Taking beautiful photos of your work is more important than you would think. Not only will you use these photos to build an impressive portfolio but they will also help build your clientele by attracting new clients to you! The good news is you don’t need to be a professional photographer to pull off beautiful photos. Most beauty professionals take client photos with their smart phone! Use these tips outlined below to take beautiful, Instagram-worthy client photos that will help build your clientele and increase your social media following:
1. Choose your Background Wisely
The background is almost as important as the work you are showcasing in your photo. You want your work to be the main focus of the photo so try to find a clean background. Find an area in the salon with a neutral colored wall (near natural light) or use a backdrop. A solid colored background is ideal so that you can really show off your work, if that’s not possible make sure your background is free of clutter and not distracting. Another option if you don’t have a solid color background is to use the portrait setting to blur the background, this will bring more focus to your work!
2. Lighting is Important
Natural lighting is always best! Try to find a spot where the natural light is flowing in but make sure to put the focus of the photo towards the light source. If the light is behind your client, it will wash them out and if it’s directly above, it may create unwanted shadows. If you don’t have a spot with natural light, you may have to use a lighting accessory like a ring light to help. Whatever you do, avoid fluorescent lighting, it can wash out colors and will definitely not make your work look its best.
3. Take Photos from Different Angles and Distances
Take multiple photos of your client from different angles and make sure you do a few close-ups as well. Not only will this give you a wide range of photos to choose from when you’re deciding which one to post, this will also give you more content that you can use later. Make sure you leave enough time between each client to take multiple photos of your work, you will be thankful you did! For each client, you should take a front, back, side and close-up shot.
4. Invest in a Better Camera
Think of the phone or camera you use to take photos of your work as an investment. Just like you would invest in buying a new pair of shears or a new curling iron for your business. You are going to use these photos to promote yourself and help grow your business so it is important! Also, be aware of the differences between taking photos with different cameras/phone models. In some cases, an older phone model might showcase darker more rich tones better while a newer phone might show the true tone of blondes better. Play around with different types of cameras and see what you prefer! Lastly, be careful using filters on your photos. You want your photos to look as close as possible to what it looks like in person.
5. Don’t Forget to Take the Before Photo
How many times have you said “I wish I would have taken a before photo”? Probably many times! Do not forget that before photo! This is especially important if you are doing a big transformation like a color correction, extensions or maybe a skin treatment to reduce fine lines and wrinkles! Either way, before photos can really help show off your work and help that after photo pop even more! You don’t have to use before and after shots every time but it’s nice to have the choice to show some variation in what you are posting to your social media pages.
Now that you have all of these awesome photography tips and tricks, get out there and showcase your work! Many beauty professionals say they forget to take photos or don’t have time for it. That is a huge mistake, in this industry taking photos of your work should be a priority and it will pay off in the end!