TIPS FOR PHOTOGRAPHY
10 Tips for Photography to improve your Blog Photographs that will help you gain more visitors to your site and build the community you´ve been longing for!
These are tips that have drastically improved my blog photo quality and I know with some practise, they can help improve yous too. I have to say the book that helped me to improve my photos drastically is The Food Photography Book by Nagi from Recipe Tin Eats. It´s an awesome resource, and even though I don´t use all Nagi´s tips, the ones I do has made me understand photography so much better 🙂
1. Natural light is best when used correctly. Always avoid direct sunlight. Backlighting and Side Backlighting are the best. Backlighting also requires the window to be behind the object, in order to brighten the dark shadows while improving the subject detail. Use a reflector (a white carton paper will do just fine) to reflect light on areas where the light is low.
2. Shoot at different times of the day, at different locations (in your house) and angles, to see where you get the best quality photographs. The angles and locations play a huge part in your photo’s composition.
3. Tethering your camera to your PC/Mac via Lightroom helps in photo shooting as your pictures will automatically be downloaded to the computer rather than using an additional memory card. Tethering involves use of a USB cable, plugged in both the camera and laptop. After connecting it, a live view feed starts rolling on your PC/Mac. This saves massive time because you can see your photographs on your PC/Mac screen while the photo shoot is in progress. I can´t count the amount of times the images looked great on my camera screen, just to realise once I´ve downloaded them that they are not good enough.
4. Use a tripod as it saves time and helps to eliminate noise in the photograph because the higher the digital noise, the more likely it is to get random fluctuations. A combination of tripod and low ISO helps in nailing the perfect shot with minimal noise.
5. Keep the exposure (light) meter of your DSLR camera in the middle to avoid over-exposed photos. Use the Exposure Level Indicator on your cameras viewfinder to get the perfect settings that line up your objects at the center. Apply the exposure bias accordingly if you still get too bright or dark pictures.
6. Fill the negative spaces in your shot (less is more). Concentrate on the food and then build on that. Use one colour in the background so as not to subtract the viewer’s attention from the main subject. Then place your main subject in the frame (according to the rule of thirds) and work from there by filling the negative spaces with elements that tie to your main subject. In Food Blogging you would for example use chocolate chips when photographing chocolate chip muffins.
7. The lens is more important than the camera body because it’s the part used in clearly and accurately focusing the object at the right distance. The lens is what is going to give you the quality photographs you want.
8. Shoot RAW not JPEG because when you shoot in RAW you capture all data from the sensor. In addition, you are likely to record greater levels of photo brightness while adjusting the white balance easily. RAW gives you more room to breathe and allows you to rectify photos that are under exposed in Lightroom.
9. Be prepared by making sure you have all your props handy before shooting (and don’t forget a cloth to clean if you´re working with food for example). This helps avoid you needing to stop to get something before you can continue.
10. Enjoy what you do and don’t try to learn everything at once. Getting the best pictures for your blog will probably take time to perfect. However, be patient and you will get there.
I hope these tips help you as much as they have me. Let me know if you have any TOP tips to share in the comments section! BTW: if you´d like to learn more about me and my photography, you can listen to my interview on the Brilliant Business Moms podcast.
Johlene
xoxo
I literally just learned about shooting in RAW. I’ve had my camera for years and never knew this. I’ve already seen such a huge improvement. And I swear by natural light, too. My office has a great window seat that I take advantage of often.
Great article!
XoXo – Cristen
The Naptime Reviewer – Family, Travel, Life and Style Blog
Hi Cristen, we moved aprox 6 months ago to a new house and I´m still learning to understand how to manipulate the natural lighting over here 🙂
I need to set up & use a tri pod more. & I’d love to have a tether set up. Thanks for the tips. Pinned for later.
Saving this for later, thanks for the great tips! And thanks for linking up at Welcome Home Wednesdays!
These are such great tips! I really need to tether my camera because I have the same problem where it looks great on my camera but not so good when I upload them.
I also need a new lens because I’m using the one that came with my camera. Do you use a 50mm? I’m still trying to figure out what I need!
Great tips! I didn’t know about using RAW instead of jpgs – you learn something new every day! 🙂
Hi Johlene, Great tips! At present I only have my cell phone camera to work with but I’m hoping for a “real” camera in the future! Blessings, Janet
Great tips! I really would love to improve my photos of inside my house. Thanks.
These are such great tips! I definitely need to start tethering my camera because I’ve also had to reshoot images that looked great until I saw them full sized. I drives me a little crazy!
I just love this post. And you are definitely right Johlene, you have to experiment to see what works for you when trying out photography. And you must have fun. And thank you so much for the wonderful words you left on my blog… I truly appreciate you. xox
Kia / KTS
http://www.houseofkts.com
Thanks Kia!! I´m hoping you are doing much better… Xo
Such a great list! My fiance kept pressuring me to get a tripod and I fought him and fought him about it but now I see that it is totally worth it. Definitely a must have for photos!
I hada tripod but also at first didn´t want to use it because felt it was in my way. However the advantages of using it definitely outweighs the negatives 🙂
I love shooting in natural light. Photography has become a passion for me the past year. Thanks for the tips!
Me too Kelly, I never thought that I would love it so much 🙂
Great tips, Johlene! I love that you included #10 on this list. If you love what you do, you will always do a better job than if you hate your job. Good thing for us that food blogging is fun, right? I have been thinking about going to a tether, but I haven’t made that leap yet. Maybe one of these days when I have some free time…haha, free time. Little Robbie makes sure free time doesn’t exist around here. 🙂
For sure David! I wish every one could do the jobs they love, would make for a much happier world :-)Yes with Robbie your time is limited, but in my opinion he is the best distraction there could ever be 🙂
Great list, Johlene!! Number 7 is my favorite and I couldn’t agree more! I am a lens junkie and would honestly have a plethora if I could afford it! I have had a tether for like a year now and have yet to use it! I need to get my hubby to set it up!! Thanks for reminding me! Cheers, dear! xo
P.S Your photos are always AMAZING!
Me too!! My father in law has one and only uses it on their travels 🙂 You definitely need to start using a tripod, it saves a ton of time! ps. thanks for the kind “p.s” comment!! Xo