Blog Photography 101*

As much as it drives my friends and family mad, I am that person that always has to take photos of everything. Going for dinner at a restaurant? It’ll be photographed. Baked a cake? Better get a picture for the gram. New clothes? Should probably take an outfit pic. My friend’s doing something stupid? This certainly needs to be documented. On holiday? Every second of the day will be photographed. I love taking photos. So much so, in fact, that I took GCSE photography outside of school. My Year 9 art teacher was genuinely so upset that I wasn’t going to be taking photography any further (due to my other options taking priority, hello triple science) that she offered to teach me in my own time. Despite it being a two-year course, I managed to squeeze it all into an hour a week session in a year and managed to come away with an A. So yeah, I’m pretty proud.  

For today’s post, I thought I’d compile a little list of some blog photography tips that I’ve managed to pick up along the way. I currently have a Canon DSLR but ideally would like to upgrade to something like this Mirrorless 12-60mm Lens Camera* in the future. I bought my camera back in 2013 so it’s fair to say it’s a little outdated now, but it still more than does the trick.

Bright lighting

I know this one sounds pretty obvious but it honestly makes a whole world of difference. It’s a pain when it’s dull and overcast outside and photography plans have to be scrapped, but bright natural lighting is the best thing for photos. Fling those curtains wide, open those windows, get all that light in. 

Edit, edit, edit

Haven’t got time to wait for a nice sunny morning? Editing is your best friend. It’s pretty easy to get carried away in the post-processing stage, but sometimes less is definitely more. I always adjust the brightness, check the saturation and play around with all the other settings until I create something I like the look of. It's fair to say I'm not an editting whiz, and tend to just go with the flow.

Get a tripod and remote

I’ve had my tripod for a fair while now and it’s definitely been a great help when taking blog photos. Not just for portraits when I can’t rope a family member/friend into giving me a hand, but also for flatlays too. I can’t even begin to explain how much easier it is to take a good flatlay when you don’t need to worry about keeping your hand still whilst holding the camera. Definitely invest in one. 

Tell a story with your photos

This tip sounds a bit cringe but it’s definitely one I think is important. For example, the photo in this post contains an old film camera my Grandad gave to me and a couple of disposables I took in London back when I was about 13. I mean, with a photo of a lipstick it’s admittedly a bit trickier, but with lifestyle photos it's a really nice touch

Create a theme and try to stick to it

Consistency is key, kids, consistency is key. Now I’m not saying all of your photos should be carbon copies of each other, but some sort of coherency is a good idea. Perhaps in the form of a certain flatlay prop, or a particular background, or lighting style. That way when people scroll down your blog there’s a sense of fluidity and it all just sort of fits together.

What is your number one blog photography tip?

*This post contains a sponsored link*