Whether you own a kitchen manufacturing company, or you’re a specialist joiner or perhaps you’re an interior designer- social media, used smartly, has incredible potential for your business and because it’s getting harder for businesses to drive results from social media, competition is rife. Good images of your project are crucial and will help you stand out.

One of the biggest challenges we have is taking professional looking imagery with our phones and as amazing as the latest smartphones are, not everyone has the latest model and even if we did, it can still be difficult to get that perfect shot, so here are some tips to help you or your employees get a better looking image with a phone:

1. Clean the lens!

With the phone rattling around in our pockets, it's easy for dust or debris to get on them, so give it a quick wipe before you take the picture. Your fingers contain natural oils that can blur the lens, so use your shirt!

2. Focus

Every phone now has a focusing feature, and blurry images are unusable. If it's a large object, try to focus 1/3 of the way down its length.

3. Clean Backgrounds

If the background is busy or untidy, try to get in close to the subject and frame the background out.

4. File size

Try and set the product shots to the largest file size you can. It gives me a lot more room to edit them later on.

5. Exposure

Most phone cameras have an exposure setting to make the image look brighter. If the image looks too dark, try increasing the exposure. Avoid the flash were possible, the harsh light makes for unflattering images.

6. Grid Lines

Check to see if your camera has the option of displaying grid lines that dives the screen into thirds. Keeping the subject of the image on one of the grid lines makes for a much more interesting composition

7. A purpose for each picture

Think about the reason you are taking the photograph, and focus in on that. If you want to show how you wrap a door lipping, don’t take a picture of the entire door. If you want to show a grain pattern, move around until the light hits it to make it pop. If each image has a clear purpose, it will make sorting and editing them later much easier.

If you’re looking for inspiration, some Irish Kitchen companies who take really great images of their work and upload to social media are:

Michael Farrell Kitchen & Furniture Design
Cherrymore Kitchens
Sulia Doors
Newcastle Design
Dillons Kitchens & Interiors
And of course, don’t forget to follow Merenda on Instagram and Facebook!