As a blogger, photography is your bread and butter. It’s what attracts your audience to your content. Your stunning visuals are the bait to get viewers to read, view or watch your valuable posts. If you want to take yourself seriously as a blogger then your photos need to be A-1. It’s time to step up your photography game. Here are 5 ways that you can achieve that:
Use your iPhone or your own DSLR
Utilize the resources that you have such as your smartphone camera. These newer smartphones such as the iPhone 6 and 7 have farther zoom capabilities for detail shots, better settings for lighting and even the iPhone 7 lets you shoot in RAW, allowing you to better edit your photos without losing image quality. You can also look into purchasing an entry level DSLR or mirrorless camera if you don’t have access to your own. These days you can find an inexpensive one for less than a few hundred dollars that will allow you to take great quality photos. I remember when I bought my Nikon D3000, which was entry level at the time, for around $300 or less. Pair it with a sturdy tripod and self timer remote and you’ll be good to go.
Learn how to utilize natural light
Natural light is what the sun gives us everyday, unless you live in a cave or that random part of Alaska where it's in darkness for half the year. Most bloggers have photos that are shot outside and are primarily lit by nature’s light source, the sun. To effectively have well lit photos, I would recommend to shoot on a cloudy day or during the golden hours, which are an hour before sunrise and an hour before sunset when the light is soft and golden.
Learn how to pose
When it comes to posing for photos you can study what other bloggers have done but at the end of the day do what is natural to you. Blogger photos are the intersection between candid and lifestyle photos. Often times the photos that were taken when you were fixing your hair or looking away from the camera and have your guard down are the best images.
Hire a photographer
If you don’t have the time to learn photography and fuss around with a tripod and self timer or having friends take cell phone shots of you isn’t cutting it anymore then it may be time to outsource. As a photography myself that shoots blog photography, many of my clients come to me for these very reasons. They got tired of trying to do it themselves only to end up with lackluster photos that aren’t leading to engagement on their blogs. Working with photographers can up your blog’s visual game and save yourself the guesswork when taking photos. Having professional photos taken for your blog can show potential collaborators and sponsors that you should be taken seriously and are worth working with.
Use stock photos
Using stock photos is a great way to add visual interest to your blog posts. I use them as part of my blog formatting to break up larger sections of text in my longer posts. In this day and age where people hardly want to read, giving readers a visual representation of what they are reading can help keep them reading your posts or on your blog for much longer. They are also great for blog graphics for your website. Upload them into Canva or Photoshop and format your text across it for custom blog header or featured image graphics. You can take your own or find them via free and paid stock photo websites.
As a photography blogger myself, I know that my images have to be stellar whether I shot them or not. If you have cell phone photos there are numerous apps to make sure they don’t look like they came from your high school Motorola Razr. If you have a camera be mindful of your lighting and composition. If you find photos on the internet or get them taken for you make sure they are of the highest quality and align with your blog’s brand and how that should look. Now is the time to step up your blog photography game.
If you’re struggling with how to create quality photos for your blog or business leave me a comment below and let me know how I can help. If you’re based in Atlanta I offer a blog photography package here for fashion, beauty and lifestyle bloggers that need their looks shot. Don’t be shy and send me an email.