Photography allows you to take amazing shots of your wood products. It allows you to show off the details about your woodworking projects.
Great photography skills can win you more jobs and improve your woodworking business. Although photography seems difficult for many people, high quality photos of your wood products and processes can heighten the chance of making more business.
You don’t need expensive specialty photography equipment to capture perfect shots of your wood projects. An updated smartphone with a good pixels camera can easily capture great shots of your wood products.
With a few accessories here and there, you can alter the images into beautiful photos you can upload on your official woodworking website.
Photos can be used to create your business portfolio. You can also use them to promote your brand on social media platforms for enhanced popularity online. They may include:
- Snapchat
According to SproutSocial, over 70% of businesses in the U.S. have deployed Instagram to reach their target audience and potential customers. You can also perfect your photography skills to do the same.
If you lack photography skills, you can hire a professional photographer to get the job done to perfection.
Here’re some tips to help take advantage of photography for the benefit of your carpentry business:
5 Photography Tips to Improve Your Woodworking Business
- Accessories improve the quality of your shots
You don’t have to spend on costly photography equipment to get perfect shots. You can invest in a few great accessories to improve shots taken using your smartphone.
For less than $25 you can get a tripod to capture clear, clean images with less effort. You’ll capture steady pictures free of blur.
Consider using HDR on your smartphone for better quality shots. If you have the budget, go for smartphone lens for even better quality pictures.
Photography apps are also handy. For instance the Photoshop express app can help you adjust and touch up your photos at no cost.
- Eliminate distractions off your photos
Don’t capture distractions that may take your viewers off your wood products. If you’re capturing your wood products, avoid taking shots of your employees or other irrelevant things in the background.
Stage the area you want to display your products for shots and make sure nothing else is visible in the vicinity.
Highlight changes in your end products with “before” and “after” photos. The “after” images should look clean and clear because no customer is after the mess created when working on your wood projects.
Potential customers only care about the final look of your wood products. For equal comparison, take shots of the “before” and “after” photos in the same place.
- Natural lighting produces great-looking photos
Natural light illuminates photos for great shots, resulting in high quality photos. The best shots are taken just before sundown or in the morning for the best shadows and lighting colors.
Natural light makes the most of photos.
Otherwise, get a camera light accessory for better shots. Available in circular designs, the accessories easily attach to smartphones. Avoid using the flash light for better light control.
- Capture horizontal photos for use online
Capture horizontal or wide photos for your woodworking business portfolio, website and social media use. The orientation allows for more things to appear in your photo, including the ability to crop out what you want.
Horizontal orientation also gives you more control of your shots than vertical orientation.
For instance, if you want the chainsaws you used on a project to appear along a piece of furniture, you’ll find horizontal orientation handy. What’s more, you may even dive into the comparison of two similar yet different chainsaws you used or that can get the job done.
- Draw eyes to your wood product photos using objects for scale
Stage your photography platform before you begin capturing images of your wood products. With objects for scale, you draw the eyes of potential customers to the detailed wood work.
Place small, neutral accessories such as plants, bowls and trays on your furniture to add reality to your products.
All these photography tips can help you shoot amazing photos of your woodworking craft and related products to win more business and increase sales.
Well… After all, great photography begins with a great woodworking job.