Well, hello, everyone and welcome to this November edition of Evolve with Envida. I’m Brandon Meagher and I’m one of the marketing managers here. Today, we’re going to be talking about Photography 101.

Here’s what you’ll learn from today’s Evolve with Envida:

#1: Phone photography tips

#2: What to be mindful of before taking a photo,

#3: Good and bad photo examples

#4: Event photography 101

Phone Photography Tips

Use grid lines to assist with your composition. Whether you have an Android or an iPhone, you should have a ‘grid’ feature within your camera app. This will assist you in setting up the shot, and it’s also a good way to see where your eye is drawn to before you hit that click button to take the picture.

Focus on one subject. You don’t want to create unnecessary distractions within the photo, so only focus on one thing at a time when taking your pictures.

Look for symmetry. You should have a variety of areas in your building or around the apartment that showcase good symmetry, these are always very eye-catching photos and do well on social media.

Keep your eye out for repetitive patterns. Just like symmetry, patterns are always fun to photograph, and you should have a variety of different patterns featured throughout your apartment complex.

What to Be Mindful of Before Taking a Photo

Good lighting is your friend. When you’re inside, turn on those lights and allow the natural light to come in from the windows. Avoid those low-lit areas that just show you the dark spots within the room — they can also cause some major shadows, something you want to steer clear of.

Don’t be afraid of negative space. Negative space isn’t necessarily a bad thing in a photograph. If your subject is composed well within the shot, negative space can look superb.

Take candid shots. These photos showcase authenticity, and as we all know, authenticity will always win, especially on social media.

Use props and people. This will humanize your property, and it’s a good way to incorporate your brand and merchandise if you have any available.

Good & Bad Photo Examples

On the left-hand side, you can see good photo examples:

1. The pool shot — it’s well-lit, the pool looks inviting, and you have a beautiful city skyline view with that fence in the background.
2. The bedroom shot — it’s very well-lit, and the bed is well-kept and looks very tidy.
3. The bathroom shot — it’s composed well with the sink and the decor, and it’s very well-lit.

On the right-hand side, we have bad photo examples:

1. The pool shot — the photographer’s shadows and the frame, that’s a no, no.
2. The bedroom shot — although the bed is well kept and looks very clean, you do have some low-lit shadowy areas in the right-hand corner, something you want to avoid. Getting some more natural light in there would put this shot in the ‘Good Example’ category.
3. The bathroom shot — you can see the camera tripod set up there in the mirror and the toilet on the right-hand side. Any time we take bathroom shots, we want to do our best to avoid the toilet if possible.

Event Photography 101

Ask residents to be in the photo. Not only is it fun to show residents participating in your events, but it also really humanizes your property. Also, please make sure you have a consent form that residents can sign so they know that their image may be used for marketing purposes.

Take overhead shots of the food. This is just an appealing way to capture food as it can showcase the different textures and colors.

Make sure it doesn’t appear as if no one came to the event. If your event has some low attendance, no worries, it can happen from time to time. Get some close-up shots of the decor, like the image example you see right there, or capture some other close-up features within the event space.

Utilize resident reposts of the event. Go on Instagram, see if anyone tagged you or used your hashtag, and reshare it to your stories or to your grid. Not only will these show that you are being an active participant on social media, but it’s also a great way to humanize your social media platforms.

That’s all today for our Evolve with Envida session. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out, we are always here to help. This deck will be made available for you to go back and revisit. Thank you so much, and we hope to see you back here next time.