As an outdoor enthusiast, you know that some of the best adventures and experiences happen in the great outdoors. Capturing these moments in high-quality photos is a great way to share your adventures with others and promote your outdoor brand. However, you may be under the impression that you need the best gear to take quality photos. This is simply not the case.
Utilise Camera Gear You Already Have
While fancy new cameras can be appealing, but first try and utilise your existing camera equipment and resources.
Cameras can quickly get expensive, and unless you know what you're doing the best tool is the one most of us have in our pockets - smartphones.
The cameras that smartphones have nowadays are brilliant and can achieve excellent results. You’ll be surprised at the quality of photos you can create just by using the camera on your phone.
There are some great apps out there that can help elevate your photography to the next level whether that’s during your shoot or in the editing process.
I think it’s essential to get started taking photos to first find your style and develop your skills before investing in a lot of expensive camera gear. It’s all about understanding the basics and identifying what equipment you could purchase to improve your photos in the future.
Focus On The Story Your Photos Tell
You might be able to take stunning pictures, but if your photos aren’t telling a story about your brand, it’s pointless!
The best way to showcase your brand is to capture lifestyle photos, one of the best types of content that is a much in your marketing strategy.
The aim of lifestyle photography is to capture people, services or products in real-life situations.
This tells a story that helps to inspire and engage your target audience and give them context as to how your service/product can help them.
If your target audience can relate to the story you’re trying to tell through your photography, they are much more likely to buy from you.
Learn Photographic Techniques
Before investing in an expensive camera, learning about photographic techniques will quickly enhance your photos without breaking the bank.
There are so many little things you could do that would make a huge difference to your final shot such as:
- Learning to hold your camera properly
- Understanding the exposure triangle
- Learning how to use Aperture and Shutter modes on your camera
- Learning to adjust white balance
- Playing with perspective
- Understanding the rule of thirds
- Paying attention to the background and overall photo composition
- Thinking about colour theory
It might feel overwhelming trying to do everything at first, especially if you’re a beginner, so focus on mastering a few key photographic techniques and then start to build on them as you go.
Take Your Photography to the Next Level with Lighting
Lighting can make or break a photo, regardless of how expensive your camera is. If the lighting is poor, the image quality can also be poor.
You could spend hours editing the photos for it still not to be quite right so always make sure you have the key building blocks in places, one of those being lighting.
An easy way to enhance your videos is by investing in some lighting. This will add more light to a scene when shooting, better illuminating the subject and increasing the image quality.
You can purchase softbox photography lights or ring lights on Amazon for as little as £30.
Or a free option, utilise natural light. It’s often the most flattering.
