Today I wanted to chat about blog photography. I only started my blogging in September, so it feels funny to already be sharing my tips on taking photos already, but I think it could be helpful for anybody else starting out! I hadn’t ever taken photos properly before, so it was a lot of trial and error really and I am no where near complete in learning how to take my photos! But these are my basic tips for starting out.
1 Lighting. This is the most important step for my photos, it seems to make or break them! I started out taking my photos indoors, wherever I wanted, but I was having trouble with shadows. Now I take my photos either outside or by large windows, but out of direct sunlight. Light, cloudy days seem best!
2 Pick a good background. I feel like this tip is ongoing – as a new blogger I am always looking for new back drops. I bought a little white table from Ikea for £5 which I use constantly for an easy, plain white background. I also love using fabrics for texture, and flooring shops will sell individual tiles! That is where my marble backgrounds come from.
3 Editing. I really enjoy editing the brightness on my photos as it can make the world of difference. I like to boost the brightness to make them lighter, increase the contrast ever so slightly and add a bit more clarity – and that is it really! I use the really simple editing my laptop allows me to edit on each photo, but PicMonkey and Pixlr are both great software for free editing!
4 Placement. I find it really useful to just play around with where I place the products in the photos, and take a few tester photos to see how they come out, as often the image looks different once you actually take a photo! Don’t rush, and don’t worry if you can’t get it right the first time.
5 Use props. At first, I was really struggling with my photos looking plain and boring yet I had no inspiration for props to make them look pretty! My tip here is to hunt around for props to use, it can be anything! Nail polishes, makeup brushes, jewellery, candles – anything pretty that you have! Also, fresh flowers tend to look really beautiful in photos.
So those are my top 5 tips for starting out taking blog photos! I want to improve mine as much as I can too, so please leave me your favourite tips for blog photography, thank you in advance!
Love your tips!! Actually taking notes haha xx
Author
Aw I’m so glad you found them helpful, haha! Xxx
Thank you! This is super helpful!
Author
I’m so pleased, you are more than welcome! Xxx
Nice post. It would be good to come back to and update every few months as your experience and knowledge grows. You’ll have more to share.
Author
Thank you! Ah that is such a good idea, I’m definitely going to do an update in a few months, thank you for the idea x
Your welcome. I’ve posted a few photos to accompany a few written pieces, but this year would like to do more strictly photography posts.
Great tip! Lighting is so important to getting good photos. I also like to use Facetune to brighten photos. It makes my photos so much more brighter! Great Tips!
Trecee
http://treceefabulous.blogspot.com/
Author
Thank you! I agree 🙂 I’ve not used Facetube before, is it free? Thank you very much 🙂 xxx
These are great tips! I never thought of the fact that you could buy individual tiles for nice backgrounds. Happy new year xxx
http://www.ivefoundwaldo.com
Author
Thank you! It was my mums idea haha, such a good idea isn’t it! And to you 🙂 xxx
It’s honestly such a good idea! Super creative xxx
Really great tips! Your photos look amazing x
Abi | abistreetx
Author
Aw that is so kind, thank you very much! Xx
Great tips! I totally agree with all of these. Thanks for sharing 🙂
Nicole | The Glam Surge
Author
Ahh that’s brilliant, thank you I’m so pleased! Xx
Girl, these are the best photo tips and such a clever blog post topic. Lighting really makes ALL the difference in photos but it’s absolutely the 1 thing I always struggle with!!! But I for sure need to make it a point to edit more often, sometimes I just don’t have the time or patience but it really does help make the picture more appealing. I guess editing could also help with the lighting problem too if it is too dark/light. Thanks for sharing these points!!!
xo, JJ
Author
Ah thank you I’m glad you thought so! I must admit, I find it quite it therapeutic to sit and edit, but harder if I am in a rush to get a blogpost up lol, you are welcome 🙂 xxx
Great post! I never thought of buying an individual tile, I know you can get the wallpaper sample, but the tile is a clever idea! x
http://luxuryblush.blogspot.co.uk/
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Thank you! It is really handy as you can just get a few to swap around for different backgrounds xxxx
These are all essential tips for people to figure out before they get into it seriously! Great tips though!
xx Heather | stormywheather.com
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Yeah I am a complete newbie to taking these photos, so these were the ones I found most helpful! Thank you 🙂 xxx
I can definitely agree with you on all of these, great tips! I am obsessed with you blog, so glad I found it, your hard work is completely paying off! x
adelelydia.blogspot.com
Author
Aw thank you so much, that really has made my day! Thank you 🙂 xxx
Great info, I am trying to get more practice with light editing.
Thanks for your tips!
Author
Aw I’m glad you found it helpful! You are very welcome 🙂
I’ve bookmarked this as it’s so useful – such a great post!
Author
I’m so pleased you enjoyed it, hope you find it helpful! Xxx
Thank you for the tips!
Author
No problem, thanks for reading! Xx
Such useful tips! Gonna be coming back to this time and time again! 🙂
http://www.seafogg.co.uk
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Ah that’s made my day, so pleased you found it helpful!! Xx
Im looking to create a background as I want to get into Beauty Blogging, these tips are great! I’m going to hit up the tile shop tomorrow.
Tessa xx
Author
Aw I’m so pleased it was helpful!! Enjoy, happy blogging 🙂 xxx
Thank you for sharing. It was helpful as I am a new blogger! 🙂
Author
Aw you are very welcome, I’m so glad you found them helpful! Xxx
Completely agree !! Love using fresh flowers- only wished I had them around more often 🙂 I love your blog its so pretty 🙂
Author
Oh definitely, I find it much easier in summer as there are so many more fresh flowers! Aw thank you, that is so kind! Xxx
ThankYOU!!! Xx lovely post
Author
You are more than welcome lovely! Xxx
Excellent tips! Short and sweet.
Author
Thank you! I’m glad you liked it! X