Taking and Editing Promotional Photographs

There are a few tips and tricks which can help you take and edit professional looking promotional photographs.

Taking the photograph

Setting the scene

Plan and set up your scene before you start shooting. Think about the mood, atmosphere, and message you want to get across, and then you can create a scene that will set that mood. You want yourself or your product to look its best. If you are shooting in an existing area like a shop interior make sure you de-clutter the scene as much as possible.

Take lots of photographs

The more photographs you take the more chance you have of finding a great shot. Don't be afraid of taking too many photos. If you're using a digital camera you can just scan through your images later and delete the ones you don't need.

Learn to use your digital camera

Reading the instruction manual for your digital camera will help you learn about all of the camera's features. This can inspire you to set up different types of scenes and shots based upon the available features. When you know how to use your camera properly you will be able to produce much better photos.

The rule of thirds

The "rule of thirds" is a guide to help you create more interesting pictures. Look at the scene you are shooting and divide it into thirds: left, middle, and right-and top, middle, and bottom. Once you can see the scene in terms of different sections you should place your subject in one of the thirds. This will stop you from always placing the subject in the middle of the photo and will create more exciting photographs.

Lighting

Cameras need light to focus so think about your light source in the scene. If you are shooting indoors you will generally need the flash. Flash can sometimes wash out the color, so practice taking photos in manual mode. In this mode you can change the shutter speed and see which speed gives you the richest and most interesting image. If you are outdoors, take advantage of natural light. Take photos throughout the day to see how the light impacts your photo.

Editing the photograph

You can edit your photographs online through sites like Picnik and Adobe Photoshop Express, or through photo editing programs like Adobe Photoshop and Fireworks. Remember to always edit a copy of your original photo.

Some common edits are:

Crop-You can crop your photo to fit certain size requirements and to emphasize different parts of the image.

Sharpen the focus-You can sharpen the focus of your image to ensure your pictures are as clear as possible.

Improve the color-Boosting the color in your images will create more vibrant and rich photographs.

Eliminate red-eye-If the people in your image have red-eyes you can easily eliminate this with photo-editing software.

Correct blur-If your image is out of focus and blurry, you can bring the image back into focus.

These are just a few of the many different editing techniques available with today's software. Blurry or washed out images that you would have thrown away in the past can now be restored to create some fabulous photographs. No matter what photo-editing software you use, read the instructions so that you know all of the possible effects you can create. Take the time to edit your photographs; it will make your photographs look much more professional.

Written by Sarah Davin. © 50-100.com.