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Home » photography » Tips for Blog Photos – what I love

Tips for Blog Photos – what I love

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I’ve been trying to step up my photography skills for my blog lately, so I thought I’d share a few tips that I’ve realized along the way…. I don’t know what I’m doing, and I’m always wowed by the photos of other bloggers, and sometimes it’s overwhelming to try to get my pictures to look like theirs.  But I’ve found a few things that are working for me that are easy to implement (easy is the key!)

–SPRINKLES!
it seems like amazing pictures always have lots of extra fun props, etc – I never even know where to start with those (like the cake picture that has ingredients and tools and cute dishes all in the background – love it, but can’t replicate it).  BUT, I have found that a few sprinkles makes everything a little more awesome.  And so they’re my new go-to – – 
example of sprinkle usage – – it just gives it a little extra fun in the pictures:

–FOAMBOARD
I have several big backgrounds and a real lightbox, but they’re a hassle to pull out.  I’ve gravitated to using simple foam board white boards because they’re easy to store and grab on a whim.  One I have a crease in and I use it as the background – I just tape up whatever pretty paper matches my project.  Then I use one on the bottom – I’m still on the lookout for woodgrain paper that I love.  Anyways, it was like an ah-ha moment when I realized the set-up could be small and simple.  As you can see, there’s always a mess in the background – that’s real life!

 
example of a pic using the simple whiteboard setup – – 

 –NATURAL LIGHT!
Yep, find the light in your house.  And it’s in different places at different times.  Just be sure that wherever you set up , you are getting lots of natural light – it makes a world of difference.  Oh, and don’t forget to snap a picture on your phone too, for Instagram.  Sometimes I like to use the pictures from my big camera on instagram, but sometimes I like to take them with my phone to give Instagram followers a sneak peek or different angle.

Here’s one I snapped – the natural light really makes it work.

 –Text On Images?
honestly, I’m not sure on this one – – sometimes I love images without the text interfering, you know?  But with the text, it’s easy to people to identify your project.  I usually try to provide both types of images in my post, that way if someone wants to pin the post, they can choose which type of image they prefer.  If you’re thinking text, be sure to leave a spot in your shot so that you have a place to insert it and not interfere with the project image.  And be sure to orient your image vertically – pinterest likes it that way – it’s more catchy visually that way.

 (side note — this mint puppy chow is from when a friend came over and we made several kinds – – I was a diehard mint fanatic and knew it was the best ever – until she made the key lime puppy chow version!  both are AMAZING and I’m not sure which I like better – – mmmm, I want some more right now…. you’ll have to head over to Apples by Ashley via those links for the recipe)

That’s it!  just a few, super simple tips that you can implement into your project picture-taking life.  Enjoy!

Craft Blogger

Thanks for checking out this post from www.SugarBeeCrafts.com – – click on over to read it in its entirety – you’ll love it!

About Mandy Beyeler

Mandy is a craft blogger who loves to blog and enjoys all things crafty, sewing, and DIY - she feels that if she can do something, you can too, and provides tutorials to help you along the way. She loves being a mom to 4 awesome kiddos and blogs from the Kansas City Area.

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Comments

  1. Cranberry Morning says

    Good ideas, especially about the natural light! But I am frankly getting a little tired of the text on images. I’m not meaning that to sound critical, but I think a lot of photos are just nicer when they’re just the image and copyright, rather than big text sprawled across them. Maybe it depends upon whether it’s a beautiful photograph or if it’s a photo of a craft or a recipe.

  2. Mandy Beyeler says

    I agree! – – sometimes I like that it says the project, but really, I just like the picture without text. I usually try to put both options in a post so people can pin what appeals to them.

  4. Rachelle Christensen says

    These are great tips! I would love for you to share the simplest ways to add text/copyright to pictures for a person like me who really stinks at that and doesn’t know photoshop at all. Could you do a blog post on that?

  5. Michelle says

    Great tips, Mandy! I have been looking for an easy (cheap) way to ‘set up’ my photos. The foam board is just perfect! And the sprinkles are great too! 😉 Thanks for sharing!

  8. Jenny Romaine says

    Great tips! I second the foam board. So easy to get/stash/replace/change. I use black foam board if I want a chalkboard background. I write on it too!

  9. Kim Conner says

    My biggest problem is finding natural light. We don’t have a real great spot in our house that is just FULL of natural light… and the winter light is SO much different than summer. I my fridge ALL the time – I lay scrapbook paper on the floor and use a magnet to hold some as a background! LOL. I like the foam board idea though because I love how you can make it look like a corner. Your light years ahead of me in the photography department, but I give it the good ole college try. 😉

  12. Andrea Turner says

    Have you considered using fabric for your wood grain effect? Several of Joel Dewberry’s lines have wood grain prints. Another great solution is to find a wood grain laminate sample at your local home improvement store.

  13. Britni Vigil says

    I love the idea of using sprinkles in a non food photo, never tried that. I’ve also seen people used striped straws for decoration in photos but I just can’t get that to work.

  15. Heather Button says

    I agree with the text, but I think it depends on what platform you’re using to showcase your images. Pinterest is good for catchy titles, but maybe on instagram you won’t use the titles. Or with Google+ where you have the ability to highlight the text directly above the image. So it’s probably worthwhile having both.

  16. Bre Eggert says

    Thank you SO MUCH. My photos are the worst (like literally the worst of any blog on the planet), and I had no idea what to do. This is such a great start and I’m buying foam boards pronto. 🙂 – Bre @ Average But Inspired

  17. Jen says

    I love these tips and I love that you showed the real house behind the foam board. I always set up still life and food photos on my dining room table in front of a board that blocks out a huge mess of papers and stuff!

  23. Emily says

    These are such great tips! I love the “behind the scenes” types of posts. And it’s very much appreciated when people share their secrets.

  26. Adriana says

    Hello Mandy, love your craft site and tips. What application or software do you use for texting/labeling your photos. Do you use photoshop, Elements or an easier app?

    • Mandy Beyeler says

      I use Photoshop Elements and sometimes the free online site PicMonkey – PicMonkey is my favorite for making collages, so if it’s a collage that I add text to, I’ll use PicMonkey since I’m already in that program.

  27. jessica says

    Hey Mandy, I have to say, I LOVE YOUR BLOG. Every time I am on here I find awesome things I haven’t seen before. I am so glad I came across this post..I have been debating on investing in a good light box because my home made one just doesn’t seem to cut it for me anymore. But I love the idea of using scrap book paper..I have a ton of it and never even thought about using it for the back drops. GENIUS!! I own a craft store called American Clutter and we upcycle and do a lot of one of a kind pieces so its hard to capture all of them..but this just gave me a whole new way to test out! I am pumped to go to the store and start doing a photo shoot! WAHOO. Check out my blog sometime if you have a chance http://www.liverandomlysimple.com 🙂 Maybe I can pick your brain sometime!! 🙂

  36. Shelley says

    Thank you for the great comments. I am a beginner at this and now feel like I have some new things to try. Thanks for sharing and for making it seem possible.

  37. Ciara says

    Great idea to use foam boards and then tape paper to them to add a bit of colour! This way it reflects the light and still looks pretty, thank you for sharing! x

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