Photography for bloggers (part 1)
You're thinking about writing, content calendars, marketing on social media, collaborations, and the actual creation process that happens behind the scenes every week.
Photography doesn't need to be something else to worry about, so here are the first 5 things you need to know when it comes to taking images for your blog!
PART ONE: Photo hacks every blogger needs to know
Shoot in RAW
Since you'll be editing those gorgeous images, you'll want to flip over to a raw photo format in your camera settings! To learn more about raw and jpeg, check out the article below.
Related: Raw vs Jpeg - Which one should you shoot?
I'll tell you the only time you want to shoot jpeg and give you all the details for why you shoot switch over to raw.
use Kelvin
We're talking temperature here. Instead of letting your camera choose your white balance, you'll want to take matter into your own hands. Switch over to custom white balance (aka Kelvin).
The lower the number, the cooler the image. The higher the number, the warmer the image.
You'll notice only slight changes when you barely adjust the temp. So try changing it by 1000 when you're just getting used to it so you can really see the difference.
This setting will allow you to really dial in your settings in camera.
Shoot in manual
This feels scary, but only for a minute. Spend an hour playing around with different lighting situations and experiment with your settings.
FIRST
I like to choose my aperture first. If you don't already know, aperture has to do with how much of your image is in focus and how much gets that beautiful blur.
If I'm shooting a group, I like shooting at f/3.2. If I'm shooting an object or 1 person, I like keeping the aperture at f/1.8. If I'm shooting a couple, I hit the f/2-f/2.2 range.
SECOND
I like to choose my ISO second. I stick with 160 or 200 in a bright, illuminated situation. By sunset, you'll find me shooting at 600 or 800 ISO. I'm working with the Canon 5D Mark III, so the grain is minimal when the ISO is that low. If I'm going for a grainy black and white look, I'll bump the ISO to 6400 and underexpose just a little so that I can bump the exposure in post and get that crazy beautiful bokeh.
THIRD
I like to leave my shutter speed for the very end! I prefer to shoot at a lower shutter speed when I can because of the colors I see when I shoot around 1/125 or 1/200.
However, you never want your shutter speed to be less than the length of your lens. So if your lens is a 50mm, don't shoot below 1/50th of a second unless you're using a tripod.
If you're shooting with a 70-200 and you're zoomed in all the way, don't drop the shutter speed below 1/200.
Use a fixed lens
I remember reading an article about a 50mm lens and thinking that I could never ever make a switch away from my precious zoom lenses. Let me just say... fixed lenses for the win!
The fact that you have to walk around to get closer or further away reconnects you to the scene. You'll see things you would have missed otherwise. Not to mention the glass! [Insert all the happy hands!] The literal glass on these fixed lenses is... so good.
When you can, invest in the high end versions. Makes all the difference.
Edit with Lightroom
My mother-in-law bought Lightroom for me when I was in college. I was eager to learn a new program and it's now my most-used program when it comes to photography!
You can sync your edits, you can master the 10 second edit, and you can make it happen beautiful & fast with this crazy awesome program.
I'll be back on Monday with 5 more photo hacks you definitely need to know about! We'll talk about color reflections, natural reflectors, color profiles, and more! I'm speaking at the Maine PPA convention today all about marketing. If you want to follow along, tag along on insta + insta story!
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!
I would love to hear - what do you blog about? Was there anything in this post that stood out to you? Let me know in the comments below! And happy blogging!
