Photography is such a big part of blogging and there's hundreds of tutorials, tips and tricks to making your photos look amazing. I took the time this week to experiment with my photography. Continue reading to see what I learned!
I'm going to be listing a few common mistakes I've been making with my photography and a few simple solutions to fix them. Enjoy!
- INVEST. - This goes without saying, but blog photography can get expensive. Save up your coins and invest in a good camera, tripod, backdrops, lighting, editing software or whatever else you might need. I recently had my tripod break which in turn broke my camera. I believe if I had invested in a better tripod, not the first thing I saw at Wal-Mart, then I would have been much better off. Don't worry about having the fanciest camera starting off. I'm not saying to buy the most expensive products out there, but you get what you pay for. Use what you have and make it work until you can upgrade.
- Shooting in auto mode. - I never knew this was such a bad thing until I read it on EVERY SINGLE blog photography post I read. I never took the time to learn all the settings on my Nikon J1 mirrorless DSLR camera. I was so excited to get it 3 years ago that I took it out of the box and started shooting without a single thought to the manual. I'm not saying that shooting in auto is all bad, but learning how to shoot in manual opens up a world of new photo options. With that being said practice shooting in manual. Play around with the ISO and aperture and other settings and see what works best for your photography needs.
- A wireless remote can be your best friend. - When I first started blogging I thought I would need to bug my boyfriend to take pictures of me for my outfit posts. After checking out Prep of the South's blog I realized I could do it myself with a tripod and a remote. I got one for super cheap on eBay, but I also discovered an app on my phone that does the same thing! You'll need a phone with an IR Blaster (I have a Samsung Galaxy S4) for this trick though.
- Don't over edit your photos. - In my younger days I loved to play around and make graphics on Photoshop. For a while I was obsessed with PSDs and actions that gave my creations amazing colors and effects. Blogging photography doesn't always need a filter and I've learned to scale back on the over editing of my photos. I usually adjust the brightness and contrast and I'm done. If you're looking for editing tips head over to A Southern Drawl's blog where her boyfriend offers up photo tips.
The photography on your blog can make or break you. You can have amazing content, but if the pictures are lacking then your audience can lose interest. To sum up, invest and save up to buy quality equipment, take the time to learn about your camera and make it work for you, use a wireless remote and stop making excuses, and tone down the Photoshop; your images will be fine with just small tweaks. I hope you guys learned as much as I did this week. What are your best photography tips? Leave them in the comments below!
