Blogging Tip of the Day: Include Photos With Your Posts

Photos Are Your Friend
As the owner of a handmade business, I'm always doing my share of traveling about the internet (both consciously and unconsciously). I recently made a resolution to visit more blogs and do more online research and reading. That said, I came across various blogs that, uh, didn't have photos... uh, hmm... (not to be Judgy McJudgyhead, but insert my puzzled look here) 

I suppose if you have a certain type of blog, this may work, but I still think not having photos is like a recipe that's missing an ingredient.  Photographs are interesting, intriguing, captivating and they grab our attention. They, along with good blog content, keep us coming back for more. Photos are what really set a blog off. 

I would be remiss if I didn't add this point. The photos you share on your blog should be really good and strive to make them better. While I came upon some blogs that didn't have photos, I also ran into others where the photos weren't so good. Guess what readers do when that happens? They leave the blog. So definitely make sure your photos are good - good lighting (blurry pics are a no-no), good composition (if your shooting your product; shoot only your product, no windows sills or kittens or any other cheesy thing in the background). Make them look good and professional. 

One last thing I want to share - I am an illustrator; not a photographer, but being 100% DIY-er, I refused to pay someone to shoot photos of my products. (LOL) I was determined to learn how to do it myself. My early blog is crud compared to this blog. Why? My photos were crud. I had no idea how to make my compositions look right, I didn't know how to shoot a product, the camera described itself as a point and shoot, but what it was pointing and shooting was crud and above all, I did not - I repeat - did not understand lighting. I wanted my photos to be white and they always had some weird blue/gray-ish hue. Photography frustrated me and made me hate it, but since it's not in my nature to quit anything, I kept at it and I discovered [digital] help like Paint, Picmonkey and Photobucket (I still haven't progressed to anything Adobe yet, but it's coming, I'm sure). All of these programs have their strengths and weaknesses, but I definitely feel and see the progress I've made over the months and years with my photos and if this non-photographer can make her photos better; I believe you can too. So get back in your studio, Little Muffin and make your photos awesome! Good luck!! :D

PS: I am in no way claiming to be Annie Liebowitz or that my photos are the cat's meow, but what I am saying is that they are a huge improvement from where I was. I'm just climbing the mountain and getting better at it. In my case, practice has resulted in improvement. :)