I think it’s safe to say we all struggle with blog photography. Even the pros constantly say how it’s the hardest part about blogging. From trying to get the right lighting to keeping photos engaging, I still struggle after nearly four years of doing this. So here are some of my tips and tricks on making blog photos better.
Starting out I never considered how important props are to a photo. Adding notebooks, dishes, color coordinated makeup, you name it. Even if it’s not even what you’re specifically talking about, adding extra elements into a photo can make it more engaging and interesting to look at. I have a bin filled with random makeup bits, nail polish, and stationery that I keep on hand where I usually take my blog photos. If I find anything out and about I’ll pop it in the bin specifically for photography. You could easily use things you have around the house, but I find it just easier to use them specifically for blog photos. The Target Dollar Spot is my favorite place to find really cheap, cute accessories to add into photos. They constantly have dishes and stationery supplies.
If you’re getting tired of your photographs, change up your background textures. I’m currently in a bright white background phase, but when I get tired of that I’ll move into the kitchen for the hardwoods or a bathroom for interesting tile. Counter tops and blankets also make for a really interesting backdrop. Plus if you don’t have any spare cash to buy some cute photo props, then this trick can really spice up you photographs. Combining props and background textures is also a really fun combo.
In a world filled with flat-lay photography, try changing the angle of your photograph. This photograph below is the exact same set up as the one above, but at a slightly lower angle. Just tipping the camera down slightly can create a completely different photo with different focal points.
Whenever I take my photos I always try a few different combinations so when in editing I can pick and choose which ones work best for the post I’m creating. I’ll take a horizontal and a vertical photo for each post because just changing the orientation can completely change the photo. Vertical allows for a lot more to fit into the photo so it works better for posts about more products. Horizontal really draws the viewer in to get the details of what you’re talking about. Next I take a straight-down flat-lay photo and then take a few more at different angles. I even go as far as to take a photo from the side just to see how it might look. As long as your main subject is in focus, you can really mess around with angles to get the best results.
There are tons of photography tips and tricks out there and I even have another one coming to debunk some of the preconceived notions about how to get good blog photos. The best thing you can do is keep snapping away and work on your skills. Photography really is all about the practice and you only get better with time.
So lately I’ve been losing followers. A lot of them. Everywhere. Of course I tell myself that it’s not about the numbers and to just continue on creating things I love, but it is about the numbers when this is my job and supports our lifestyle. Nothing zaps creativity more than working hard on a video or blog post and not getting a response, or any, on it. It’s like throwing all that hard work out into the void for it to disappear without a trace.
Sure there have been downswings in followers before. I used to blog and create videos for literally no one. But this time feels different. I know what it’s like for people to enjoy my content, so now that they aren’t, it feels personal. I know it shouldn’t be. People’s interests change and they move to doing different things. Yet it feels like I’m losing friends who I used to hang out with all the time. That I’m not interesting anymore or the things I have to say no longer matter.
This could just be one of those fluke periods that have been known to happen, but what if it isn’t? It’s time for me to figure out if I keep blogging and Youtubing for the love of it, or I take all the time and energy and move it into something more productive. It was different when I had another job that didn’t rely on these little hobbies. But now it’s one big web of interneting and I feel like I’m letting my company and livelihood down by under-performing.
This isn’t a woah is me post to spark pity. I’ve always aimed to document my life and ups and downs. This just happens to be one of those downs. So now what. I don’t know. I’m going to spend a good few hours staring at analytics, looking at my content calendar, and hunting for the next great thing to not only keep my audience happy, but also me happy. Or maybe I take a step away and figure out how to turn this back into something that’s a hobby and no longer necessary for living.
There definitely is a lot to think about…
Although I spend a good amount of my day bed-desking it up in our almost completed guest bedroom, I do have an actual office I work in from time to time. It’s a great place away from the goings on of the house, tucked away upstairs as the only room. It’s definitely a favorite, although incomplete, space because it holds all of my memories. From childhood swim medals to my growing collection of planners, my office takes good care of all of them.
As for planners, I’m currently using one at the moment so don’t let the large collection in the photo alarm you. I keep a lot of different layouts on hand for work, as well as past planners and a few Erin Condren notebooks just in case. Sure it’s still kind of absurd, but I’m a planner gal without a doubt.
I’ve slowly started to collect wall art and pieces to make the space more complete and it’s really inspired me to spend more time in here. It’s a large open room with a decent sized window and a lot of wall space. A gallery wall feels like a must, but I also want to be able to showcase some of my favorite memories more prominently. All things a good Pinterest board can solve.
So take a little poke around and any help picking a theme would be fabulous. I recently purchased a few doodle drawings of plants and cacti, but beyond that it’s a blank slate. That’s kind of exciting now, isn’t it?
Blogging is a piece of cake when mountains of new products are flooding to your doorstep on a weekly basis. But for us average folk, there isn’t a constant intake of new products to talk about, making it sometimes difficult to find topics to blog on. I for one go through product droughts like no body’s business where I have to rely on creativity to keep the blog content flowing. It’s time I drop some blog knowledge on you if you can’t scrounge up new products to talk about.
- When in doubt, lifestyle posts are always a great way to flesh out your content. Write about what you’ve been enjoying lately, your favorite shows, or how you spend your Saturdays. Life is constantly changing and there will always be something going on in your life you can blog about.
- Collection posts make it easy to take products you’ve already talked about and showcase them in different ways. Share your blush collection, favorite pink makeup products, or favorite historical fiction books. Whatever you blog about, you can always do collection posts in different categories to rearrange products in new way.
- Share your expertise and write a few “how to” posts. Maybe you’re great a photography for blogging or are wicked good at keeping to a schedule. Or maybe you’re good at something completely non-blogging related. Share those experiences with your readers.
- Don’t be afraid to talk off blog topic. Nothing frustrates me more than when blogging friends say they have nothing to write about because they feel like they have to stick to what they’re blog is about. Just because your blog is about books doesn’t mean you can’t talk about other things. Books extend beyond just tangible things to include a whole variety of similar, but different things. Plus no reader wants to hear 24/7 about one topic over and over again. Variety can not only help you figure out what to write about, but it could increase your reader engagement too.
- Start taking photographs of random items together and you’re sure to come up with some ideas off of photographs. I tend to come up with a post and then take the photo for it, but if I’m ever struggling, I just take whatever photos inspire me and see what comes from it. Maybe two blushes look great in a photo together and suddenly you have a brilliant idea to write a post about blush combos. You never know what’ll come from putting your usually blogging process on its head.
Blogging on a budget or no budget at all can seem like a daunting task when other blogs are featuring the newest items, but there are still tons of ways to keep blogging without having to buy new stuff. Leave any of your tips or suggestions in the comments so we can keep the discussion going!
Yours till the blog posts,
Kayla
Today marks the second anniversary of starting Oh, Hello Stationery Co. I owe this company so much that I felt the urge to reflect on how much it has taught me in the past two years.
I’ve learned a lot about myself while running this business with my now husband. I’ve never been more passionate than I am when it comes to running this small business. I’m also surprised at how protective I am to keep it a small business even though it has the potential to grow larger and more profitable. I find myself happy with where we are and not too eager to trek into uncharted territories on the hopes of an expansion I don’t really want.
I’ve also become aware how terrible I am at leading. I find delegation hard, and asking for help even harder. I’m a lone ranger when it comes to a lot of things in my life, but I’ve had to learn how to let other people (and their ideas) in to make sure this business survives. It’s a daily struggle not to clutch on to Oh, Hello with dear life, keeping it away from others out of fear they’ll change it. Collaboration is what creating Oh, Hello, and it’s how it’ll be successful in the future.
It’s also just as obvious today as it was the first day I started Oh, Hello, that being self-employed is terrifying. Every day I worry about maintaining a lifestyle I’ve grown to cherish and crave. If sales drop it becomes a panic about whether or not Oh, Hello will fail. I’ve never had such a looming fear of failure like I do with Oh, Hello. Alex and I have risked so much to work on this business full-time and even though we’ve rounded two years, we’re still an incredibly young business.
These two years have taught me I don’t want to do anything else. I want to make stickers, videos, and blog posts for the rest of my days. I’ve never been happier than I am right now, so here’s hoping for many more years just like this one.
Yours till the post cards,
Kayla
My blog’s layout isn’t the only thing to get a switch up this past month. I’ve been keeping a tangible blog content schedule for as long as I have been blogging, but it felt time to change. I’ve been using Google Calendar to plan on content on this blog and my YouTube channel for a few weeks now and I’m definitely loving the switch.
So why did I change from my
previous method? I found myself switching around posts a lot more than usual and it creating a snag in my old system. Sure I wrote everything on stickers so I could switch things around, but there was just
so much content changing that I ended up wasting lots and lots of stickers. I wanted something that could adapt and update quickly without feeling bad when I needed to move something around.
I also found myself not always having my content calendar with me. I haven’t been carrying around my Erin Condren Life Planner too much so the content calendar also has been staying home. That made it difficult when I had a new post idea to keep track of where I wrote it down. Now that it’s on Google Calendar I can access it anywhere and create an event for any new post idea I might have.
Trust me, it does feel weird to turn my back on a tangible calendar for content scheduling since I’m such a strong advocate for in-the-flesh planners, but you have to find what works for you no matter what the format or combination is. For me I still love being able to write daily to do lists down and keep track of my day to day events on paper, but my content calendar seems much happier in the digital realm.
Have you switched up how you’ve been planning lately?
Yours till the alarm clocks,
Kayla
