Have you ever performed the perfect brow sculpt or lash lift and then you come to “taking a photo” to showcase your amazing skills, only to sit there swiping the screen a million times and scratching your head in disbelief as to why it doesn’t look as good as you see in real life?

It is undeniable that the beauty industry is forever evolving, so is our marketing and social media platforms and the opportunities to attract new and potential clients through the art of a perfect image. Importantly you now have the technology and skills to do this for yourself!

Having a strong social media presence and extensive portfolio of treatments are essential in attracting new interest and building client trust within your business. This makes it incredibly important to ensure that we are promoting quality images on all our media platforms. However, getting that “perfect” image is something that a lot of therapist’s struggle with.  After all we went to beauty school, not photography school right? Well maybe some of you did, but for most of us we had to work it out the hard way.

Here are some great tips for ensuring your images get that wow factor and boost your social media and marketing profile.

• Good Quality Camera/Phone – ensuring that you have a good quality phone or camera is step one to getting the perfect image. It really does make a huge difference, I see in classes all the time that the latest phones produce the best quality images. If your phone is old in technology and/or pixels are outdated, the images can come out blurry and a little distorted when using them for advertising your treatment or showcasing your amazing work! They also may not stand up against other people’s work who are using the latest technology. A pixelated image without that clarity does not give the client a true indication of your work. We want the photos to be clear, crisp and of high resolution. I use a Samsung S9 Plus and every time I take photos for students in a class they    all go WOW! It has the best camera in my opinion, although iPhone X is great as well.

• Good Lighting – Good lighting is imperative. There are many different options on the market to help you with your photography skills in the way of lighting. Some of the tools that we find useful are selfie lights (USB chargeable light that attach to your mobile phone) These are fantastic for eyelash extensions and Lash Lift photos as you can get the ring around the pupil in the eye that really draws your viewer into the photo. Ring lights, traditional magnifying lamps, Glamcor lights, and great natural lighting are all very handy to have to brightening up the area you need to capture.

• Angles – Poor angle selection can make or break a photo. Choosing an angle that shows off both your work and the enhancement you have performed of the client’s natural features will ensure that perfect image. Take the time and get the angle correct.

• Photo Colouring – If you are talking before and after images, ensure that both photos taken have the same consistent colours and lighting. Sometimes the colours can be very different and this can give the impression that the photo isn’t even the same client in the after shot. You don’t want clients becoming sceptical about the results. Keep it consistent in the before and after image.

• Take lots of photos – You are not always going to get the perfect photo from just one. Try taking lots of photos of the same angle, different angles, as many angles as you can. This will ensure when it comes to picking the perfect photo you will have a lot of variety to choose from. Unleash your inner paparazzi! Haha, within reason of course.

• Touch up Apps – My favourite touch up app for images is Facetune, you can whiten the skin to get rid of redness, smooth out the skin for any imperfections and so much more! We also recommend Snapseed or Lightroom. You don’t need to go overboard with the effects but you can make a great difference to your image by giving it a little bit of sparkle and making the focus on the area you’re trying to capture. There is a plethora of apps out there now that allow touch ups to your photos that are really simple to use, definitely recommended if you want to add the WOW factor to your images.

Using these little tips and tricks will really help to build a strong representation of your work and in this day and age Instagram and Facebook are huge for attracting new clients in the world of beauty.

Importantly have fun with your photos and try to enjoy the excitement of capturing your amazing work and building your portfolio. The more you master it and share your work, the more you’ll reap the rewards.

Written by- Otto Mitter