For a blogger, images are just as important as the written word. Many readers glance through the photos first to see if they want to even read the blog post and a well done featured image can capture someone’s attention to encourage them to click on the post. Whether you’re new to the blogging world, or you’ve been blogging for a few years, these photography tips for bloggers can help.
How to Take Blog Photos: Use a Real Camera Instead of a Smartphone
Although smartphone cameras are better than ever before, they can’t beat the range of a real DSLR camera. DSLR stands for Digital Single Lens Reflex and it refers to the technology in the camera body. These cameras have a lot of use, especially if you’re able to find multiple lenses for the body of the camera. The best type of lens to start out with is a 50mm. These aren’t great for large or wide shots full of people, but if you’re photographing recipes, crafts or other static content, it’s a good one.
How to Take Blog Photos: Use a Backdrop
The best blog photos have some sort of consistent backdrop. But you don’t have to have an expensive studio in order to get a great shot. Some bloggers choose to use a piece of shiplap board purchased from a home improvement store. Others buy large rolls of bulletin board paper (yep, the same ones your elementary school teachers used in their classrooms). These rolls can be found in trendy patterns like realistic wood, shiplap, galvanized metal, brick and more.
Other bloggers find a lightbox to be useful. This is a small, lighted white box with one side open. It’s a great way to take product or food photos from the side. Lightboxes can come in a range of prices so make sure to do your research before buying one.
Photography Tips for Bloggers: Editing Tools
Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom are the two gold standard editing tools for bloggers. In the past, these tools could cost hundreds of dollars, however it’s now possible to pay a monthly subscription that reduces the cost of the software, which is especially helpful if you’re just starting out.
You don’t have to be an editing wizard to produce great images, but you do need to start with a great base image (remember, our first tip is to use a DSLR rather than your phone). You can also purchase image presets for Lightroom that give you consistency with all your images, which is great if you don’t feel confident in your own abilities. Many of them are available on Etsy for a small fee.
When you’re saving your images while editing, make sure that you’re changing the file name of the images. Images can rank in Google on their own, even if the content isn’t ranking. That’s why it’s important to use a relevant file name, rather than leaving it as the default.
Image Uploading & Optimization Tips for Bloggers
It’s also important to use the image uploading tools to make sure that your images are properly optimized. Your featured image title and file name should be the same as your H1 or the same as the keyword that you’re trying to rank for. For instance, the featured image on this post is named Photography-tips-for-bloggers and the alt text, title and description is all the same. The caption in this case is being used to provide image credit to the photographer.
Use these photography tips for bloggers to make your images stand out and get noticed, even if you’re not an experienced photographer.