social media (they are appropriate for print as
well). Here are seven.;
Be authentic, not staged.; “People are
looking for images that show an attraction,
product or event without a staged appearance,” says;Brian Siddle,;director of community and content;at Strong Coffee Marketing,
a digital marketing agency in Edmon-ton,;Alberta.;“Quality is still important, but a
lot of audiences are OK if you lose the extra
Photoshop [editing] work or models.”
Display your company’s charm.;“Head
shots should make you look professional
while communicating your personality,” says
Tony Rizzuto, a photographer and educator in
Missoula, Montana. If you’re photographing
employees, he suggests, tell a funny joke and
take a shot soon after they’ve had a laugh.
“Your subject will be smiling and appear
friendly and unguarded but won’t look like
they’re laughing for no reason,” he says.
Employ body-flattering tricks.; To take
a head shot of someone who would like to
appear thinner, Phoenix, Arizona-based professional photographer and author Michele
Celentano suggests asking the person to wear
a V-neck shirt to elongate the neck. Have him
or her stand up tall—the body compresses
18 ;e Costco Connection NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2013
Tips for creating photos for social media
By Mindy Charski
SOCIAL MEDIA NETWORKS have
matured into trendy, low-cost platforms that
small businesses can use to build stronger
bonds with customers and attract new ones.
But these virtual communities don’t thrive by
words alone. Visual content, such as photo-
graphs, is increasingly being used to commu-
nicate messages, and not just on
photo-oriented networks such as Pinterest
and Instagram. Facebook users collectively
upload more than 300 million photos each
day, for instance.;
“We all know from personal experience
how our eyes leap to the images on our
Facebook Timelines before anything else—
whether they’re beautiful, cool, shocking,
bright, sad or memorable,” says Costco mem-
ber Brent Purves, chief executive officer of
digital marketing agency Stir Communica-
tions Group in Vancouver, British Columbia.
“The same applies to our business page
Timelines. Good images communicate much
more effectively, and faster, than words.”
In addition, photos—as well as videos
and infographics—can help business owners
engage viewers. In fact, Dan Zarrella, social
media scientist at the marketing software
company HubSpot, found that posts with
photos on Facebook are more likely to be
shared, liked and commented on than those
with text only.;
So with photography being more impor-
tant than ever to market a small business, we
asked professionals, Costco members all, to
share tips for creating compelling snaps for
small business
Engaging images
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The Costco Connection
Costco members will find a variety of photo
services at Costco Photo Centres, including
digital, standard and canvas prints, professional photo repair and more.
when it’s in a sitting position—and lean forward slightly. A person’s neck and chin will
appear thinner when the person is looking up
at the camera, so photograph your subject
with a higher camera angle by standing on a
step stool or chair, says Celentano.
Please the palate.;Shoot food when it’s
fresh. “If food sits too long it looks cold and
dried out,” says San Francisco–based photographer Leigh Beisch. And while filters like
those on Instagram can create fun imagery,
avoid ones that could cast an “unappetizing”
colour, she warns.
Focus on your subject.;Interesting props
and backgrounds can add visual appeal to
portraits and product shots, but go overboard
and you’ll clutter the image.
“If you’re shooting a plate of salad, maybe
prop with a great-looking fork and that’s it,”
says Lauren Cheong, a Toronto-based photographer and educator. “That really is all you
need, because the food is the hero in that
image. You don’t need salad servers and salad
dressing and too many napkins—all that
would take away from the subject.”
Use the right light.; Cheong recommends shooting dishes of food in natural light
near a window, outside in shade or under
overcast skies.
“Any instance when that light is going to
be a soft kind of light—not a direct, hard sunlight—I find is the best kind of lighting for
food photography and portraits because it’s so
even and soft that it’s very flattering,” she says.
Keep your audience in mind. “Make
