How to take good photos for your business with just a phone

Why real photos beat stock photos

Customers can tell when a photo is from the internet. Real photos of your shop, your team and your actual work prove that you exist and show exactly what customers will get. They also help on Google: photos you upload to your Google Business Profile and website can appear in Google Images and Maps.

Seven habits for better phone photos

1. Clean the lens with a soft cloth. A smudged lens is the most common reason phone photos look hazy.
2. Use daylight. Shoot near a window or outdoors in the morning or late afternoon. Avoid harsh midday sun and turn off the flash.
3. Clear the background. Remove boxes, wires, bags and clutter from the frame before you shoot.
4. Hold the phone steady with both hands, or rest it on something. Tap the screen on the subject to focus.
5. Shoot horizontal (landscape) for banners and covers, and square for products and Instagram.
6. Take many, keep few. Take ten shots of each thing and keep only the best one.
7. Edit lightly. Straighten, crop and brighten a little. Heavy filters make products look different from reality and lead to complaints.

The photos every business should have

• The outside of your shop or office, with the signboard readable, so customers recognise it when they arrive.
• The inside: your counter, waiting area, workshop or display.
• You and your team, smiling, at work. People buy from people.
• Your best products, one per photo, on a plain background.
• Your work: finished jobs, before-and-after shots, events you have done.
• Happy customers, only with their permission.

Where to use them

Put your best photo as the banner of your website, add 6 to 12 to your gallery, and upload the same set to your Google Business Profile. Add a new photo every month or two so both look active. On Indiexis, you can upload photos for your banner, gallery and each product from your dashboard.