Elevate your presence on social media

Hey Sugar Squad! I'm back with another blog post. Let's talk photography, shall we. Listen to me very, very carefully: PRESENTATION IS EVERYTHING, I REPEAT PRESENTATION IS EVERYTHING! How you present your product is vital to the success and longevity of your brand. Having the right pictures and presentation is crucial to building the type of clientele you desire.

Your photos you present on your social media platforms are most likely your first impression you are presenting to a potential client. A lot pf clientele is built through social media now a days; so you do not always get to speak to someone in order to leave a good first impression. If your photos have bad lighting and sloppy presentation you are losing out on much needed business. Another reason why the photos you post are important, is that they provide a crucial role in delivering the personality of your brand. Like it or not people make assumptions and judgements based off of your photos, especially when it comes to food or dessert photos. If your photos are sloppy, or lack luster people are going to assume those things about your brand as well. Last, but no least having polished pictures enhances your position as an expert and gives you an competitive edge that can increase your sales.

So, how do we improve your photography skills? I am not a professional photographer, but these are tips that work for me and I am sure they will work for you. and help you out.

1. Make sure your camera lens is clean. Always wipe your lens with a soft cloth before using. There is no point on trying to take a great picture if you are using a dirty lens. The dirt will block light from entering the camera lens sensor, and leave smudges, blurs, or dust spots. Having a clean lens ensures that you will get a clear, sharp image.

2. Set the focus. It is important to focus on the subject you are shooting so that you can clear and sharp photo. Setting your focus also allows you to capture the details you want highlighted. Setting the focus is easy and generally only requires you to tap the screen on your phone to make sure what you are shooting is in focus.

3. Turn the flash off of your camera. Your smartphone camera's flash does nothing in helping your pictures. The flash will almost always distort your image. Learn how to access and manually change your exposure settings. By learning how to use your exposure settings, you will be able to control how much light to let into the lens.

4. Lighting. Natural lighting is your best friend. When natural sunlight is not available to you and you don't have the budget for photography lighting; daylight bulbs are your new best friend. Along with a white foam board to absorb some of the light you can almost get perfect lighting and the general cost for a daylight bulb is around $2.79. Try not to take your pictures with florescent lighting, it will wash out your picture.

5. Invest in a nice background. Take the time to stage your photos and use a nice clean background. Using a simple white poster board or foam board will help with this. no one wants to see your messy kitchen or work room. Take the time to stage your photos and set the tone for your brand.

6. Use the rule of thirds. So you mastered focus and exposure two crucial components to taking great photos, now you need to get the hang of composition. Without good composition your photos will most likely not be very eye catching. The basic principle behind the rule of thirds is to imagine breaking an image down into thirds (both horizontally and vertically) so that you have 9 parts. The idea behind the rule of thirds is that the off-centre composition makes for a more interesting shot. The best way to aide in visualizing breaking your photo into thirds is to turn on the grid feature on your camera settings.

7. Shoot from different perspectives. You don't always have to take your photo dead center or in standing position. Play around with different angles and heights to get the best looking photo.

8. Take multiple shots. This is a tie in back to shooting from different perspectives. The chances of getting the best shot in one take is highly unlikely. Take shots from varying angles and distances.

9. Don’t over-process your photos. Resist the urge to use too many apps or overly strong effects when editing your photos. many make the mistake of thinking that using photo editing apps will turn a bad photo into a good one. It won’t. Trust me, I know from experience. I have tried it and failed many times over the years lol. So please use those photo apps with care.

I hope these tips help you out! As always Happy Baking and in this case happy picture taking!