6 TIPS TO HELP YOU SHOOT GREAT BLOG PICTURES

HOW TO SHOOT GREAT BLOG PICTURES

Shooting blog pictures is super fun, but it’s also not the easiest thing in the world to do. Whether it’s that awkward posing in the middle of the street while life hustles by besides you, the grey skies and rain pouring down, or simply the missing time you need to create the shots you want. Managing a blog, and managing the creative and photography process takes far more time and effort than i’m sure anyone realises.

For me photography is one of my favourite things about blogging, but more than that it’s one of my favourite things about blogs themselves too. Most my favourite blogs have wonderful, unique and beautifully shot photography that always leaves me feeling inspired. For my own blog my imagery and photography is a huge part of my brand and also my blog offering itself, I want my readers to leave feeling both inspired and informed, and I aim for my editorial and imagery combined to deliver that affect.

But as I said shooting blog pictures is no easy feat (when you don’t have a full time photographer on hand) and even harder when you juggle a full time career on the side like I do. But over the last 5 years I’ve learnt to master my process, my camera and my routine, and so today I thought i’d share a few of my best tips to help you shoot great blog pictures for your own blog.

6 TIPS TO HELP YOU SHOOT GREAT BLOG PICTURES

Learn to use your camera

First things first, if you want to take great pictures then you need to know how to use your kit. Whether thats a point and shoot, your iPhone or a DSLR, knowing how to use your camera, set up your kit and adjust settings based on the type of shots you’re looking for or the environment you’re shooting in is key. Once you know the basics you’ll be able to shoot or set up great photos in no time at all. I wrote a tutorial to help you master your DSLR here if you want more tips on learning to use your kit.

Always carry a camera with you

Finding time to shoot great photos is difficult, unless you have days to spend preparing a shoot, seeking locations & organising outfits etc, but more often than not I always find beautiful things to capture, or stunning locations to shoot in whilst i’m just out and about running errands or heading to meetings. If you always carry your camera on you, it means you can maximise the moment and get some photos for your blog without necessarily having to overly plan … most the time friends, family or even strangers  (I’ve not braved this one yet) don’t mind taking a few photos for you. A great example is shooting in a fab local cafe, or whilst exploring parts of the city. Often the photos shot ‘out and about’ are the best as they tell a story too. I’m currently loving taking my camera out to brunch with me, I often find cafes are so picturesque I always want to shoot a feature there.

Be creative

Great photos are unique, original and inspire. Whilst a success formula is good to have up your sleeve (I have my own ‘safe bets’ when times limited) actually mixing things up and keeping things new and fresh is a great way of creating more interesting and inspiring imagery for your website. Think about composition, lighting, angles and colours … there’s so much to play with when you’re taking photos it’s great to try new things & give a standard shot a little twist.

Dedicate time

Time, oh how I wish I had more time. Time is the gift that can really allow you to take magical photographs. Whether that’s time to properly organise a shoot and shoot location, time to set up a mini studio at home for interiors shots, or time to travel to new and exciting locations to keep things fresh and exciting. If i had more time I know exactly how i’d evolve my content and my photography, but given I have a full time job to squeeze in too, making the most out of every second is how I live my life. When it comes to shooting for my own blog, I always dedicate two hours at the weekend to getting my images shot for the week ahead … it’s not as glamorous as the pictures may lead you to believe, but it’s necessary to allow me to blog daily. By dedicating regular time to shooting, planning ahead & then running an efficient shooting process you really are able to juggle life that little more efficiently. It’s a trick to be mastered when you’re blogging regularly and want bespoke images for each feature like I do.

Monitor the weather

The weather makes or breaks a good photo in my opinion. When the sun is out, the sky is clear and the rain is gone, my mood is instantly lifted, largely because it means my blog photos will look 700% better than they do when it’s a miserable day. I often envy those living in southern Europe or Australia, and even the US simply because they are so fortunate when it comes to the weather … and therefore lighting. So I don’t end up with low res, grainy, dull looking images on my blog (a sad side effect to poor lighting), I always monitor the weather and am sure to schedule time to shoot when the weather is set to be good.

Seek inspiration before you shoot

And finally … great photography is always unique, good quality and inspiring, so before you go and shoot for your blog, spend 5-10 minutes getting inspired, looking at images you adore, discovering new ideas, getting a feel for your shoots style and tone and generally planning what sort of imagery you’re looking to create. If I had time every shoot would be tailored to the specific content and shot with a creative direction in mind. It’s not always possible to be that thorough, but I always like to have an idea of the 5 – 10 shots I’d like to have before I get started. It helps give some direction, some inspiration and a little focus.

Read all my photography tips here:

. HOW TO IMPROVE YOUR BLOG PHOTOGRAPHY . MASTERING PHOTOGRAPHY AND YOUR DSLR .TOP 5 PHOTOGRAPHY TIPS . HOW TO SHOOT ON MANUAL .

Did you find these tips helpful? I’d love to hear about your photography process, where you get your inspiration from and how you manage a shoot? You can find all my photography tutorials here.