GUEST POST | HOW TO TAKE GREAT PICTURES FOR BID DAY

It's hard to believe that Bid Day is practically here! Some schools are starting recruitment this week! Cue panic... But the one thing you shouldn't have to worry about is getting great Bid Day pictures. Here are some tips to get the best shots during your celebration.

Bring an actual camera | Yes, your phone is awesome, but nothing can replace a real camera to get great shots. You'll want to save these memories of you with your bid day buddy and pledge sisters. Plus, your camera phone pictures don't have great file size which will make it harder to use them on the chapter website or for your star moment in the recruitment video.

See if a sister can bring/rent a DSLR | Now-a-days you see Digital SLR cameras everywhere. I'm guessing at least someone in your chapter has a great camera. Have her be the photographer. Even if you're hiring a company for Bid Day shots, she can still take some great candids and pictures of small groups throughout the day.

If no one in your chapter has a fancy camera see if someone in the communications/art department can rent one. At my college, I was able to rent cameras for free and I would always rent one for big events.

Take more than you think you need | Take pictures of the decor, the banner, your bid day bags lined up by the door, anything that might be a great picture to add to your chapter's PR. Those fun pictures would be great for Instagram or Pinterest later on.

Put yourself where the action is  | At my school, new members reveal their new affiliation on the Rock, which is in the middle of campus and run to their new sorority. Plan and place yourself where you're going to get the best reaction shots. If your new members run to you on Bid Day make sure you have a great view to see their excited faces.

Candids are your friend | This is where your DSLR comes in. Candids are just so easy to take on an iphone. Just remember to take more than you need because you may not get a good candid until your 7th or 8th take. Photojournalism is all about capturing life as it happens. Take that spin for Bid Day and try to capture every moment so that you can show what it's really like to be a fill in the blank.

Create a Chapter Flickr/Photo Sharing account so everyone can share their pics | Whoever does your bulletin boards would LOVE you for bringing this idea to your chapter. Creating a flickr account is super easy. If everyone knows the username and password, they can upload pictures whenever they want to and now the whole chapter has high-res images to work with! You never know when you need a great picture.

Share these great pics on your chapter's social media accounts | Now that recruitment week and bid day are over, take a break from obsessing over your perfect new members and share these great pictures as a chapter. A Facebook album of Bid Day would be a great idea to share your chapter's excitement. Alumnae, parents, and your sorority's international officers (just to name a few) would love to see updates and all the fun you're having. Instagram posts, tweets, and maybe even a chapter blog post would be other great ways to promote your chapter after recruitment, remember recruitment PR is 365 days a year!

I hope these tips help and I can't wait to see if they help on Bid Day. Tweet me and let me know what you think!

Joanie Oben is a recent graduate of the University of Miami and a proud Alpha Delta Pi. Follow her adventures of a Florida girl in the Peach State at www.FLOnMyMind.com, a lifestyle, food, and fashion blog. Connect with her on Twitter too!