4 Instagram Photography Tips for Your Hair Extensions Business

Instagram is an easy-to-use, natural marketing tool for your business. More and more people are turning to the ‘gram for hair inspiration instead of Google, and your account can be a great billboard for your salon! But like any good ad, there needs to be a stellar eye-catching image to get those dream clients of yours to stop scrolling and take notice!

I know what you’re thinking: “I’m a hair expert, not a photographer!” But no need to stress, we’ve gathered up the best tips and advice for taking great pics of your clients that you can use to market your skills and services and book yourself solid, fast. And don’t worry, you don’t need to invest in an expensive professional camera or be super techy to implement these tips.

First Things First: Great Hair

This might seem obvious, but in order to take an amazing photo the hair you’re showing off should be amazing, too. Make sure it’s your best work and something you’re proud to show off! Messy or undone hair is OK, as long as it’s intentional.

If you take some photos and notice after that something is off or you just don’t love how the hair looks in them, don’t post them. You want your feed to showcase the best of the best!

The Set-Up: Lighting and Backdrop

You know how lighting can impact how warm or cool a client’s hair can look? The same happens in photos you take, too. Create a designated “photo spot” near a window with natural lighting if possible, and consider purchasing a ring light to brighten up your space on rainy days. Try to avoid using flash to brighten the image – it can drastically alter the look of your hair!

You’ll also want to keep in mind the backdrop you’re working with. Whether or not you use a plain or patterned wall is a personal preference, but avoid anything too busy or distracting, and make sure the wall is clean! You could also create a setting in your salon that plays into your brand if you have the space and want to get creative; just remember to make sure the space is perfectly clean before taking pictures. This means no hair on the floor, clean mirrors, and no other clients or stylists in the background.

Pink of London uses a beautiful floral backdrop in front of a well-lit window.

Some Technical (but not too techy) Details

Get more bang for your buck but maximising the space your images take up on mobile screens by shooting at aspect ratios (that’s the dimensions of your picture) of either 1:1 or 9:16. Avoid shooting in landscape- it just doesn’t show enough detail on those tiny mobile screens!.

Even if you’re not taking a video, having your client play with their hair adds movement and dimension to your photo, which can make it more interesting and eye-catching. You can also play with different angles to see which is more fun and flattering, and best showcases your work.

Avoid using the Zoom function – it diminishes the quality of the image. Instead, get as close to your subject as possible, or if you need to, crop the photo after. This will give you the highest resolution and cleanest image.

Final Touches

A couple final touches and your photos will be ready to go! Using a subtle filter on all of your images will give your feed a consistent look and feel – keeping them on brand and easier to recognise. You don’t need to go overboard on the filter, but using an app like Lightroom makes it easy to adjust lighting and colour just slightly. For example:

Image via https://sunnystorm.marketing/

Finally, you may want to add a watermark of your logo, instagram handle, or brand hashtag to your images. This will help strengthen your brand and help new clients find you faster.

While It’s important to showcase your work, don’t stress over shooting the best image right away! Practice makes perfect, so start taking photos of each of your clients (or practice with friends and family at home!) and play with different lighting, angles, and filters until you find a system that creates images you love and feel proud of. Most importantly, have fun with it!

Here are a few examples we love:

Magic Mirror Hair Extensions

House of Hair has a variety of available backdrops.

Think about what could make a pretty picture.

You could get creative with the hair, if you don’t fancy a stand out backdrop.

A made up face always makes a good instagram picture.