Other than consultation meetings and calls, I don't have a TON of prep work before the corporate events I shoot. I need to be sure I have a shot list, that all of my batteries are charged, and that I'm taking the lenses I need. However, the editing afterwards takes just about as much time as it took me to shoot. So for a 2 hour event, I'm likely spending nearly two hours at home editing. Which is why shooting is only half the work.
For Meredith, event work with clients has an insane amount of prep work - she needs to know what they like, what they don't like, work through several iterations of design, details, preferences, etc. TONS of prep work. She's also present at the event, then has work to complete after. While our work is so different, we both have long lists of things we do that will be forever "behind the scenes." Creating quotes for our work is one of the first steps in a new client relationship. If you've ever gotten sticker shock looking at a service provider's price quote, just remember there's often a lot more work outside of when you're present, and you can ALWAYS ask questions, negotiate, and ask if variations are possible. We are so happy to share our work with you. :) Happy Friday! Autumn
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There is no doubt that captivating photography and product imagery can enhance your brand exposure and engagement with your customers, but there are a couple of things that you should consider once your have your final image files prior to adding those beautiful pics to your site to ensure you are maximizing their impact. Compress Your Images When your images are delivered to you they are likely going to be full-size. This is great because it allows you to use them how you see fit, however prior to using them on your website, you will want to compress them. Compressing an image ensures that the file size is as small as possible without sacrificing the quality of the image. Depending on what kind of platform your site is on, there may be some built in tools or plugins that you can use to accomplish this. If not, here are some free online tools that can help you: https://imagecompressor.com/ https://tinypng.com/ https://compressjpeg.com/ To the naked eye, you will not be able to tell that the image is different. To search engines and user-experience, it means that your site will not be bogged down by large files and it won’t sacrifice site load times. Name Your Images Once you have downloaded your new compressed image, you will want to give it a descriptive, yet short file name. File names and another feature called alt tags help search engines to understand what your image is. Search engines currently cannot see images as we do, so we need to provide them with the context necessary to index and rank them accordingly.  Take the picture above, a bad image file name would be IMG_367.jpg, instead National-Kitten-Day-Kitten.jpg would be more appropriate and useful. Now, on to alt tags, like image file names, alt tags help search engines understand what the image is. Alt tags should be concise and use natural language. A good example of an alt tag for the above photo would be “Kitten on floor for national kitten day”. Your website platform will determine where you need to add this alt tag, but in HTML, which is not visible to website viewers, it would look like this: <img src=”https://yoursite.com/National-Kitten-Day-Kitten.jpg” alt=”Kitten on floor for national kitten day”/> Support the Image Now that your image is compressed and optimized, you need to support it. The content on the page that this picture is featured on should be relevant to what the picture is. Search engines use context clues to not only understand images, but to rank pages for relevant keywords. So if you added the picture to a page about engineering, then it would not make sense for search engines to rank that page highly for National Kitten Day. If the content on the page was about the history of National Kitten Day and the celebrations through the years, it would be appropriate for that page to rank well when individuals are searching terms related to National Kitten Day. Search engines use multiple site components to determine which pages are most relevant to respective keywords, this creates a better user-experience when it comes to finding exactly what you are looking for when you Google it. By following the suggestions laid out, this will help your site rank better for relevant keywords in both traditional and image searches, and it will ensure your wonderful images are not slowing your site down. To learn more about SEO considerations for your website, reach out to us at https://www.holisticmarketingllc.com/
Let's consider the differences between RAW and JPEG.
RAW
JPEG
I have always shot in JPEG. While I do love how much storage space I save by not shooting in RAW, I also feel comfortable shooting in JPEG since I do a lot of "editing in camera." What does that mean? When I take a photo, I look at it - if I don't like it (too light, too dark, etc.), I change my settings and keep shooting until it's right. When I edit on my computer later, it takes much less time than if I just shot a bunch of images without checking the quality in the moment. This gives me control over how much editing I have to do later. (Cons? I have less control over editing since less info is stored on a JPEG file - but like I said, I'm comfortable with this!) If you're shooting for fun, your options are up to you. If you're shooting for a client, they might ask which format you're using. You may have to have a conversation with them about which format(s) you use and why. Just remember - weigh the pros and cons since it is UP TO YOU. Happy Friday! Autumn If you're indoors and feel like you can't get great natural lighting, head to a window and use a reflector - no flash involved! Reflectors make a HUGE difference - and are a cheap way to achieve lighting needs.
If you're looking for a reflector, you've got options!
A big thanks to Megan, owner of Studio 614 (where we shot the video!), for being a model and helping create the video. :) If I can answer any questions, feel free to email me or comment below! Happy Friday! Autumn
We MUST have a sense of direction.
Why the heck would a photographer have to have a sense of direction? Well, there are a few reasons:
Happy Friday! Autumn |
Writing and vlogging to entertain, educate, expose, and encourage.
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