Your Guide to Taking Great Pictures for Your Fitness Website-Featured.jpg

Your Guide to Taking Great Pictures for Your Fitness Website

Lots of local fitness centers, yoga studios and personal trainers make the mistake of relying too heavily on cheesy stock images for their fitness website.

People visit your website to learn more about your business and get a preview of what working out with you would be like. To provide them with the experience they’re looking for, you need to take your own pictures.

While hiring a professional photographer is always your best move, if that’s not in your current budget, you can take awesome pictures yourself using your smartphone.

6 tips for taking great pictures for your fitness website

#1. Start with a clean lens

There are a lot of different things that can affect the quality of your images. But, even if you get the lighting, composition and everything else just right, if your equipment isn’t up to par, your pictures won’t be either.

Before you start taking pictures, take some time to clean off your lens to ensure smudge-free results. Don’t clean your lens with coarse cloth or water — that could damage your lens. Instead, use a microfiber cloth.

#2. Stay steady with a tripod

A shaky hand can ruin your photos like nothing else. The more you can do to keep your smartphone steady, the better the end result will be. One great way to keep your camera steady is to use a tripod.

Propping your smartphone on a shelf or countertop can help, but that limits the number of height options available to you. Plus, you run the risk of your smartphone sliding or falling over while trying to capture an image.

#3. Compose your photo with grid lines

The way you frame your photos plays a big role in how professional they turn out to be. And, just because you’re using a smartphone, doesn’t mean photography techniques don’t apply.

When you’re just eyeing it, photo composition can be difficult to get right. Luckily, when you’re using a smartphone, you always have the option to use grid lines on the screen while taking your photos, allowing you to compose your images more intentionally.

#4. Avoid the digital zoom

When you want a closer image, the digital zoom can be a tempting prospect because it allows you to get close up without actually moving. But the more you zoom, the blurrier your images will be.

As a general rule, when you’re taking pictures with your smartphone, avoid the digital zoom like the plague. You’ll end up with far better results if you move physically closer to the subject of your image than it is to use the zoom.

#5. Rely on other light sources

Just like you should avoid using the digital zoom on your smartphone, it’s also a good idea to avoid the flash whenever possible. Using the flash can result in improper balancing in the lighting of your images.

As much as possible, try to use natural light when taking photos for your website. Take photos outside if you can, and for indoor photos, open the blinds. Complement natural lighting with artificial lighting by turning on all of the lights in your facility.

#6. Experiment with different perspectives

Most of the time, you’ll want photos for your fitness website to be taken at eye level. This gives your visitors a preview of your facility or equipment from their perspective. But, that doesn’t mean that all of your pictures should be taken at eye level.

Sometimes, the best way to add some variety to your photos is by changing up your perspective. Experiment with different perspectives by lying on the floor or climbing up high to take photos.

Images are the first thing visitors see when they visit your fitness website. Get it right with these tips.