Today is Day 3 for the Boost Your Blog Challenge and we’re covering “Things to Keep in Mind When Taking a Photo.” The easiest tip is to first grab one of those little buffing rags that will not scratch your lens and clean your camera lens. I don’t care how awesome of a photographer you are a smudge is a smudge because the screen/eye is dirty. So wipe it. ;)(affiliate link used)
Name your images using keywords & not some made up number language. img_48348792 doesn’t tell me squat. However, Diy_light_tent_HoneysLife says this image is about making your own light tent and it also says where it comes from. This helps prevent theft AND when it’s pinned to pinterest it’ll auto add THAT info to the description. This means you have some “control” over the description your readers share.
Take a wider look at life. Stop taking such close ups. You can ALWAYS zoom in but you can’t zoom out. Plus…there’s nothing worse than needing an overall shot and you don’t have one.
Stage it till you make it. Use backgrounds, the kids and stick your craft/review item naturally within the picture. The activity is real but..honestly…you’ll be more likely to snap freely if you know you’ve pulled any half eaten sandwiches out from under the armoire (don’t ask) and know that the dirty socks are not going to suddenly appear later in an image after you’ve pinned and shared on all your channels.
Keep your social media channels in mind when you’re taking pictures. Pinterest and G+ like rectangle shapes. Facebook and Pinterest like it square. So…remember you need a portfolio and a landscape shot. Oh and don’t forget a plain, square image to use for your linkups.
Embrace your inner gymnast/toddler. If you’ve ever watched a toddler they remind me of a floor routine. There’s flippin’, floppin’, headstands, and dangles. They see the world differently so it has more interest. So…get down on the floor. Stop taking shots of your kids from overhead. Some of my favorite pictures were ones I laid on the floor and took looking up at the kids standing over me.
When uploading your pictures to your blog be sure to size them right. It’s ridiculous to have a picture that’s 3000px when your content is only 800. That higher pixel count will s.l.o.w.d.o.w.n. your load time…which means your bounce rate is going to go up.
Remember when uploading your pictures to your blog to never scale up. Enlarging a small picture will make it grainy and blurry. Now…unless your blog is all about teen angst and reliving your grunge days odds are that’s not the look you’re going for. So…Save a picture that’s large enough to work with.
One final tip is to take a ton of pictures. When I was getting my degree in journalism we were always encouraged to go through a few rolls of film. Yeah…like a 100 shots…and that was with actual film. Now a days you’ve no excuse with digital cameras. So…take a ton of shots, find the good ones and delete the rest.
Here’s a quick example of pics that Thaleia took for an upcoming blog guest post about texture books for kids:
Today’s Homework Assignment:
Now, today I want you to do a photo shoot. Your goal is 125 pictures minimum. Just keep shooting. Lay on your belly and on your back while you watch the kids or your pet play. And be sure you have a wide angle. Once you’ve taken all those pics upload them and pull them up on a full screen. Zoom in and look at their faces, their hands or paws as they play with their toys.
Thank you, Honey for your words of wisdom & wit when it comes to photo taking tips!
I learned a long time ago to change the name of the picture. Its frustrating to have to click on each one just to find the right one, that’s not where you thought it was. (But I wouldn’t know anything about that.)
I naturally take a lot of pictures! Like hundreds and hundreds : ) I have noticed since I started blogging I take even more pictures…sometimes of odd things because I might want to use them in a blog post : ) It’s strange how blogging affects the mind.