibility out of my writing. I’m not trying to bash others that have schedules that they abide by, I’m saying personally it just isn’t for me.
- Rename your images – This is something I’m guilty of because I always forget to do it lol! Renaming your images with key words helps google pull it up when someone is searching for that particular item/post.
At the end of the day the way you decide to set up your photo is entirely up to you but make sure to have fun with it! Practice is key when trying to master something so be patient and start shooting…
I’ve written older posts here, here and here if you’re interested in reading up on some more tips!