10 Photography Tips for Bloggers
There are hundreds of thousands of blogs out there that offer the basics of photography but the reason this stands out is because there is a surprising lack of quality photography across travel blogs. Therefore, one way to shine among the crowd is by showcasing your photography.
First, explore the "Exposure Triangle," which is the relationship between aperture, shutter speed, and ISO. There's no shame in using automatic but sometimes a scene needs your assistance, such as a bright sky against architecture or a prop (wine bottles, ice cream, etc.).
Perfect Sky But...
This isn't a terrible mid-range exposure but if you point your lens to the sky (or "expose for the sky"), the sky will be prefect but your architecture might be too dark for us to recover in post.
Perfect Interior, But...
With an automatic camera, if you point your lens at the interior, this is what it will produce: perfect interior with a blown out sky that's impossible to recover.
An automatic camera automatically exposes for where your lens is pointing. For the advanced, if you move your exposure square, it will expose where that square is when you lightly press the shutter. By learning how to use your camera more effectively, you can produce better work that stands out.
If there's demand, I'm happy to write a quick and easily digested blog about photography basics. Leave a comment below or Tweet me if that would be helpful.
Second, what is the theme of your blog? If it's quite specific, such as food around the world, consider the different angles you can take to tell the story of that food. What of the chefs, the building, where the food comes from? To illustrate, a typical food blog features the food and wine placed on their table: food photography. However, if you want to tell a different story and, again, offer a fresh perspective, start exploring different genres of photography.
In order to photograph the chefs, one would want to dabble in portraiture or street photography. Furthermore, to tell the story of a restaurant with a history, consider architectural photography.
Night
Changing the time that you shoot can completely diversify your portfolio and is more visually interesting.
Portraiture
Portraiture helps blogger to pull readers into their story. See Using Human Elements for more information.
Architecture
Architecture connects readers to where you are and the people who inhabit the location. Always tell a story.
Travel takes a lot out of us. As you shoot, remember to take notes of your experiences, especially as you move: one city contains any number of photographic features in different sectors and you may not realize you've changed locations. Take notes of your surroundings to make sure you aren't misleading your readers and especially in case you decide to make money with stock photography in the future.
https://vimeo.com/286921266
Telling a story requires creativity and a willingness to explore different shooting methods. For example, street photographers use a method called "shooting from the hip." Instead of shooting from a standing position, the camera is placed near their hip to not only give their photos a different angle, but the camera is less obvious.
In this photo, I had visited a city with a couple of famous landmarks and decided to skip them entirely in favor of exploration. I later realized that this town had been devastated by an earthquake years prior. At first glance, this is just an archway with a window reflecting the sunset. I wanted to invite the viewer to look closer for the story, the acorns littering the ground, unkept foliage, cracks in the stone. It becomes quite clear that this section of the city hasn't been maintained by citizens in years.
White space is empty space within your photo, perfect for banner backgrounds because it lacks 'business' against your font.
Play attention to white space while you shoot.
skeleton plans, open schedules
The rewards for patience is often worth the story itself. Be patient if your sunrise isn't incredible. Stay another half-hour in case the rain lets up. Flexibility in photography means using the unexpected to your advantage.
Planning a vacation and having an open mind is totally different from patience in photography. When you plan your locations, remember that the weather, people, situations are not always as expected. Use these 'problems' to tell a story.
Thank you to CrossroadAdventure for the question! A human element adds relatability to your scene. First, let's observe an ice cream cone in front of a famous landmark.
keep to your tone
Photographer: WeNeal's Photography and Retouching
Alongside the right blog tone, this is a genuinely effective photo.
Additionally, there is consideration for the framing and elements: they've gone with pastel nails and vibrant ice cream colors along with framing the fountain behind them. Coupled with the correct tone of a blog, this photo can be especially effective: it communicates a story in front of a famous destination and two people enjoying their cloudless afternoon.
A human element also adds scale.
Without the photoshopped man in the background would you look twice at this photo?
A viewer has no concept of how large the driftwood and bushes are nor the rock in the background. Further, it was shot wide angle so scale is already an illusion.
Placing a human element psychologically brings the viewer in. Simultaneously, a human element invites them to look again, even search for more easter eggs (hidden elements).
This also means people stay on my website longer. My visitor retention skyrockets when I add something relatable.
I have a lot to say about props: for more depth, Using Human Elements discusses more on the stereotypes of photography and how you should plan your own photos.
Create Scale
In addition to sticking to your tone, you should edit your photos within one blog post identically and within the blog itself, similarly. In the gallery below, two of the photos match styles. The other two were edited as I continued to learn and, as such, lack a cohesive style.
Look specifically at the blues. The first and second photos were edited with the same saturation and hue of blue in Lightroom. The third has intense, saturated cyan and more rusty yellows. Finally, the last photo has darker blues and far less vibrant than the others.
Much like the tone of your text, don't stray from a specific style in a single post.
get creative with props and people
perspective
Change the angle. Crouch, look up/down, creative placement that isn't from a standing position
light
Look for interesting light such as bokeh, light filtering through the trees, and soft reflections off glass.
composition
Find interesting foreground and background placement where your subjects can interact.
BEST CAMERAS FOR BLOGGERS
Until I am blue in the face: the camera does not contribute to the artistry of photography until the mind behind it understands how to use their camera as an intended tool. However, some cameras do make layman lives easier.
Here is what I recommend for different types of bloggers - thank you to Dancing Pandas for the question!
Cheap powerhouse:
Canon G7 X Mark II
This is my vlogging camera, nearly four years old and is still kicking after moving around the US and overseas multiple times. Not only is the camera itself small and lightweight, the batteries and chargers are as well. It takes gorgeous photos, has stabilization for video, and a wide range of automatic features, such as timelapses and night photography. For the layman and especially for the price, this camera is a dream.
Compact DSLR: CANON REBEL T6
My first DSLR camera was the Canon Rebel T2i, my first truly daunting purchase. The T6 is a better camera and less expensive. It takes quality photos and has features like wifi connectivity, creative tools like HDR, and great autofocus. It has similar power to more expensive cameras without the weight and complexity, although the crop censor is something to consider. The Rebel line continues to impress.
ACtion Camera: GoPro Hero 7 BLack
The GoPro is a huge contender. For action without quality sacrifice, 4k video, voice commands, automatic HDR photography, timelapse and hyperlapse photography, wifi-enabled... I envy you if you've got this mounted. I can't wait to see what they do next: GoPro created one smart camera for any situation I could dream of finding myself in. The best part: it's relatively cheap compared to any other cameras on this list.
Best mirrorless: Sony A7 II
Although there is a newer Mark III model out, I think it has an overwhelming amount of bells and whistles. This version remains one of the best mirrorless, lightweight cameras on the market. It is able to automatically shoot simple, automatic photography but the moment you decide to really get into shooting, it also comes ready with professional features. It's the middle ground between professional and hobbyist.
Phone photography: Samsung Galaxy S10+
At the end of the day, the best camera is the one you have with you. Camera photography is no joke. Samsung's Galaxy S10+ features a wide angle lens (equivalent to 12mm) and crazy manual control you usually only get from a paid app otherwise. This also means control over your focus. Want dreamy backgrounds? You got it. Insane zoom? Comes standard. It also takes full 1080 60FPS video for that extra bang for your buck.
BEST DRONE: DJI Mavic Air
If you don't have a drone can you even come to the photographers' table these days? DJI has made droning more accessible than ever through their Spark and Mavic Air. I recommend the Air specifically for professional bloggers as it is lightweight and compact, contains a wealth of features (timelapse, tracking, full HDR, even filters!), and comes with everything you need to get started. Quality drone photography and video? Look no further. DJI Mavic Air.
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