When it comes to showing off your business, high quality photo and video content are important to give the right impression. When people land on your website or social media, they will immediately see that you are a professional, serious company that cares about quality.

While stock photos are available, it’s always ideal to source your own photography, as it means it will be unique to you and give a more accurate portrayal of your people, workplace and products.

With many companies still dealing with lockdown, businesses will not be able to hire a professional photographer and may have to rely on employees taking photos themselves. However, with the advancement of technology, it is easier than ever to learn how to take a professional photo with your phone, helping you keep your business looking professional whilst on a budget.

Here are our 6 top tips on how to take a professional photo with your phone:

1. Let there be light

If the camera has enough light, it will be able to pick out detail and produce a higher quality image. It’s also much easier to darken an image afterwards than it is to lighten one, as the camera will not have picked up the necessary information in the pixels and will cause the photo to look grainy and distorted when brightened.

Direct sunlight is ideal, as it will give a natural colour to the photo, but if you are indoors, be sure to find a well-lit spot for your photo. Always try to stand with the light shining on you rather than coming from behind, as this will illuminate the subject better and prevent any glare coming from behind. But do keep an eye out for any reflections, especially if the subject is wearing glasses.

2. Composition

If you are taking a photo of a person, be sure to stand a little further back so you can get more of their body in and leave some space around them. Although the photo may just be a headshot for a profile photo, it’s better to have a bit of extra room to crop than having people cut off.

If the photo may potentially be used in editorial, take advantage of negative space – empty areas around the subject of the image – as this will give designers the opportunity to overlay text on top, with the clear background making it easy to read. If the resolution is high enough, they can always zoom in, but it’s better to have the option.

Although the trend is to now take portrait photos, as this is how they are viewed on phones and smaller devices, this is not always ideal. Images may still be viewed on desktop computers and screens, so consider this when taking the photo. If it’s a photo of a person, landscape is usually better, as if it needs to be cropped to a square or circle shape, there will be less to play with on the sides and the head will end up being cut off.

3. The bigger picture

While it might be tempting to zoom in to get a closer view, most smartphones don’t actually zoom as you’d expect. Unlike a digital camera, there are no lenses inside the smartphone camera moving to adjust the field of view; instead, the phone software crops the full image down, meaning the file size will be smaller and resolution will be compromised. Therefore, you should try to move the camera closer manually and avoid having to zoom in.

4. It’s behind you!

It’s also important to consider what’s happening in the background of the photo. A plain background will make the subject stand out and will also be useful if the person is going to be cut out. But if you are taking a photo in front of a wall, do not stand directly against the wall, as the light will cast a shadow – try to stand a few feet away if possible.

Alternatively, background scenery may give the photo a little more character. If you are going to have a background, make sure the person is still the main focus and the background isn’t too distracting. Some phones, like the latest iPhones, will have a portrait mode, allowing you to blur the background slightly. This is ideal as it keeps the focus on the person in the photo.

5. Size matters

Most phones will, by default, take high-resolution images. For example, my iPhone photo resolution is 3024x4032px, which is plenty big enough for both web and print.

When you send photos to your computer or the person who will be working with them, make sure you send the full-size image. It may seem like a good idea to send a smaller file so it takes up less space, but it may cause trouble in the long run. It’s easy for someone to scale a photo down, but scaling an image up will cause it to lose quality.

6. Make the most of it

Once you’ve got the person all set up with nice lighting and a good background, be sure to take lots of photos, experimenting with different angles, expressions and poses. They may not all be suitable for what you’re doing right now, but if you have a little library of photos, then you can use them in future for different projects without having to retake them. If you have a setup and can photograph multiple people at once, this will help make things look consistent, with matching lighting and backgrounds in each photo.

So, now that you’ve learnt how to take a professional photo with your phone, you will be able to impress your audience with well lit, well shot, good quality photos.

However, if you do want to take it to the next level and really wow your potential customers, a professional photographer is well worth the investment. Though it will cost a little more and take a bit longer, you’ll be surprised the difference it makes when people land on your website or social media.