Saturday, August 17, 2013

Hands on Photography Workshop for Web & Social Media Including Phone Apps & Video Insights

We brought our laptops, smart phones, cameras  & video recorders to David Williams', full-day, Web & Social Media Photography Workshop.  The Wake Forest Chamber of Commerce  provided a very comfortable room &  Charron’s Deli served a delicious, homemade lunch.

Most importantly........What did we cover, that will benefit YOU?

David began with an introduction to basic photography by explaining the “Exposure Triangle”. 


                                                   Shutter speed, aperture  & ISO all work together.

Since most of our cameras, especially the phone versions, take care of these details automatically; I will focus on how to use this knowledge to take better pictures!

Tips for taking better images: 


**The best camera is the one with you; which in most cases will be your smart phone.

**Be conscious of your subject’s surroundings by noticing the light, perspective, & strategy for your photo.

**Be prepared!  Train yourself to ‘be a reporter’. 

**Let your eyes be a camera; look at the scene & ask yourself, “What’s the shot I want to get? What will this look like as a photograph?” 

**Break your frame into 3 sections (rule of thirds); compose as much as you can in the camera so you have room for text + subject.

**Use the foreground to compose & create the effect with the background blurred to pull attention to the subject.

**Use smart phone apps to promote your brand on Social Media Platforms, when you are ‘on the go’.

Tips for filming video:


**Audio & light are critical to good video.

**Manage the audio by either taking the video outside (to prevent the echo that occurs inside) or using a microphone.    

Tips for editing & placement on the Web:


**Add text, to your photos, with the FREE online Editor: pixlr.com 

**Be sure to ‘save’ your pictures with seo friendly names & titles that are relevant to the image, location & event.  Your file name will translate into Social Media Platforms & be found through precise ‘file naming’.   

**Post images & video online properly by following the instructions on the specific Social Media Platform (i.e. YouTube, G+, Pinterest etc).        

** Use the correct search terms with multiple different variations of search terms so that google will pick up your media; get specific & think of ways that people can find you.

**Include your website, phone number & additional information, such as something about what’s going on, in the description.

**Take advantage of the keywords & the surrounding city(ies).

**Tag your media by being upfront & translucent.  YOUTUBE videos are one of the fastest things that rank on google.   

David used an example of a Panorama shot taken with his Sony He posted this on the Joyner Park page along with his identification.   When people see the picture, they can go back to David’s webpage.


Another useful idea is to find communities to join and share content (i.e. Photos & information) that they are interested in.  I know of several Social Media associates that belong to ‘Dog Communities’ on G+ & Pinterest.  They upload noteworthy pictures of dogs and include their contact information.

During our lunch break, Martin Brossman shared a special, 30-minute session on using Picasa (Google’s photo-editing program; now integrated into Google Plus).  

The main features that Martin pointed out include:


**Use Picasa to Watermark  photos with your simple & small logo, so G+ will pick it up.   

**Shoot still photos that overlap 30%; then upload them to G+ in the photo area; G+ will make a panorama picture of these (give it an hour to configure).

**G+ offers auto-awesome for the photos you upload.

**Android phone/ camera offers an automatic back up to your G+ account.

My most valuable ‘takeaway’, besides the technical learning, is how to ‘honestly’ build my brand on Social Media by promoting myself ‘non-promotionally’.  I know this sounds redundant!  This approach follows the ideal of providing the public with service through valuable content: i.e. information that people are happy to pause and receive!


Call me at 919-604-0104 or email olgamaria3@aol.com for your own, customized Social Media and Online Marketing Evaluation.

by Olga Santo Tomás Monroe 919-604-0104 olgamaria3@aol.com 


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