Social media has taken the world by storm. Over the years, this influx in the use of social media through apps like Instagram has created the infamous influencer lifestyle. To keep it simple, an influencer is someone who makes a living off of their sponsorships, brand partnerships, and other outlets, all of which is made possible due to Instagram.
Generally speaking, these influencers rely on top-notch and high-quality photos to maintain a beautiful and clean aesthetic for their Instagram page. However, compared to the average person, influencers have more tools under their belts. Keep reading to explore the career of a social media influencer and how to achieve photos that are more than Insta-worthy.
How influencing works.
You’ve likely heard the term “influencer” before, but you may not really understand the details of what this means. An influencer has a large following that they use to promote or sell products. If you have plenty of free time on your hands try staying busy while at home by starting an Instagram page. During coronavirus shutdowns, work to gain followers. Eventually, you may land a partnership with a brand.
This partnership with various companies is a form of income because the influencer gets an allocated chunk of the sales. For example, if you’re an influencer with a partnership link to a clothing site, and your followers purchase items with your link, then you receive ten percent of the sales on their order. With multiple partnerships at hand, it’s no wonder why many influencers make a full-time income. This is just one reason why it’s important to take great pictures for your feed. When you have aesthetically pleasing photos with the great image quality of the gym clothes you sell, your followers are more likely to be interested in buying through your links because you make the outfit look great!
Work your angles.
An important part of taking the best pictures is learning how to work your angles. If you’re thinking of becoming a male model, you’ll have to go through this process. These angles will differ depending on your body shape and facial shape. Female models also have to learn which angles work best for their features.
When it comes to influencers, many times you’re trying to show off a product. When you take portraits or get portraits taken, make sure that your photographer understands that you need to show off yourself and the product. If they’re well-seasoned photographers, they’ll know which lens, iso settings, aperture, and focal length to choose to get the best photos with their DSLR or mirrorless camera instead of using autofocus settings. Ensuring you know your angles while modeling products is a good way to make your photographer’s life a bit easier. This way, you’ll get incredible image quality as you model your products to your followers too.
Keep your nails in check.
If you’re going to be on camera frequently, you may want to keep your nails in good shape. Your hands will likely be in some of the pictures you want to post. Rather than zooming in and seeing that your nails look unappealing, learn your lesson the first time, and use a custom nail decal to add some spice to your nails.
These are easy to apply, non-messy, stick-on gel nails. These nail decals are a good way to balance practicality and beauty. Instead of having expensive, long fake nails that make things like the physical requirements of working out, applying makeup, and even texting challenging, opt for decals from this company in a wide variety of colors. In turn, whenever you post to your social media stories, hop on a facetime, or post general photos, you can rest easy knowing your nails look great.
Use the right lens.
At the end of the day, the most critical part of taking incredible quality photos is a great camera. If you’re a photographer, you know that many times the lens is actually more important than the body of the camera. As an influencer, you might have an expensive DSLR o mirrorless camera, but if you use auto settings and your original manufacturer’s lens, you’re likely missing out on your camera’s full potential. Opt for a high-quality lens that works for a variety of settings like this Canon RF 70-200. This particular lens has a great focal range for focusing and zooming, but it also has a great focal length or f-stop.
This f-stop allows your image to stay in focus while creating a dreamy blurred background. This focus effect with the blurred background is called bokeh. Generally, the lower the f-stop, the more bokeh. With the Canon RF 70-200mm, you get the best of both distance and portrait photographs, making it a great lens for influencers. Sites like the one mentioned above allow you to rent these high-quality lenses and other camera gear so that you can rent the technology and use them for your social media profile before splurging on the big investment.
Branch out into beauty.
On a final note, social media influencing opens up a lot of doors for many people. Slowly building your profile via photographs and stories allows you to gain followers. These followers let you explore other opportunities like venturing into your own businesses. For example, if your current social media profile is based on beauty and doing well, maybe you’re wondering how to start your own eyelash brand. This is a great segue from your current influencer role because, as you gain a following, you get to advertise your photos of your eyelash work to the entire social media pool. Hopefully, these faithful followers will see your work, and in turn, provide you with potential lash clients for your new business venture. Make sure that you take the best pictures of your work so that you accurately advertised your lash work for your clientele.
All in all, social media influencing is based on creating an image and showing off yourself to the world. However, never forget to stay authentic to who you are in the process. No matter where your potential influencer photographs take you, remember to display great quality photos and take some risks to achieve your dreams.
