 Have you made the most of your shiny new product photos? It can be a bit scary making that investment when you just want to give your shop listings a makeover, but you can do so much more with your new images to give your business a boost.
Can you think of anywhere else to share your photos? If you'd like to book a photoshoot and get your very own shiny new images, you can do so here. 
0 Comments
 8 Ways to Take Better Photos Using Your Phone Camera Professional photos are great for when you have the budget, whether it's for a new collection or a planned content shoot. Other times, you just need to take a quick pic using your phone and having a go-to process will help keep your photography consistent. 1. Make sure you’re setting up in a well-lit area, preferably next to a window but not in direct sunlight 2. Clean the lens first - you’d be surprised how many fingerprints end up on there which will stop you from getting sharp images. 3. Check your image size is on the highest resolution. Some phones default to a lower res for lower file size. 4. Always edit. Snapseed is easy and free - you can save a preset to keep your images consistent. 5. Keep your phone steady, a phone tripod or makeshift way of propping it up may be handy depending on the angle you’re going for. 6. If you’re taking a flat-lay be sure to keep the phone level. Look for straight lines in the composition and make sure they run parallel. You can also usually turn on a grid on your camera to help with this. 7. Remember and tap to focus! 8. Keep in mind what you’ll be using your photos for so you can plan where you’ll be cropping.       I was so excited to work with Tracey from Enamel Happy. I am a big fan of my pink and yellow cups which inspired the theme of our vintage caravan makeover, so I'd already collected lots of the perfect props for styling this retro themed shoot. Tracey wanted happy, fun and stylish images to show off her range of products and she was delighted with the end result: From the moment I came across Jilly’s work on Instagram I was smitten. My products recently spend a day Jilly her in her studio and the results are just perfect. I will definitely be back for top up shots of new products and a Christmas one too! If you'd like to book a photoshoot you can do so here.  6 Tips for Creating Content (without the last minute panic) Content creation can be overwhelming when you're already juggling all the jobs of a small business owner. I find it really helps me keep notes throughout the month whenever an idea pops into my head and work on the content all at one time. Here are my tips for creating content: 1. Work out your key post types. These will be the framework and you can keep them on rotation. Mine roughly breaks down to portfolio, tips, and testimonials but I also try and share snippets into my life as I’m a big part of my brand. 2. Keep a ‘Content Ideas’ note in your phone. It’s often a random conversation or article that sparks an idea. I make a note of it, then when I next go to schedule a batch of content I’ll often have a few notes to get me started. This is also super handy for planning your next photoshoot if you realise you need some new visuals for future content. 3. Use templates. Whether that’s on Canva or you get some designed for you (I offer this as a service) it’ll be much easier to create content when you don’t have to create graphics from scratch. 4. Batch create. Set aside a few hours/afternoon/day - whatever works for you - and a goal for how many posts you’ll create. I can usually do a month of posts in a half-day, with an aim of 3 posts a week. Once you get a few done you’ll get into the swing of things and you’ll be so glad to tick it off your to-do list. 5. Use a scheduling app so you don’t have to remember to post on the day. I use the free plan of Later but Facebook Business Suite has a lot of features which include video content and carousels. 6. Create a ‘content’ album on your phone to save up any images you take at busy times. Often on admin days it’s hard to show what you’re doing, so having a backlog of content can be very helpful.   Over the Christmas holidays I finally had some time to work on a personal project. Myself and Falda decided to change our old Vegan Dundee blog into a new lifestyle blog "Wee Dundee". Wee Dundee will still feature vegan reviews, but also other non-food content - sustainable finds, local makers and shops, adventures, nearby nature spots, and more. I had a lot of fun with this branding. We wanted to keep the colour palettes from both of our Instagram profiles, it had to be playful as the blog will be very family friendly. The logo has some subtle design elements which hint at the blog content - nature symbols in the form of the cloud, squiggle of water under the 'u' to represent the Tay, sunbeams on the 'e' for "sunny Dundee", and a star as a reminder of the star-rating reviews. We're so excited to launch the new blog next month! Check out @wee_dundee on Instagram to find out more. If you're looking to book a branding project, I'd love to hear from you. You can get in touch here.        Ginger Pickle is an adorable brand, and when Jade asked me to photograph her Christmas collection of wooden laser-cut jewellery I was delighted! Especially as me and Jade go way back and I used to admire her photography so much when I started out. The brief was a lot of fun, rustic festive with sparkles and greenery - Jade also sent some props which she had used for her wedding decor to see if I could incorporate them. The result is some cosy natural scenes of gift wrapping and Christmas parcels. If you'd like to book a photoshoot you can do so here.    Nikki McWilliams is the home of all things biscuity - from pins to cushions. Their brand is known for pastels and kitsch retro inspired visuals so this was a starting point for the shoot. We used a mix of pastel backgrounds and LOTS of biscuits, with vintage coffee cup and matching gold stars for festive shots. The end result is a range of bold playful images. Jilly did the most wonderful job with our product photos for our online store and social media. Using our brand aesthetic as a starting point, she created a mood board to fit the brief, and went out of her way to source props that complimented things perfectly. Every piece was styled and shot beautifully, with such attention to detail. I can't recommend Jilly enough. Thank you! If you'd like to book a photoshoot you can do so here.  1. Add a festive twist to your parcels. I used to love popping vegan chocolate coins in my customer parcels with a sprinkling of gold paper star confetti. Think about what works with your brand style. Customers are more likely to share a cute parcel on their socials which helps spread the word and gives you bonus content. 2. Create on brand Christmas graphics. Use your brand colours and fonts to make some templates for your socials or to give your website a festive update. 3. Schedule important social media posts. Use an app like Later to plan ahead - if you have any promos planned or upcoming events you can make sure you don’t forget to post about them once things get super busy! 4. Have (or book) a Christmas mini shoot - give your bestsellers a festive makeover. You don’t need to go full Christmas but you could add twinkling lights and some winter foliage for a simple seasonal feel. 5. Update your website to make shopping for gifts as easy as possible. Add a short sentence to the start of your popular product descriptions to let customers know who this would be the perfect gift for. Also think about adding new categories which guide shoppers to best selling or seasonal items. 6. Change up your shop header images. If you’ve taken some new seasonal photos, use those and link them up to your new categories. It’s also helpful to include last shopping dates so your customers can shop confident in the knowledge that their purchases will arrive in time for the big day. 7. Choose your last shopping dates ASAP. This helps manage customer expectations early on but will also benefit you. It’s all too easy to burn out at this busy time of year so make sure you give yourself a little breathing space. Postal services get pretty slow and you don’t want to be chasing up orders on Christmas Eve when you should be enjoying the festivities. Are you ready for the Christmas rush?      For Christina Vernon's mini shoot we went for a subtle coastal theme for the beautiful Sgèile collection. A terrazzo tile background is paired with natural driftwood and a miniature green "net". If you'd like to book a photoshoot you can do so here     Kimberley Art illustrates a range of Scottish distilleries and castles which are sold as prints, coasters, tea towels and more. For this photoshoot we wanted to create a contemporary bothy style, cosy but light and airy, as if you'd just returned from a Highland walk to pour a wee dram. Kimberley also required some blank frame mock ups as she has a growing range of art prints, this allows her to get her new products uploaded right away in future. If you'd like to book a photoshoot you can do so here. |
HelloHere you'll find my latest projects, behind the scenes, tips, DIY projects and more! Categories
All
Past Posts
June 2022
|
