How to Take Great Pictures for CheckIN360
This is where the magic happens!
You may not be a professional photographer but you can take pictures that jump off the screen by following a few simple tricks. The number one rule to follow is this: TAKE YOUR TIME! Hurrying through it and snapping a quick selfie may meet a minimal standard but if you use this guide and some trial and error you can create a customer interface through CheckIN360 that enhances your clients first impression of your business. The sections below offer advice on how to make your app look great. If you try these tips and feel your app doesn't look as good as you want, don't hesitate to hit us up on the contact page and we will be glad to help.
1. Look the Part
Using photos that reflect your brand is important when setting up your CheckIN360 profiles. This may be the first impression client or customer has of you or your business. So, take some time to plan out how you want to present your staff to your clients before you just start uploading profile pics from Facebook. Here are some tips to help in this area:
- Attire should be similar to the daily look of your staff. Something too formal or too casual can feel unapproachable or unprofessional. If you wear a uniform, that should be what you are wearing in the picture.
- Smile! People like it when they are greeted by a smiling face. Staff may feel uncomfortable smiling but your clients will love it.
- Plan a time to take pictures and give staff time to prepare. No one likes to have a picture taken without some warning. In our office we tell them days in advance!
2. Proper Lighting Fixes Many Problems
One of the hardest things to get right in a photograph of faces is the lighting. Harsh shadows can make you look older, fatter and just plain weird. So, follow these tips to create the right light for your pictures:
- Balance the light on both right and left of the subject. Yes, that graceful shadow may look good in a magazine ad but on your app it will make it harder to identify your staff.
- Get more light behind the camera than behind your subject. Bright lights behind the subject make brightness on the face difficult to achieve. If indoors you may need to close curtains or doors in the background to get more light on the subjects face.
- Natural sunlight can result in beautiful shots if done right. Avoid standing directly in the sun. Create some shade by having someone hold an umbrella to cast a shadow on the subjects face if needed. Early morning or early evenings offer the best sunlight so plan ahead!
- Turn up the lights! Too often people feel silly getting more lights out just for pictures but having lots of light on the subject makes a professional and consistent image. Try to get some lamps or even a few folks with the flash on the phones turned on to really highlight the face.
3. The Right Background Gives Depth to Your Photo
One little trick photographers use is to find a spot where the background provides depth to the look of the picture. This is easiest to do outdoors where there are trees or buildings in the distance. Even indoors, the background of the image is something to consider closely. Remember these guidelines when taking pictures for your CheckIN360 app:
- Try to avoid standing with a wall near your back. This results in very flat, stark images that can leave your subjects looking stiff.
- Overly bright backgrounds tend to washout and can make faces seem dull so keep the backgrounds darker than the subjects face.
- Consistency in backgrounds can give your app a very polished, professional look but avoid using the exact same background in every photo which can look sterile or boring in some cases.