High-quality work is only appreciated if your customers – and potential customers – can see and appreciate it. A hastily taken, poorly lit photo where the subject isn’t properly framed can make your hard work look a lot less impressive. Read on to learn some easy ways to highlight your work.

Whether you’re installing, servicing, sweeping – or a mix of all three – we have put together a list of nine top tips to make your social media accounts put your best foot forward.

The rule of thirds

One of the foundational rules of photography, the rule of thirds is all about framing. The basic premise is that when something is photographed, having it within one third of the frame (as seen by the lines that create the nine boxes) makes it more appealing to look at.

The four middle points where the gridlines intersect are known as power points; you can create particularly powerful pictures if you keep the subject in these power points. Try putting a picture of your new van in these power points, or a recently cleaned firebox. You’ll be surprised how much the image pops out immediately, capturing attention and getting your viewers to look at exactly what you want them to look at.

Your smartphone will have an option to turn gridlines on when you take a photo – this well help you line up your work. Many stoves and installations lend themselves very nicely to the rule of thirds; aligning the base of the stove or hearth with the middle and straightening your phone will give you a great shot almost immediately.

You can experiment with framing, too! Try placing tools, logs, or some decorative elements in other lines adjacent to the stove to make some more eye-catching shots.

Get the right amount of light

Having too much light or too little light can ruin a photo. You want to get the balance just right so your audience can see what you are picturing.

Nothing beats natural light – so open up blinds and curtains! Daylight is the easiest, most natural, and inexpensive way to light up a room and let your audience see your work. You don’t need expensive lighting equipment to get quality lighting – let the sun do the hard work and show off your work!

Too much light making your image hard to see? Close up some blinds slightly to reduce the light to help this – but don’t shut them entirely! Most smartphones will automatically adjust the picture you are taking if you tap on the subject, helping you get the perfect level of light. This feature isn’t a fix-all, though; you’ll need a good starting point of natural light to get the best result.

Focus

There’s nothing worse than a blurry photo. Whilst it may seem simple, it’s sometimes easier to take a blurry picture.

Tapping on what you want to take a picture of will make sure your smartphone’s camera focuses in automatically, putting what you want in focus. Cleaning your camera can help solve any issues you might have with focusing, too. A blurry lens is the last thing you want when you’re trying to show off your work, so make sure after any sweeping or installation jobs you double-check that your phone hasn’t got any residual soot or dust on the lens!

Take plenty of pictures

One might feel like plenty, but what if that one picture didn’t focus quite right? What if the lighting was a bit too dark? Taking plenty of pictures means you will have plenty of quality shots to choose from, rather than only one picture that you just happened to take as the customer’s dog walked into frame!

Having plenty of choice is better than too little choice – so don’t be afraid to take a few. Once you’ve finished your work, you won’t be returning to your customer’s house for quite some time, so make sure you have plenty of options to post on your social media pages.

Don’t be afraid to make some edits

You don’t need to be a professional to edit photos. Some minor edits, such as increasing the exposure, upping the brightness, or boosting the saturation can make a world of difference to a photo and really make the subject pop.

Take some time to experiment and find something that works for you. Remember, though, edits shouldn’t overwhelm the viewer and take away from the photo. You want to show off your excellent sweep or your new installation – not the bright colours you’ve edited in!

Get close

Your phone’s zoom is useful to capture some far away views, but there’s no need to use it when photographing a new installation.

Using the digital zoom on your camera can lessen the quality of a photo, making it grainy or poorly lit. Instead of pinching your fingers to get the new stove into frame, take a few steps forward. This will also let you experiment a lot more with framing and composition, allowing you to take the perfect photo.

Symmetry is pleasing

The human eye likes to see patterns, and this is no different in photos. Having a messy surround or cluttered hearth will take away from the beautiful new stove, so make sure you neaten things up before you take a photo.

Try putting down some tools or an ash bucket to create some symmetry – it will make the photo more pleasing to look at and look much cleaner.

This isn’t to say that asymmetry is bad, however. Using the right framing can make asymmetry really compliment an image – but this could require a bit more work and be difficult in certain scenarios. Experiment and find what looks best in each installation.

Utilise empty space

Traditional recesses, inglenooks, and freestanding stoves offer a unique photographic opportunity.

The hearth creates empty space around the appliance, automatically framing it for you. Instead of getting too close (or zooming in!), try taking a step away from the installation and framing the photo with more of the recess and the whole hearth. This empty space not only shows off your safe, compliant work, but it also naturally draws the eye towards the appliance.

Before and after

Before and after shots are perfect for posting on social media. Just swept a particularly sooty, creosote-ridden chimney? Snap a picture of it before, then another after. Framing the after in more natural light and brightening the photo will exemplify the work you’ve done to keep another installation safe and efficient.

Another perfect opportunity for this is installations. Showing how the new stove has transformed a room or how much better it looks compared to an old, worn-out appliance will demonstrate the quality work you do, making potential customers instantly trust your expertise.

The more you experiment, the more you’ll learn. Don’t be afraid to take some time to look over past photos and spot how you could improve them – you’ll be amazed at how much these simple tips can transform your social media feed!

The HETAS Technical Hub, exclusively available to HETAS registrants, has further tips to help you promote your business and improve your social media know-how.