Photo

Hi, everyone! My name is Caitlin, and I’m Tricia’s assistant. Photography, especially blog photography, is much more than simply turning on your camera and pressing a button. It’s actually pretty complicated, and while I am by no means an expert, I’ve learned a few tips and tricks from taking the photos on my own blog that Tricia asked me to share with you today.

The key concept to blog photography is to keep it simple. A good blog photo will draw attention to one focal point. Keep the photo uncluttered, and make sure the background is solid or one texture.

Natural lighting is ideal for taking blog photos, whether you’re doing a product or food shoot or a portrait. Using window lighting is a great way to capture bright yet soft photos. For product shoots, I like to shoot in a place where there’s a sheer curtain over the window that disperses the light in a soft way (as opposed to the harsh light that direct sunlight can put on a product).

In full sunlight

My totally goofy dog posed for me outside. Outside lighting can be tricky. Often if you shoot in direct sunlight, the subject’s skin (or fur, in this case) ends up looking washed out, and the subject sometimes has shadows on his or her face. When you’re outside, look for shade to shoot in; it’s much softer, won’t make the subject look washed out, and won’t give the subject weird shadows. Cloudy days are ideal for outside shoots, as is taking photos during the golden hour (right after sunrise and right before sunset).

For the most part, you don’t want to use flash unless absolutely necessary. Flash has a bad habit of making even the tannest person look ghostly pale.

In the shade

I invested a little more into a camera that was slightly more advanced and allowed me to use different lenses. I use a Canon Rebel EOS T3, which I’ve found to be very beginner-friendly (I’ve never been formally trained in photography) and easy to use and understand. A D-SLR camera (like the ones made by Canon and Nikon) will upgrade the quality of your photos from a simple point-and-shoot digital camera.

Lenses are also key. In fact, the lens can be more expensive and more important than the camera body itself.  My 50mm lens (the left lens in the picture) takes great portrait, products, and food shots. To put it in non-technical terms, it’s easy to get that blurry background effect with this lens, which helps to draw in the viewer’s eye toward the focal point. My 18-55mm lens (the right lens in the picture) is what I use for landscape shots and for everyday use.

Finally, editing photos is an art in itself. You can go the Photoshop route, which is more expensive and more complicated. Or you can go the Picasa route, which is free and easy to use. Picasa is Google’s photo editing software and has awesome filters you can apply to photos very easily.

So those are the basics of good blog photography. Like I said, I’m by no means an expert and am still learning and experimenting every day. But I hope this helps you if you’re considering investing in a camera or interested in taking and editing your own photos. I’d love to hear your tips if you have any, and feel free to visit me at my blog.