70 - Tip Tuesday - Taking Your Own Great Photographs for Your Site with Chandra Achberger

Images are everything when it comes to social media, and it can be expensive grabbing stock photo for every blog post and meme that you create.  With technology constantly changing, we have the tools to take great photographs our own.  In fact those tools are literally in the palm of our own hands.

Chandra Achberger of Photogher came by for this fun Tip Tuesday to give some great tips on how you can become your own stock photo center for your websites, simply by using what you already have.

Chandra first became obsessed with photography when her husband bought a great DSLR camera before the birth of her second child.  She started learning more about it through teaching herself and practice, and quickly she began taking amazing pictures not just of her family, but also of products through her skin care line.

What are some tips from using a just a standard camera to make the lighting look great?  Chandra suggests that before you worry about lighting, think about the background.  You don't want to see anything distracting in the background.  You either want nothing behind it, not even shadows, or you can put something really simple behind it.  If you're just getting started, take something outside or put it in a window.  Also look behind and around for anything that's going to distract away from your subject.

You can then incorporate things into your product.  If it fits with your product, you can put other items in the image to create a theme.  Just make sure your picture isn't busy, unless that's the rare case where you're going for that.

If you're trying to create a makeshift background, is there a way you suggest to create that?  You can just clear off a little area, and if you have a decent backdrop like a tiled wall or something in front of the window, you can use that.  You can take your food out of the kitchen and into a room that has great lighting and use that.  You just want to keep it really simple, like a white plate or a plain bowl.  If the food is hot, you want to see a glisten on the food.  Have sunlight hitting a sauce so you can see the light hit it.

You can either get really close so the food itself so what's in the bowl is really the only thing you see.  Or you can use something like a cutting board to create a backdrop.

How can you incorporate images into a service based business where a person represents the business?  You want to have good pictures of yourself.  Granted you don't want to go overboard.  You could even just make a goal of choosing something pretty every day.  It is important for people to see the person behind the business.  Just show people quick glimpses into your life.

How do you go about finding the pictures to take?  Chandra even takes pictures of things like sidewalks (for texture) or even of trees.  For the most part, if you start looking for things that catch your eye.  People really like seeing pictures that come from you.

Turn on the grid on your phone so you can use the rule of thirds to create a more appealing image.

Do you have any app recommendations to make your photos really cool?  Instagram is one that Chandra loves.  A great tip is once you send a photo out of the filter area, you can go back and add a second filter to the picture.

Chandra also suggests VSCO Cam and iPhone has one called Manual Camera.  It basically turns your phone into a DSLR, so if you do understand those settings, your possibilities are truly limitless.

You just need to have an idea of what you want the picture to feel like.  You just have to basically play, and it's all trial and error.

Chandra also suggests to use natively posted pictures.  She uses IFTTT.com to create a recipe that will post pictures on various channels.

Here is the link to the rules of third information that Chandra talked about:

http://baboodigital.com/blog/ rule-of-thirds-examples/

You can find Chandra at Photogher.com (Also on Instagram and Twitter)

More About Chandra:  Chandra Achberger is an autodidact, serial entrepreneur, renaissance woman who strives to help others achieve their personal, business goals and take action. Un/Homeschool mom to two in Austin, Texas--by day. Multi-media mentor, owner and artist by night. Involved in web development, multi media, marketing, team building & instruction for 15+ years. She’s driven to create meaningful connections, implement media solutions, establish social communities & increase engagement while she provides relevant resources, practical social solutions & mentorships.