Sonoma State University

Photography

The saying “a picture is worth a thousand words” may be overused, but it captures the essence of photography in marketing and storytelling. Photos bring personality and relatability to a brand and strengthen the relationship you have with your audience. Research shows that photos encourage people to engage and take action toward a cause. Photographs can bring feelings and emotions to audiences because they are more personable. 

We take photos for the brands we service including departmental photo shoots and headshots, events, scenery, student life, and more! Photos are used for several marketing assets and platforms including branding, graphics, social media, websites, and more.

Pixelation

Make sure that your photos are clear and not blurry in any areas. The pixelation of a picture should be high quality, so users can focus on the content of the photo, rather than blurry distractions in the foreground. The more pixels a photo has, the better resolution the photo will be. If a photo has fewer pixels, it may look grainy or blurry to others. 

Focal Point

The focal point of an image is the element of interest in a photo. It is where your eyes immediately go when looking at an image. Every photo should have a clear focal point, in order to accomplish a goal or make the viewers feel a certain type of way. The focal point is also a great way to gain perspective and understand the photographer's motive when snapping the picture.

Back of People’s Heads 

When you are taking a photo, try to get the attention of your subject. Although it may be fun to get candid shots in action, seeing the face of someone automatically draws the eyes in and users are able to create more of a personal connection with the person in the photo.

Trash Cans

Avoid any background clutter that may be distracting to viewers. Whether it is a trash can, food cart, or an unwanted building or sign, try to limit any distractions that may cause users to lose the focal point of the photo.

Have questions? 

Want to learn more? Send us an email!

If you are one of the brands we service, please submit a marketing request form.

EA Marketing Request Form

Great question! While finding talent can be a challenge, we recommend asking students and the SSU community with a call out or do a formal casting call to drum up interest.

Email us if you are interested by filling out or form on our Let’s chat page! We are always looking for people in the SSU community to be in photos for product shots, events, Seawolf Living and much more!

  1. Eliminate Camera Shake 

This might be an obvious one, but be sure to hold your camera properly and steadily to avoid taking any blurry photos. If you aren’t using a camera stand or tripod, make sure to use both of your hands to hold your camera to capture the best shot possible.

  1. Remember the Rule of Thirds 

The simplest rule of photography is the rule of thirds. This states that you should divide your frame into thirds, horizontally and vertically. Not only will your image turn out equally proportioned, but the subject will be emphasized just as it should.

  1. Understand ISO 

ISO is the light sensitivity of your camera. Adjusting your ISO to the lighting in which you are shooting is crucial to capture your subject correctly. 

  1. Experiment with Exposure Settings 

Cameras have 3 unique exposure settings: aperture, shutter speed, and ISO. Experimenting with shutter speeds gives you the opportunity to be creative. With this setting, you have the ability to freeze or slow the movement of your subject.

For Adobe Creative Suite, we recommend Photoshop and Lightroom. For social media, we recommend Lightroom and VSCO but there are a lot of apps available.