When launching a website, photographs are not usually the first thing we consider. Usually it’s content, the design of the website itself, the name of the forum, and all of the other things that come with creating a website. However, the quality and calibre of the photographs you take for your website are actually of the upmost importance, even if you don’t realise it. it can be the difference between your website looking professional, and it looking simply like your social media page, and the last thing you want to give off from your website is that you’re unprofessional. If you’re struggling with photos for your website, here are some tips about how to ensure you take high quality photographs to use on your website.

Think about Lighting
The first thing to consider when taking photographs for your website, is the lighting when you take them. The last thing you want to promote your business with is dark, low quality photos. Take websites such as RankWarrior.com for example. They use not only high quality pictures, but also videos in order to promote the service they provide. It makes their website not only more visually appealing to look at, but easier to use too.

The best lighting to use, however, if you don’t have access to studio lighting is the kind of light that we all have unlimited access to – natural lighting. Even if you get the most perfect, crisp shot in the world, bad lighting can ruin that in an instant. However, if you are using outside, then be sure that the sun isn’t pointing directly at the camera lens. Typically, the best lighting is actually indoors where you’re somewhat shaded from the sun, but so that you have enough window space for the light to come in. Another trick is to make sure the light is shining from behind the person taking the photograph, in order to get the subject in the best lighting possible. It’s all about knowing the best techniques to use.

Set Up Your Photo
Remember, like a model would prepare for a photoshoot, whatever your subject may be, set it up to look the best on camera that it possible can. Simple right?

Say for example, the pictures you took were for advertising a house on a real estate website. You’d want to ensure that they showed the house off in the best possible light, wouldn’t you? In order to do this, you’d likely clean the property from top to bottom, possibly add in some new accessories and a lick of paint, and even consider moving things around in order to optimise the space that’s available. Now that is just an example, but the point still stands. Whatever it is you’re photographing, set it up so that you can see the most important parts of it, in the best possible way.

Remember to be mindful of the background too. Think about whether the background is distracting from the subject, and furthermore whether the background colours clash with it. More often than not, the more plain the background, the better. It allows you to show off the subject more effectively, without taking any attention from it.

Choose the Right Camera Mode
Of course, depending on the device or camera you use, there are a variety of modes available. One of the most obvious ones to consider, is whether or not you’ll use the flash. Now, if the lighting is good enough, chances are you won’t actually need to use the flash, but it’s good to test all methods in order to see what pictures come out best. However, with the flash off, your pictures are actually more likely to blur. This is where a tripod comes in useful!

If you’ve got shaky hands, or you’re simply not good at taking non-blurry pictures without the flash, a tripod could be your saviour. Inexpensive and highly effective, they are a must have for the inexperienced photographer trying to get good pictures for their website.

Persevere, and Practice!
Last, but certainly not least, remember the two P’s: persevere, and practice. Remember that Rome wasn’t built in a day, and the more you practice taking your photos, the better they’re likely to get. Likewise, if you feel like they aren’t going well, don’t give up and use what you’ve got – persevere until they’re perfect! Remember that sometimes the greater the struggle, the greater the reward. Set yourself above the rest and don’t stop until they’re perfect!