How many Blog post images should you include?
Each blogger gets to approach this question with their own dream client in mind. For some posts, like education posts, you may only need 1-5 images - this post has 3 images! If you're sharing a senior session, you may need to share 15-30 images! If you're blogging a wedding, you may want to share anywhere from 20-100 images!
So how do you decide how many images you should post on your blog? It all starts with your dream client...
What does your dream client want to see?
This seems like an obvious question, but don't brush over it! Get in the head of your ideal client - what does he or she want to look at on your blog? Do they just want to see the images? Do they want to read a story? Do they like finding hidden pieces on your blog?
I know that my dream client wants to see as much of my work as I will allow! My brides email me and tell me that they my work every time they see a new wedding! It makes them excited to see how I will photograph their wedding. I know that my brides like to look through 50-100 images at a time, but they would still love to see more!
“Keep your audience excited about the wedding by sharing less images in your blog post!”
What can your hosting handle?
Who hosts your blog and how much storage do you have? If you switch to a private server (I did that for a while), you are limited with your storage. I wasn't monitoring how large my blog images were, so I used that space fast. It slowed my blog down!
I know that my dream clients love my work, but they don't want to spend 10 minutes waiting for images to load. Load time is something to test when you're deciding on the number of images to include for each post.
You want your page load times to be as easy as scooping ice cream in the summer! Cheesy? Maybe. But there's this...
What will keep your audience interested?
Think about how you're grouping your images. Are you including too many bridal details in one section? Too many couple photos? I like to think about how wedding blogs like Style Me Pretty, Grey Likes Weddings, and Snippet and Ink approach their posts.
I try to include an image of a person in every 2-3 images. My dream client loves details, but she doesn't want to scroll through details for hours on end - she wants to see the people!
Why are you sharing that image?
So you have a great reception photo. Why do you want to share it on your blog? Is it because you finally nailed your lighting and you're proud of the image or is it because your dream client will fall in love with your work even more if they see it in a post? If you just love the photo, share it on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest. Don't include images just because everyone else is doing it and don't do it because you're proud of a certain image!
Keep it interesting and leave your audience wanting more! Don't make them feel like you just shared every good image you took at that wedding/shoot!
You can't make the decision based on what everyone else is doing or even based on what your favorite photographer is doing! You need to think through what your dream client wants to see and do it! One of the things I love doing is linking to a wedding gallery at the end of my posts so that if people want to see more images, they can click on over and continue the pretty!
love pinterest?
You and me both! Pin this image so you can come back to it anytime.
Name your board "Light & Airy Photo Tips" so we can find your favorite posts!
Check out the galleries at the bottom of the following posts:
