My blogging tips Part 7 – How to make your blog’s photography better

I’m finally back with the 7^th and (probably) last part of our blogging tips. I’m really happy about this column and how much you all loved it, judging from the comments and the emails we received (me and T. – as this was a collaboration post between the 2 of us from the beginning). Today, we’re sharing with you our tips on how to make your blog’s photography better: From what you need to know before taking a photo to how to share it on your blog.

Disclaimer: We’re not photographers or experts in this field. We’re just amateurs, who’ve read many related articles, played around and learned from experience what works best for us. We’re still learning and hoping to be even better in the future.

Getting ready for a shoot:

• Find a great location for your photos. Don’t be afraid to use more locations for your photoshoots. Using the same old all the time is boring.
• Choose the best background for your outfit photos. Does your outfit today looks more: girly, elegant, or minimal? Find the best location to take your photos and choose a background that would complement your outfit without taking the attention away from it. Make sure to avoid having in the picture items such as, trash cans, traffic cones etc. (unless you want to!).
• Try composing yourself in the best way possible in the picture. Do you take your outfit photos in the city center? Try putting yourself in the center of a road, and the photo!
• Find the best time in the day to take your outfit photos. Experts say that the best time to take your outfit photos is during the golden hour, which is the hour before the sun sets. At that time, the shadows aren’t so harsh, so your photos will be more flattering.
• Can’t take your photos during the golden hour? Try early in the morning or using an open shade for equally great results. Find a shadow between buildings or trees and take your photos there.
• Avoid direct sunlight or shadows that “cut you in half”. It’s too difficult if not impossible to look good under these circumstances. Even with a lot of editing, chances are you won’t be so pleased with the outcome of these photos.
• Avoid using the build-in flash of your camera. I’d suggest you wouldn’t use the built-in flash of your camera, and instead try to take your photos outside, and use the natural light. The photos come out much better without it. Use it only when it’s totally necessary, and avoid using it for outfit photos.
• Try placing yourself between the sun and your photographer. Backlighting can do miracles, especially during the golden hour. Some of my favorite outfit photos have been taken during the golden hour, while using backlighting.

Tools to use:

• You don’t need a DSLR to have beautiful photos for your blog. Not everyone can afford a DSLR. If you’re new to blogging or if you don’t want to spend a fortune in buying a DSLR, use your point-and-shoot or even your phone to produce beautiful photos. Just remember: The best way to have quality photos with these 2 tools is to take your photos outdoors, and make sure to take advantage of the natural light for your photos not too look grainy/noisy.

If you do however own a DSLR:

• Get to know your camera’s features. Only by getting to know your cameras features, you’ll become better in taking photos. You may have the best DSLR in the world, but if you don’t invest some of your time in learning your camera, and reading tips online, your photos won’t be much better than taking them with your point-and-shoot. Make sure to read all the articles linked at the end of this post to help you learn your camera, and its settings.
• Invest in a tripod and a remote control. Whether you have a point-and-shoot or a DSLR camera, you may not always have someone to take your photos. A tripod will come handy, and it will save your camera from breaking. With both cameras, you can use your self-timer to take your own photos (something I was doing a lot at first). If you own a DSLR and you want to save some of your time, buy a remote control. It will save you some trips from going back and forth when taking outfit photos, and your photos will be more focused.
• Take lots of photos to make sure that you have a great result. Either you’re taking your own photos or having someone take them for you, some of the pics might come up blurry and unfocused. The best way to ensure a great result is to take lots of photos. And don’t wait till you go back home to check how they turned out. Check the result regularly to ensure you have what you want.
• Invest in more lenses. So you bought a DSLR, and you learned how to use it, but your photos still lack of a few things. Do a little research and find what lens can help you achieve better what you have in mind. What lens would work best for you? Check the models, prices, stores, compare them and make your investment. There are many inexpensive lenses out there that can do wonders for your photos. Just don’t buy a new lens just because everyone does. Make sure to know what you’re buying and take some time to get used to it, and learn its potentials.

Photo editing:

Next step in your way to achieve the best result for your blog is to use a photo editing program. Apart from the famous to all, Photoshop, there are many others out there that might work for you. I won’t go into details, but check out the articles below and I’m sure you’ll find many options.

Even the best of photos can look better with a little bit of tweaking. In my opinion, less is more when it comes to editing your photos. You don’t have to overdo it with contrast, saturation, and backlight. One of the worst things I’ve seen is bloggers with a point-and-shoot, using too much backlight to compensate for poor lighting and trying to fake depth-of-field by manually blurring the background. (I confess, I’ve done some of these mistakes myself in the past, but that doesn’t mean that I was right). Everything has a learning curve, and we need to make mistakes and learn from them in the process, before we get better.

So, I did my best to share with you some of my tips but since I’m not an expert, I’ll let the rest to the ones who are (at least to ones who do this more time than I do). So please make sure to check out the links below if you want to learn more about: how to use your camera in the best way, how to make your photography better, how to edit your photos in the best way possible and what to avoid when editing them.

Interesting reads for you:

Unless you have more questions or unless something else comes up, this is the end of our blogging tips series. We are so happy that you liked it, and we’re looking forward to getting your feedback from that last part.

I’m sure that we’ll find a new monthly series of posts soon, to cover the void of this series. So stay tuned!

Αν θέλετε να διαβάσετε το κείμενο στα ελληνικά, πατήστε εκεί που λέει Language: Greek.

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