Beginners Guide to Blog Photography

I created a post on flatlay photography a while back and it seemed very popular! My photography is forever changing though so I thought it was about time I updated my tips and tricks! Your blogs photos are what draws people to your content. I’m much more likely to click on a blog post if it has an eye catching, aesthetically pleasing, feature photo.

Camera

Camera’s aren’t the be all and end all of photography but they certainly help. I originally used my iPhone 6 and then iPhone 7 Plus. The photos taken on them were always great and I received lots of compliments, they’re particularly good for quick on the go flatlays. As I was enjoying photography so much I decided to treat myself to an Olympus Pen EPL7. I was drawn to it because of it’s WiFi abilities. All photos can be transferred straight from your camera to your iPhone or iPad using an app so there’s no need to faff around with computers and leads. I’m forever learning new ways to use it each day as I was a photography novice with no knowledge of camera settings like ‘f stop’ and ‘aperture’! If you’d like a post on basic camera settings in lay mans terms let me know in the comments and I can put one together!

When thinking about buying a camera make sure you buy one that’s suited for what you need. Not just one because it’s super popular at that time. If you’re keen to use a camera for vlogging as well as photography I’d highly recommend checking out this article on the importance of a good 4K Camera.

Equipment

Obviously don’t run out and buy every piece of photography equipment as soon as you decide to start working on your photography. That being said there are a few things I’d really recommend when starting out to make things a little easier.

A spare camera battery is well worth investing in. I’m speaking from experience when I say there is nothing more frustrating than setting up the perfect flatlay, getting the lighting and angles spot on, for your camera to flash ‘low battery’ and turn off! Spare batteries aren’t expensive and are definitely worth having.

A tripod is another super handy thing to invest in. Tim kindly treated me to the Manfrotto compact tripod and I’m obsessed with it. It’s lightweight and comes with a handy travel bag. It can be used as a small desk size tripod as well as expanding to 165cm tall which is perfect for those wide angled flatlays using my 45mm lens.

Lens’ are something that I’m starting to see the benefits of. My Olympus Pen came with the 14-42mm pancake kit lens. As a photography novice this meant nothing to me. As I googled blog posts on how to make the most of my new camera each one advised I pick up the 45mm lens. I’m so glad I did! It’s perfect for product photography, makes my photos much brighter and creates the most dreamy blurry background. It’s very zoomed in though which is why having a tripod makes taking photos with it much easier as you need to be pretty far back to have the product in focus.

Lighting

Lighting is key in my opinion when it comes to pretty blog photos. As I said above my 45mm lens certainly helps make my photos brighter but making sure you take your flatlays in a well lit area is extremely important. All of my photos are taken in natural lighting to prevent a yellow cast and to stop photos looking grainy. I just don’t bother taking photos on a dull day because they never turn out the way I want them too, even with editing.

Props

My final tip for blog photos is to make the most of props. I have a collection of sequins, ribbons, notebooks and other trinkets that I like to use in flatlays. I also use fresh flowers in the majority of my photos. Props can turn a simple product shot into a beautiful photo in my opinion.

I hope this post was helpful to those of you starting out with blog photography. Do you enjoy taking photos for blog posts? Do you have any tips for me? I’m always keen to learn more and improve my photos!

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