Pro Web Marketing » Photography

Photos for the Web

Pro Web — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 19:27:12 +0000

At Pro Web, we receive a ton of photos every week – many of them to be integrated into client websites. Sometimes we have to throw out a lot of potentially good photographs because they are not “fit” for the website. What usually causes this is incorrect layout – an easily avoidable mistake.

There are a few easy steps you can take to make sure your photos are appropriate for the web.

Consider where your photos are going

Most photos on the web are places in a gallery of some sort. Galleries, particularly on the web, tend to be in a “wide” format. This means that they are designed to hold “landscape” style photographs, rather than tall, “portrait” style photos. By taking your pictures with this in mind, you can improve the look of the gallery by making your images consistent.

If your photos are for a certain area of your website, keep the shape of that area in mind!

Watch the background!

When taking photos to display publicly on the internet, be sure to remove all unrelated items or clutter from the background of the shot. This will not only improve your photo aesthetically, but it will appear more professional and more thought out.

Do not scale or edit photos beforehand

Unless you are a professional photographer or have other interests in mind, leave that part to your web company.

Always turn off time stamps!

“Time stamps” are small text overlays on your photo that display the date and time that the photo was taken. While these can be useful, they can potentially destroy a photo, as it cannot be removed once the photo has been taken! Be sure to make sure your camera does not have time-stamping enabled.

Check out more tips

We have several more tips on photography that you can use in tandem with the advice in this article. Check out more photography tips from Pro Web Marketing!

Tips on Shooting Interior Photographs

Pro Web — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 18:08:09 +0000

** Always use a tripod **

Use a Tripod or something equivalent to assist you
Set the camera to aperture mode (if available)
Set the aperture to either 8 or more
Set the camera ISO (if available) to lowest possible setting (ex:100) / Turn off AUTO ISO (if available)
Turn off Image Stabilization (if available) for either lens/body or both
Set the camera to timer “optional”
Take the shot!

Always remember what you see on the camera screen is not always perfect, transfer the photographs to the computer to see the REAL results.

Tips on Using Digital Camera

Pro Web — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 12:56:04 +0000

• Type of Camera: The camera should have the resolution of 4-mega pixel upward, and optical zoom of 3x. If you don’t mind the price, you can opt for SLR digital camera. Digital SLR camera offers maximum flexibility as it allows you to alter the lens based on the kind of photos that needs to be taken. You will need a wide angle for landscapes and telephoto lens for portraits. If you intend to sale the photographs to microstock photo website, you will need a camera which has resolution of at least 4 mega pixels.
• Optical zoom is better as compared to digital zoom. This is because while optical zoom uses the optics present in the camera when a photo is taken, digital zoom will enlarge the photos by creating additional pixels. In this process, the picture quality is lost.

• The modern cameras are equipped with different scene modes. The scene modes refer to various types of photos to be taken, such as twilight, landscape, portrait, sport, etc. Select the mode as per the type of photo that you are clicking. Set the camera to portrait mode, while taking a portrait snap. This will enable to improve the focus and the photo will be clearer. While shooting movements of children, make use of high shutter speed. This will give you a sharper image.
• The shutter speed in the compact camera is very low. This may give you a blurred image, or you may lose focus while taking the photo. If you use a tripod for taking the photo, it will solve the problem of handshake as the photo is being taken, resulting in a crispier image even at night.

• Alter the White balance: If the camera permits changing white balance. For example, when you want clear picture tone on cloudy day, select the cloudy setting on the camera.

• Flash: The cameras have built in flash. Use the flash, particularly, when you click the photos on a bright day or at noon. For getting better images, the sun should be on your back, when you click the photos.

• Natural Light: Photos taken in natural light come out clearer. So, click the photos, when the contrast is mild. The photos taken in early morning or just when the sun is about to set, will give you better images as compared to photos shot at the midday

With all the above points, you will get clearer, crisper images.