Tips for Sizing Photos for Publications

When sharing photos to be published on professional blogs and magazines, it's important to send high-quality images that meet the publication's specific requirements. While these requirements can vary from one publication to another, there are some general guidelines you can follow:

1. Resolution: Photos should have a high resolution to ensure they look crisp and clear in print or on the web. A resolution of 300 dots per inch (DPI) is a common standard for print, while 72 DPI is typically used for web images.

2. Image dimensions: The actual dimensions of the image will depend on the layout of the publication. Ask the magazine or blog for their specific size requirements. For web use, images are often measured in pixels (e.g., 1200 x 800 pixels), while print images may be specified in inches (e.g., 8" x 10").

3. File format: Common image file formats for professional use include JPEG, TIFF, and PNG. JPEG is the most common format for web use, while TIFF is preferred for print due to its lossless compression and high quality. I usually save photos in JPEG when printing.

4. Color mode: For print, use the CMYK color mode, which is optimized for the four-color printing process (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black). For web use, use RGB color mode.

5. File size: The file size should be large enough to meet the publication's requirements for resolution and print quality. However, it should not be excessively large, as this can cause issues with file transfer and storage. Typically, a high-resolution image will result in a larger file size.

6. Compression and quality: When saving images in formats like JPEG, you can adjust the compression level to balance image quality and file size. Choose a high-quality setting to minimize compression artifacts, especially for print.

7. Naming conventions: Use clear and descriptive file names, including your name, a brief description of the content, and possibly the publication's name or date. This makes it easier for editors to manage and find your images.

8. Submission guidelines: Always follow the submission guidelines provided by the magazine or blog. They may have specific preferences for file formats, delivery methods, and other details.

9. Metadata and captions: Include relevant metadata and captions with your images, especially if you're submitting them to a publication. This information can help editors understand the context and content of the images.

10. Image release forms: If your photos feature recognizable individuals or private property, you may need to provide signed model or property release forms to protect the publication from legal issues.

It's crucial to communicate with the magazine or blog's editorial team and ask for their specific requirements and preferences. Different publications may have varying standards, and adhering to their guidelines will increase your chances of having your photos published in a professional manner.

Do This When Shooting Indoor Photography

Shooting indoors can be tricky!

Let me share tips on how to execute it properly, shooting with a DSLR or iPhone/android.

1. Turn off overhead lighting. This helps your photos white balance be more neutral. If the lights were on, your photo would turn out yellow.

2. Move near a window or open door and have your subject face the light. This helps to illuminate your subject nicely.

This seems like an obvious thought, but you’d be surprised to know this is the biggest mistake people make when it comes to properly lighting your scene.

3. Purchase white foamboard at any grocery store. The foamboard can be used as a reflector or fill light. Simply place the board near your subject, with the light bouncing on the board, then onto your subject. The foamboard will also help neutralize your white balance.

There you go! Try it out for yourself and don’t be afraid to move around and try different angles, use different lenses or change your ISO.

Have questions? Comment below and I’d love to talk more with you.

How To Fake A Pool-Beach Look For A Product Shoot

Planning ideas for a product shoot can be extremely fun and hard at the same time.

The goal is to make sure my clients are 100% satisfied in the end. The professional photographs I provide for them are meant to connect their clientele-present and future, with the products they sell in hopes they become long time customers.

Sometimes the ideas might seem impossible. For example, I don’t live near the beach, or own a pool.

For one of my styled shoots, I wanted the setting to be at the beach or pool. So instead of it stopping my creative process, I made a beach/pool scene and I chose to shoot this outside to give it the high contrast light.

The tools used:

• Playsand

• Clear acrylic container

• blue poster board

• water hose

• beach props

• clients products

• white foamboard to reflect light on your subject and cancel out the warm tones from the brick.

• tripod

• Spray bottle with water to make the sand wet and condensation on products

Tips:

• As you are shooting, be aware of your own shadow

• Try several angles

• Move props around to try different looks

• Under-expose (darken) your photo when shooting outside. It’s hard to see the exposure correctly when shooting outside in the bright light.

• Shoot with a variety of lenses so you can get different looks

You can shoot these with your DSLR or iPhone. I hope you have fun creating.

If you have questions, leave a comment and I’ll be happy to answer them.

Featured product: Pure and Coco

Loading Your Photos On Instagram...Don't Do This

When you load photos on Instagram, make sure you do the photo justice. Don't cut off limbs and make the photo incomplete.

In my college photography classes, the composition rule my professor taught us when photographing portraits was this: do not cut off limbs in your photo. More specifically, don’t crop where the joints meet.

For example, wrist to forearm, elbow to upper arm, ankle to leg, and knee to upper leg. If you crop parts of the body, do it in the middle of the arm, or middle of the thigh for example.

Cropping at the joints leaves the body incomplete. It makes the brain wonder where the hand or foot are. However, if you crop in the middle of the torso instead of at the hips, or middle of the forearm and not the wrist, it helps the brain see the body complete, knowing there is more outside of the frame.

This one tip can either make or break your picture (in my professional opinion) when posting on Instagram.

Did you know you can use a rectangle crop instead of a square crop when posting on Instagram?

How to make a rectangle crop on Instagram:

• Select the plus sign at the bottom in the middle.

• Select the picture that you want to showcase. As you select the picture and Instagram pulls it up, it shows it in a square form.

• For this picture I’m showing you in the video, the picture is a full body, head to toe photo, so we need a rectangle crop.

• Select the right angle icon at the bottom left. This will give the photo a fuller crop.

• The new composition still crops off the feet.

• This can be corrected by gently sliding the image up with your finger. Did you know you can do that you?

That’s it!!

Next time you post, try this out. Even if you use Planoly or other third party planners for social media, you can still apply this technique.

If you have any follow up questions, feel free give me a call or email me.

Behind the Scenes Product Shoot: Pure and Coco

Behind the scenes product shoot

Today I’m highlighting a product shoot I did with Pure and Coco.

They are a product subscription client, and send me their products from Washington.

For 2021, I will have the honor of doing a shoot for them each month.

I’m excited for each shoot, because they will challenge me to be more creative than the shoot before, which will result in inventive photos for my clients.

Are you a product based business and interested to hear more about how a subscription shoot works?

Bloggers! Use these tips for your next photo shoot with your iPhone

When you are doing your own photoshoot at home, take note of these four tools to create product photos.

1. Clamps

2. Masking tape

3. Wooden blocks

4. Dumbbells

Don’t just stand there! Revive Your Boring Poses

How do you revive your boring pose ideas when photographing portraits?

Add angles with your arms and legs.

When you do this, it creates movement to your photo and brings interest from your viewers.

Look at all of those triangles!

Try these poses out on yourself for a self-portrait or grab a friend and do a photoshoot.

Remember, practice makes perfect. So, don’t be discouraged if it doesn’t work right away.

Tell me, do you think you’ll try it?

How to Style a Product Shoot

Styling for my clients product shoot is one of my favorite components I do for them.

Some things you have to think about before the shoot:

What is the clients objective? E-commerce (white photo background) or lifestyle photos?

What are the ingredients in the product? Knowing this will help you with prop ideas. Especially for this product, which was essential oils for Plant Juice Oils.

Know that the client will not always love the shots you love. They will love other photos, ones that you almost didn’t include in the gallery. And then you are thanking yourself for including them.

Brainstorm your set, colors, and material.

Use a variety of textures-smooth, rough, cotton, stones, plexiglass, silk, wood, balloons, etc.

Do your products include food related items? If so, use those for props. For example, sugar cookie essential oil mask spray for kids, use sugar real sugar cookies.

Also, have an actual list ready to go so it makes shooting a little easier, but also welcome spontaneous ideas.

Have any questions about how a product shoot works? I’d love to chat with you. Leave a comment below.

What is a preset, and what does it do?

What is a preset, and what does it do?
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To some, they are magical and life changing.
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I for one am one of those people.😂
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Every single day I edit photos on my computer or phone, I use presets to enhance my photographs.
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A preset is a recipe of ingredients used to make a good photo look great. It’s ingredients consist of adjustments on exposure, contrast, cool or warm temperatures, green or pink tints, deep shadows, or bright backgrounds, luminance and hues, etc. My favorite presets to use are CC Mobile Presets.
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Each preset works differently. Some are made to brighten a dark photo. While others focus on enhancing colors, increasing contrast and lowering the exposure.
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Depending on how your photo was taken, will depend on which preset will look best for your final edit.
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Adding a preset to a dark photo that was meant to bring back highlights (making highlights darker) would end up making the entire photo darker.
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Or, using a bright preset (raising exposure) to an already bright photo, would make your photograph overexposed (too bright).
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These are just a couple tips on using presets. Stick around and I’ll share more in the future or feel free to check out after/before photos at CC Mobile Presets on Instagram.
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Do you have any questions about presets? Leave your questions in the comments section and I’ll dive deeper into them.

After editing the photo below, I went one step further to change up my creative game by flipping the photo.

Top photo: After, Bottom photo: before

Left: After, Right: Before

Food Photography | Cherry Pie

PRODUCT PHOTO SHOOT: Cherry Pie

By using my iPhone, good window lighting, filler light (poster board), and simple editing, I can create a professional photograph in under 5 minutes.
Follow these steps on the video and try it out yourself!

All edits were done using CC Mobile Presets. Simple and easy to use for product or service based businesses.

3 Major Steps To Take In Creating Authentic Family Photographs

How do you create authentic family photos?

At the time of booking:

When you first book a family portrait session, send the family a questionnaire. Ask questions that helps you get to know them a little bit better. Questions like, what each family members favorite candy is, or favorite drink at Sonic. These simple questions give you a small insight to their personality, but also allows topics to talk about when you take their pictures.

Day of the session:

First things first. When the session first starts, make some small talk. Be observant when doing the small talk thing. Watch their mannerisms, smiles, touches, and the candid way they stand with their arms folded and hands in the pockets.

If you are photographing them at their home, this creates a comforting atmosphere. Everyone, kids and husbands included, open up a little more than they would in a public location.

However, if you are doing the session at a park, or your local downtown area, give them an action.

Tell them to group up, then gradually watch how their arms fall on each other. If they don’t, direct them a little bit and make a connection between each other.

How to create multiple poses/photos in one setup:

While everyone is in the group, here is a shot list you can use. Keep in mind to work around your subjects.

1. wide group shot of everyone smiling (safety shot, not as heartfelt, but safe)

2. close-up group shot

3. close-up of each person, without anyone moving. Examples are below. Kids might have their arms intertwined in moms arms, or mom might be running her hand through her children’s hair. Again, if they are currently doing them, coach them and direct them through it and make them do an action. It will look authentic and lead to something beautiful.

4. Photograph the connections. Not just the faces, but also the arms and hands holding one another.

While you are there to photograph the family, don’t forget to snap some of mom and dad. Take a look at these cuties below.

Have any follow up questions. I’d be happy to help. You can email me at cristy@cristycross.com or leave a comment on this post.

*Pin these photos and add them to your Pinterest boards for inspiration.