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How to Improve Your Blog Photos

I'm a very visual person, so when I click on a blog I like to see clear, bright, good quality photographs accompanying a post.



There are so many wonderful blogs about at the moment and we all try to keep up with our favourites, but sometimes. (especially us parents) we just don't have the time to sit and read a super long post so the photographs have to be able to tell part of the story.

I'm certainly no expert when it comes to photos and I am yet to download the proper editing software to edit my own properly. But I wanted to share a few things that as a reader of other blogs, I like to see when it comes to blog photography..

You don't need to be a Photoshop master to do this. In fact I have never used Photoshop myself and have no idea how to. I have an iMac so I use iPhoto to edit using VERY basic settings, but just enough to give it a little edit. If you don't have any software available to edit - try the free photo editing site - PicMonkey - it's pretty amazing and so simple to use! 

Yellow/orange light in a photo is not good. If I'm taking a photograph and the lamp/ceiling light needs to be on because it's grey outside (as it is a lot this time of year) I usually turn off the light and then use the brightness setting on my DSLR. This only works for me when there is some day light, if you try in the evening it will probably be very grainy! Another thing you can do is 'cool' your photos down just a little. There's an option to do this on iPhoto (if you use it) or I think you can also do it using PicMonkey.
I so much prefer to see bright photos rather than dark photos with shadows all over them. But to be honest, it is personal preference, some people don't like too much brightness in a photo. I use a brightness setting on my DSLR to take all of my photos, this is not how a professional would work at all, but I like how much softer they feel. Obviously the most important bit of advice I can give when it comes to taking photos is.. natural daylight is absolutely you're very best friend.

When I first started my blog I never did this -  I didn't think about background at all, but it's SO important if you want a good image. When you go to take a picture don't just look at the one thing you are trying to capture, look past it and see what is behind it. Another thing I think works well is a white/light background rather than a dark/black background - the lighter background helps to draw attention only to your subject rather than a dark background which can do the opposite.

Going back to what I said at the beginning of this post. You essentially need for your blog photos to help tell part of your story. Not all photographs needs to be posed for to be brilliant, some of the best photos are the more natural ones. They are of the 'moment' rather than being previously set up. Do consider your background and the light (natural daylight is always best) even when it comes to 'natural' shots - if you can't get a good background - move around with the camera until you feel happy that your background and your focus help to tell the story behind your photo.  






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17 comments

  1. Some really good tips there hunnie x

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  2. Fab tips Alex! What filter do you use on your images, they always look so pretty! :D x

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    1. Thanks lovely. I don't use any filters, I just use the brightness setting on my DSLR and then brighten them up on iPhoto :) xx

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  3. Great tips. I am quite lazy when it comes to editing even though I have photoshop.

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  4. Great tips Hun I totally agree!

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  5. Good tips Alex. I'm a shocker when it comes to remembering to actually take photos in the day and always end up taking them in our quite dark living room. I'll see if I have a brightness setting on my DSLR and give that a try! The white balance setting helps too x

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  6. Oh Alex perfect post. I coudln't agree more I love bright and breezy photos and not too long to because like you said we love reading the story and experiences but we are all busy parents. lol You mentioned you have a brightness setting on your slr? Can I ask how you do that or were you referring to upping the ISO. Because I always think I want my photos brighter! It's hard this time of year for natural light especially in my house I get so frustrated. Great tips here though I have so much to learn photography wise. :)

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  7. When I had a blog my photos were always rubbish as I've never had a proper camera. I agree with you that you can find perfectly good photo editing software for free without needing photoshop. :)

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  8. From a professional photographers point of view those are great tips.

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  9. Some great tips Alex, that yellow light is sooooo annoying!

    Lyndsay | Fizzy Peaches

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  10. Thanks for the advice! I don't have a good camera and use the camera on my iPhone 5s to take photos. I edit using my phone and various apps also. They don't look as good as yours - but hopefully, they're enough to help people see what baby Jake and I are all about :) xx
    http://dribblesandgiggles.blogspot.co.uk/

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  11. As much as possible try and take landscape (as opposed to portrait) pictures because they make it easier on the eye when scrolling down. xxx

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  12. Great tips! I am still learning all about my DSLR and how to use it, but I have definitely noticed the difference in traffic and readers since getting better images on my blog. Jess x

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  13. Thanks for the tips. Photography is so fun and I am always looking for advice to get even better photos. I like the background part--so important but so easy to overlook ;)

    Julie
    http://thelittlebabylove.blogspot.com/

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  14. These tips are great! I definitely made note of some of them. Thanks for sharing!

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