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Blogging

Blogging Tips – How I Create Beautiful Blog Photographs

September 29, 2017

One of my favourite things about blogging, is the ability to create something beautiful. Although I love writing, photography will always be my favourite part of the process. As I’ve recently started a little series of blogging tips posts, I thought it was high time I talked a bit about taking blog photographs. When Panasonic asked me to create a post about blog photography I jumped at the chance. Their Panasonic Compact System Camera is ideal for bloggers, looking for an all round camera.

How to take blog photographsIn recent years blog photography has really stepped up a gear, especially with the rise of Instagram. Everything is very visual these days. This blog has three main types of photographs; they are photographs of items and products, outfit photos and photos of places. I wanted to focus on the first type of blog photographs in this post.

Backgrounds: Having lovely back drops for your photos is a great place to start. For my photos I use anything from furniture in my house to nice floors and often pretty pieces of wallpaper work well. Many bloggers opt for a simple white background. If have a nice supply of papers and locations I use and always have something to hand for when I need to get a job done in a hurry.

How to take blog photographsLighting: Good lighting will always be your friend when taking good blog photos. Natural light without too many shadows will always work best. If theres a bright but overcast day, the diffused light is perfect for getting those snaps. I also use a soft box light when I absolutely need to. Its also nice to add a little depth to pictures using light boxes, candles of fairy lights.

How to take blog photographsProps: As my blog has a vintage theme, I usually find nice things to include in my photos at car boot sales and charity shops. I love using vintage books, kitchen bits, china and jewellery to make my pictures interesting. I also love using fresh flowers. You can choose nice things that go well with the look and feel of your blog.

How to take blog photographsFind your own style: At the moment flat lays are everywhere. They look great, work across all social platforms and are a great way top show off products, bakes or whatever it is you want to show. As well as flat lays I like to take photographs from lots of different angles. It’s all about finding your own style and what works well for you and your blog. For each post I usually take about 50 pictures and choose 3 or 4 perfect ones for the finished piece. The more you work at it, the more you’ll find your own style.

How to take blog photographsTake inspiration from others: One of the best ways to find inspiration is to read lots of other blogs, look at Pinterest and look at pictures in magazines. Obviously do this without directly copying someone else ideas. I often get ideas for composition and layout from elsewhere and then do my own thing from there. Blogging is all about learning as you go.

How to take blog photographsEquipment: Depending on what you can afford, a good camera does make a big difference. I started off using my phone to take my pictures, as time has gone on I’ve upgraded my camera several times. I still take outdoor shots on my phone sometimes. For my flat lays and food shots or anything taken indoors I use my SLR camera with a macro lens.

How to take blog photographsEditing: This is a really important part of the photography process for me. Once I’ve taken and chosen my blog photographs I like to crop, edit and watermark them before adding them to the blog. I used to use photoshop for this. I now use Pic Monkey as its very quick, straightforward and easy to use. There is lots of free editing software online as well as more advances options that you pay to use. It’s worth shopping around and trying different things to see what works best for you. As I’ve got better at taking pictures, I’ve needed to edit less, but it can be a great way to improve pictures when the light wasn’t perfect or the colours aren’t quite right.

I hope these tips have been helpful when taking your own blog photographs. If you have any questions or have any blog tips you’d like me to include in a later post, please let me know and I’ll get to work on that for you. Be sure to check out my Blogging Tips section for more blogging advice.

* Thank you to Panasonic for working with me on this post. All opinions and images are my own. 

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  • Reply
    Life With Han
    December 19, 2017 at 6:18 am

    I really want to up my blog photography game in the new year, so this was such a helpful post for me! Also you take some beautiful blog photos! xx

    Han | lifewithhan.blog

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