Every online marketer should have a strategy for their photos, especially when it comes to marketing photos used in blog posts or social media posts. What is the first thing that comes to mind when you think about photos and marketing? Chances are, you’ve got a picture of a cute dog or cat stuck in your head. It’s adorable, isn’t it?

You might be thinking that images of animals will make your audience feel more welcoming and compassionate towards your product or service. While that may be true, it’s not the only reason why you should use images of animals in your marketing. Here are 10 tips for online marketing photos that will help you create better images to communicate your message more effectively.

Use Real Humans For Testimonials

People love to read about how others benefited from a product or service. Seeing as images of animals tend to be less effective than images of people when it comes to marketing (see point 4), you should try and get some real humans to write about your product. The worst thing you can do is have someone write an entire blog post about how much they love your product, only to find out that it was a test post written by a computer.

Even if you use real people to write the testimonials for your products and services, you should still verify that they are qualified to do so. Is the person writing the testimonial for your product a previous customer? Does the person’s family or friends use the product? You should look into getting the person’s permission before you post their testimonial on your website.

Consider What The Audience Is Interested In

If you’re wondering why I keep mentioning pets as an example of cute animals that you can use in your marketing, it’s because this is a fantastic example of how to use photos in your marketing. To a dog lover, this may be the perfect example of a blog post since it talks about dogs in particular and contains a lot of dog pictures. Now if you’re trying to attract baby boomers to your product or service, you might want to consider using an iconic image of a young and vibrant woman to represent your company.

Depending on your industry, you may want to use images of people who share your stage of life or who have a similar interest to your target audience. Are you trying to attract women to your site? Use an image of a beautiful woman to represent your company.

If you’re wondering what other kinds of images you can use, consider stock photography sites like Adobe Stock or Pexels.com. You can browse hundreds of free images that you can use in your marketing without needing to pay a single penny for them.

Use Natural Light

When you’re taking a photo for an online marketer, you should always try and shoot in natural light. What is natural light you ask? Well, it’s the light that comes from the sun. Instead of using fluorescent or incandescent lighting which can be hard on your skin and cause serious eye strain, go for a walk outside and let the sun shine in. While you’re there, take a look up at the sky and notice the different colors that make up the sunset and sunrise. These are natural lights and they can be a lot more pleasing to the human eye than artificial lights.

When you’re working with artificial lights, you run the risk of having shadows cast on your subject. Shadows are terrible when it comes to photography and can ruin an otherwise beautiful picture. If you’re working with ambient light, such as from the sun or street lamps, there’s a chance that your subject will be lit from behind. This will cause the object in front to glow and be the dominant feature of the photo.

To get rid of any shadows or excess lighting, you should either move the lamp or use a flash in your camera. If you haven’t added a flash to your camera yet, you can find small, lightweight flash units at online retailers or at photoshoots with professional photographers. Just make sure that you don’t put them near to the lens since they can cause damage.

Experiment With Different Angles

When I first got into photography, I didn’t know how to create different angles and wasn’t sure how important this could be when it came to my photos. While it’s true that you shouldn’t limit yourself to using only one angle, it’s also important to experiment with different ones to see which ones work best for your product or service.

For example, if you’re selling pet products and you’ve got a lot of photos of dogs on your site, you may want to try and use the high angle to showcase the dog’s stroller or to see the face of the dog looking straight on. Alternatively, you can use lower angles to show off the dog’s fluffy coat or to capture a moment when the dog is wagging its tail.

This is a little different than normal photography since you’ve got a strong vertical or even a slanted horizon. What this means is that you shoot with the sun at your back, instead of your usual backlighting which gives you a clear horizon. This can be a great way to show case your product since it’s got a three-dimensionality that creates a sense of depth and interest when viewers land on your site. You can read more about high, low, and medium angles (here).

Avoid Distractions

This tip may be hard to follow if you’re really passionate about photography and want to experiment with different lighting conditions, angles, and subjects. Still, you can avoid distractions and keep your focus by avoiding anything that could cause sensory overload. It could be anything from noisy environments to bright or distracting colors. If you think that something could be distracting, you may want to find a quiet corner in which to take your photos.

Also, during photo shoots, it’s important to keep your hands and arms still. Even if you’re not consciously aware of moving your body or arms when you take a photo, it can still end up as a blur since your camera’s shutter speed may be too high to capture every movement. Try and stay calm and focused during photo shoots so that you can get the most out of them.

Avoid Using Too Many Words

Photos are often times the least interesting part of an article or blog post, which is why you should try and keep your text as minimal as possible. If you want to write a lot about your product or service, you may want to consider using an image grabber tool or a stock photography website to get some great picture without needing to write a single word. In many cases, you can have a beautifully designed product page with just an image and a short description of the item. More often than not, this is all that’s needed to persuade a prospective customer to purchase the product.

Avoid Clutter

This point may seem a bit obvious yet people still forget about it. Keep your desk and work area clean and free of clutter. If you’re constantly throwing things in a pile, you may not be able to concentrate on what you’re doing. Instead, you could end up with a mess that needs to be straightened out. Keep your desk and work area free from any clutter and make sure that they’re always in good order. This way, you’ll know where to find whatever you need when you need it.

Learn Proper Exposure

When you’re taking a photo for an online marketer, you should always try and shoot in the proper exposure. What does this mean exactly? It means that you should use your camera’s exposure settings wisely to get the best possible results. How does this differ from normal photography?

When you’re taking a photo for someone who doesn’t have much experience, it’s important to use high dynamic range (HDR) images or videos since this will allow them to see what your finished product looks like. Instead of having to rely on the contrasty grayscale images that most digital cameras are capable of, you can use the colors on your camera’s screen to your advantage. With HDR images, the difference in brightness between the pixels is more noticeable and can add a lot more realism to your image.

Use Music

There’s a reason why musicians and songwriters write songs and compose music. It’s because music can help evoke certain feelings or memories in the listener. Certain songs can even cause a listener to feel a certain way about a product or service, making them more, or less, interested in what you’re offering.