One of the biggest things holding people back from using our books is that they don't have a high-quality photo to put on the cover.
But you don't need to run out and hire a professional photographer to get a cover-worthy picture.
Fiverr.com is a great resource for Realtors. They’ve got some amazing people that can retouch your pictures using Photoshop.
So, we decided to give you an example. In this blog post, I’m going to show you how we used Fiverr.com to transform a “redneck” into a professional-looking Realtor.
The “redneck” in this case was our very own Ben Curry. He decided to have someone take a picture of him in his redneck coat. And then, we’d have someone on Fiverr.com transform him into a professional Realtor.
Here’s Ben’s “redneck” picture. (Can anyone say “Git er done?”)
We hired a photo editor on Fiverr.com. Here’s the professional photo they sent back.
We used that photo on a book cover. See the finished result below.
As you can see, you can use a cellphone camera picture on your book.
The one thing you’ll notice is that his picture was taken outdoors. Here’s why. The lighting is simply better outdoors. Below is Ben’s redneck picture in the best-lit spot in his office. And we can’t use that picture! If you look closely, you’ll notice the horrible lighting.
Here are a few tips for taking a high-quality picture:
Have someone else take the picture. Selfie pictures can distort your appearance. For some reason, your face scrunches up and anyone can tell it’s a selfie picture. Have them hold the phone or camera slightly above eye-level for a more flattering picture. This helps eliminate any potential "extra chins."
- When you go outside to take your photo, do not stand in direct sunlight. Shaded areas work much better. Direct sunlight can cause you to squint and create harsh shadows on your face.
- If you must take a photo indoors, face a window. Natural light is much more flattering. Make sure the light source is in front of your face. Otherwise, you'll appear much darker than the background behind you. Do NOT use flash. You run the risk of red eyes, and direct flash isn't flattering on anyone.
- If possible, have something green in the background. Green is the easiest color to crop out in Photoshop. It will be much easier for the person editing the picture to remove the background.
- Take 10-15 pictures. Just take a bunch of pictures. Then, sort through them to find out which ones turned out the best.
Once you’ve decided on a picture, use it to submit your book order.
Thanks for reading.
Sincerely,
Kim Caday
Book Setup Coordinator at Smart Agents
