Five simple tips to improve your blog photography

One of the biggest struggles when I first stared my blog was the photography aspect, most of my first shots were taken on my iPhone, not in focus one bit and it was very obvious I had no clue what I was doing but fast forward to now my photos are crisp, clear and just what I was hoping for.

I realised just a few months into blogging that the quality of the photos can literally make or break your post so that’s when I started to learn more about photography from other bloggers and it was a lot of trial and error let me tell you, thousands and thousands of photos and a couple of years later my photo’s have improved SO much so I thought I would share my tips and what I’ve learnt if you are in the same boat I was a couple of years ago.

Choosing your Equipment

When I started out I didn’t have the money to buy a big expensive camera and I’m sure most other bloggers didn’t either but personally I don’t think you should have to fork out loads of money on photography equipment to be a blogger. One of the main things for me that draws me into a blog is the photography, it needs to be eye catching and clear. My first photo’s were from using my iPhone because I didn’t want to invest in a big camera right away but after about a year when I knew I wanted to carry on blogging for the foreseeable so I invested in the Cannon EOS M10 with a 15-45mm lens (which I still use to this day) and it’s honestly the perfect first blogging camera as it wasn’t too expensive, heavy or too complicated but you can honestly get some amazing camera’s now without breaking the bank.

I personally wouldn’t use my iPhone XS Max when taking blog photo’s at this point even though it has a great camera just because I think my camera has the edge with the crispiness and quality. Blogging really did give me the push I needed with my photography and I’m now looking into purchasing a film and DSLR camera. You might get discouraged at the start with only having a phone but it’s very possible to take beautiful photo’s without a professional camera. Make the most of the equipment you already have and then when you think you are ready to take the next step investing in a good camera is the best thing you can do.

Natural light is always the best light

Lighting is probably the most important factor in photography of any kind but especially product photography in blogging. I just think it’s super important when photographing beauty products in particular as if you are recommending them to your readers then it’s important to show them in their true form.

I personally like to take photo’s when it’s cloudy outside but still bright as then you don’t get the shadows from the sun. When the darker nights come in you can always use artificial lighting like a soft box but personally I don’t like them, I find them too harsh so I try and utilise and make the most of the better days and they and take photo’s in bulk, It’s obviously easier in the summer with the longer days but winter can be hard as the night’s draw in that’s when you maybe don’t have a choice with the artificial lighting but natural light is always 1000 times better and if you can always try and take photo’s by a window where the natural light is the best.

Practice. Practice. Practice.

I was always comparing myself to the bloggers who had been blogging for years who had amazing photo’s and I didn’t think I’d ever get to their standard & I think a lot of people do this but don’t worry photography will get better with practice. I would every so often just get my camera out and play around with different angles, lighting, products and props and even though sometimes my photos didn’t come out like I wanted them to I was giving it a go and knew every time I would find my own style.

I am always improving, even now I still experiment and get my camera out to see what I can come up with. If you look down my instagram or blog you will see just how much I have improved and my photography is no where near on the level it is now and that all comes with practice. Just take a couple of hours out your day, get your camera out and see what happens!

Take shots from different angles

When I’m taking photo’s, I usually have in mind the type of photo’s I want to take wether that’s for my instagram or any of my upcoming blog posts but sometimes even though you have something in mind it sometimes doesn’t go to plan. Angles can make or break a photo and I normally come away from a shoot with hundreds of photo’s from lots of different angles then pick about 5 from the selection.

I try to take photo’s from every possible distance and angle, close and medium shots, far shots and from all the different sides of the product or subject. There’s always a photo from above to get that perfect flatlay and sometimes an angle you wouldn’t have thought would work looks amazing and it’s the best one.

Find your own editing style

Editing is one thing I have struggled with over the past couple of years and I constantly downloaded editing apps recommended by other bloggers to see what would work and didn’t. I think finally honing down my editing process has been almost as important as the actual photo taking process. I have pretty much nailed my editing process now even though it’s very simple, it works for me but no doubt I will get bored soon and change it soon.

When I first started getting into all the editing process I definitely followed the crowd and when into the bright and light photo’s and found it so hard to keep that aesthetic, it just wasn’t working for me, I think it’s so easy to over expose your photo’s which isn’t a good look. Once you have your process down, you can basically do the same thing for every photo and it soon becomes second nature. My editing process now only take me 5 minuites and it’s super easy.

I really hope this helps anyone starting out as a beginner to just generally struggling with their blog photography. What’s the best tip you have regarding photography?

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