Have you ever found an image that was super stylish, on brand, and a perfect fit for your blog… and then realized you need more than one?
Or maybe there is more than one of that style, but the images are twenty bucks apiece and you need two dozen of them?
Yeah, that definitely sucks.
But, my friend, you are in luck because in this post I’m going to show you how to take ONE styled stock photo and edit it into several dozen (or more!) photos. If you’re on a budget or you simply can’t find an entire collection of like images, this is the tutorial for you.
So before we start, let me show you the photo we’ll be working with:
THIS IS A GUEST POST BY AMINTA DEMADURA
Take Square Crops Close Up to Feed the ‘Gram
This is one of my favorite techniques for creating a cohesive Instagram feed. Take various square crops of your photo, and then change it up as much as you want to create new styles. You can flip them, rotate them, add text and overlays, use filters, and more to make them unique.
Take Unlimited Close Ups of the Image in A Variety of Spots
Here’s a rule of thumb for squeezing plenty of closeups out of your image- The more detailed your original image, the more closeup shots you’ll be able to get. I recommend choosing an image that has at least three main elements to it, and preferably five or six.
Once you’ve found a great starter image, experiment by taking plenty of horizontal and vertical close up crops. You can do this in just about any photo editing software. Check out free versions like PicMonkey and Canva for easy editing, or use something heftier like Lightroom or Photoshop if you’ve already got the skills.
Grab A Bunch of Vertical Crops From All Over the Photo
If you need vertical images for your blog or Pinterest account, this is another great way to reuse and repurpose a beloved stock photo. Not only can you take vertical shots from all over the photo, you can also get fancy and change the angle to make it super unique. (You’ll probably need a beefier editing software like Lightroom to change the angle- but don’t worry, it’s crazy easy!)
Change the Angle to Get A Fresh New Look
For this technique, you may need a professional editing program like Lightroom or Photoshop. I use Lightroom (which honestly is way easier than you think!), and the angle changing tool is so helpful for creating unique images.
You can crop an image as close up or as far out as you want, and also apply an angle change to make the image look completely new. This is probably the tool I use the most.
There are unlimited combinations of crop and angle, meaning you could easily create dozens of fresh images from one really great original. Talk about a bargain!
Flip the Photo Horizontally
Flipping your photo horizontally is super easy to do. Just about every photo editing program (free or otherwise) has this feature. Not only can you flip your image on either it’s horizontal or vertical axis, you can also take close ups and angled shots after that to create even more sweet images for your blog. The sky is the limit!
Crop A Vertical Image for A Pinterest Pin Background
I love this technique especially because it’s so useful for creating Pinterest pin backgrounds. You can use PicMonkey or Canva to add overlay boxes, text, content upgrade images, arrows, and more to create a stylish pin that is perfectly branded for YOUR business.
For this Pinterest pin I’ve added a partially faded white box, plus text in my brand’s fonts, and my logo to bring it all together. There are so many ways you can make beautiful pins that will drive traffic to your blog, and starting with great photography is no exception!
Create A Facebook or Twitter Header With A Wide Horizontal Crop
Ever wondered what the heck you should upload for your social media header images? Here’s an idea. If you find a photo that fits your brand really well, you can easily take a wide crop of it to use for your header images.
This also works for blog posts and header images for your homepage and main navigation pages. Just make sure that you choose a high quality photo so it doesn’t become blurry when you upload it to a full width platform.
Getting beautiful, on brand images for your blog and social media doesn’t have to be hard. And you certainly don’t have to shell out $10 per image for each of your posts.
A few editing skills can go a long way in sprucing up the look of your blog. And if you want to go the extra mile, consider hiring a virtual assistant to make these edits for you! This will save you a ton of time and brain power, which you can then redirect for the most important things in your business that only you can do.
Want to get started with some free stock images? I’m giving away a free stock pack full of images that you can alter or use out-of-the-box on your blog, Instagram, Pinterest, and more.
Hey, I’m Aminta! If you’d like to learn more about growing your online business through branded photography, marketing tips, monetization strategies and more, please visit AmintaDemadura.com.