It’s no secret that most people edit photos before posting them on social media platforms. This includes businesses in their branding efforts. But why should businesses put so much effort in photo editing? Here’s a fact: Not only for conveying your brand image, photos can literally help you win clients, too!
Photo editing is challenging. You may even need to hire a photo retoucher. But what if you can’t afford hiring one? Fortunately, there’s a variety of photo editing apps are available in the market. You can use those apps to edit virtually anything from your photos. Using apps like Retouchme (learn more about Retouchme – click here,) you can easily conceal the areas you don’t want to place emphasis on when taking selfies for your brand.
In light of social media scandals, such as the the Kim Kardashian West “butt retouching” melee from a couple years ago, the last thing you want people to think is that you’re vain about your imperfections and/or a big phoney. The thing is, every selfie you post has either a positive or negative impact on your business.
So, what’s the best practice? Here’s one: Be authentic. Authenticity is what drives brand value to customers these days.
In this article, we’ll look at the best 5 tips to help protect your branding selfies from any obvious signs they’ve been doctored.
1. Obsess Over Your Backgrounds
When editing your business’s pictures, you need to be careful not to overdo it. Be subtle about the edits you make, and take some common breaks between editing various elements. Why should you take breaks? As you take your edits, the brain accepts the changes you make gradually. It really doesn’t matter whether you’ve made a mistake or not. Take it easy and don’t overwhelm your mind. Having these breaks helps clear your mind allowing you to spot areas that need corrections.
Where possible, strive to edit photos that don’t have straight edges on their backgrounds. Also, it doesn’t hurt to have an assistant or team member give their input on changes to make.
2. Watch Your Edges
When editing your photo, you need to be very specific about fixing its edges. If you aren’t careful, the edges come out looking pixelated or jagged. This can have a negative impact on your brand because it makes it look like you can’t be bothered paying attention to details.
Regardless of what editing apps or software you use, it’s important to fix areas of the photo in phases. Doing so, you’ll be able to avoid jags and unnatural lines or bulges.
3. Remember to Leave a Few Imperfections
Nobody is perfect. You can’t have a soft and pore-less face. Not even famous models can claim this. To look authentic, you need to leave some imperfections on your skin. In doing this, your image will look normal. In most cases, people who edit their faces remove all the blemishes.
This isn’t necessarily correct. It’s okay to leave some wrinkles or other imperfections in the photo, such as garbage lying on the ground behind you. This adds authenticity and, as mentioned, that’s what branding is all about these days.
4. Make Adjustments to Your Most Non-Photogenic Issues
Adjustments made should be about emphasizing what you have, and concealing the real trouble spots you don’t want to show. Don’t make the mistake of overdoing these fixes. For instance, if you have a pot belly, changing it to a six pack will do nothing but create an unnatural image and hurt your branding efforts. What happens when people see the real you in person? Or if you can’t replicate the same results every time? The main reason for this is because we are always harder on ourselves than the rest of the world is.
Again, ask a team member or two for input before assuming certain flaw makes you look like a leper! For instance, fixing bed head is fine, or perhaps a wrinkle or two that you feel self conscious about. However, if you have a large scar on your face, it will just make you look fake to fix it, since presumably customers are eventually going to see you at some point. Trying to conceal big issues like this or others, such as extra weight on the waistline are difficult — even editing experts get these edits wrong quite often. Just think, you’ll have to cover these issues forever in order to remain authentic!
5. Leave Your Hair Be
Smooth, perfect strands look great. However, when something like your hair looks perfect in every way, it’s a direct sign that some editing has been done. Even if they aren’t obvious to most people. However, it’s better to let your hair be for the most part, unless it’s something extreme like bed head or maybe when a woman has thinning hair.
Where possible, avoid doing many edits on your hair because it’s hard to do so without making it obvious. One can easily notice any changes on them or detect that it has been messed with.
Follow these tips and your selfies will be much more authentic and aligned with the values needed to create an authentic brand and business. This will make your brand’s online identity be more relateable to the people following you and buying from you (Ie., normal, everyday people who don’t look like super models or fitness influencers!)