15 tips for improving your photos and videos

Communicators tend to think of themselves as wordsmiths, whether it’s writing press releases or cranking out stories for the intranet.

Nowadays the demand for photography and video skills are rising, given that nearly everyone owns a photography studio in the form of a smartphone. The question is how to take better pictures?

Yes, by all means, hire a pro if you possibly can. Professional-quality photos or video matter.

Sometimes, though, you’re forced to snap a shot. In a time of shareable images, the old style no longer works—grip-and-grin pictures of donors handing over giant checks, St. Valentine’s Day Massacre lineups of executives.

So we sought out tips from professional photographers and videographers. Here are a few of their tips:

1. Get closer.

The famous war photographer Robert Capa once advised, “If your photographs aren’t good enough, you’re not close enough.”

Of course, he also died on the job when he stepped on a landmine, notes Kristin Griffin of Kristin Griffin Photography. Given that most of us won’t be tromping across minefields, the advice holds for organizational photographers.