No one expects you to be an expert photographer, but there are a few things anyone can do to improve their photos.
1. Camera
- Know your camera. Even a compact point and shoot camera has plenty of features to be explored that can improve your photos.
2. Lighting
- Natural light is generally best, but direct sunlight can be too harsh. Indirect light works well.
- Don’t use a flash when taking pictures of food.
- To minimize shadows, white foam board can be used to bounce the light back onto the subject.
- Try adjusting the white balance on your camera (read your manual). If taking indoor pictures, you can get more accurate colors in your photos with the correct white balance setting.
Harsh Indoor Light
3. Framing
- Before you shoot, think about what is in your picture. Is there a lot of background “stuff” that detracts from the subject of your picture? (That’s fine if you are doing a “keepin it real” type of shot.)
4. Avoid Blur
- If you are using an auto focus, press the button half way to get a green frame, then press all the way. If you don’t get that green frame, the camera is unable to focus and the picture will likely be blurry.
- Some point and shoot cameras do not have good focus when the zoom is used. Keep that in mind.
- Try using a tripod. It holds a camera steady and avoids blur from hand movement. Tripods can be big or small.
- Use the timer feature along with a tripod to eliminate any movement from pressing the button.
5. Teach Through Your Photos
- Many people learn by seeing.
- When you are writing a tutorial use close up photos with little background clutter to help people understand the tutorial.
- Use a tripod or a helper when photographing DIY projects. It is hard to hold the camera and make the project at the same time.
Be sure the photo represents the actual instructions and that the lighting is good.
The thread is hard to see in this photo and it is a tad blurry.
Don’t try to hold the camera and the project at the same time.
6. Show the finished product.
- It is great to include pictures of supplies, ingredients, and even a step-by-step process, but then don’t forget a picture of the finished product.
- Put the finished product at the top of the post rather than at the end to draw people in.
- Remember the finished product is your time to shine. Use props and follow all the steps listed above for a great photo!
Remember a post with great photos can mean the difference between 1,000 and 10,000 views.
Great photos attract readers from Pinterest, Facebook, and StumbleUpon. Many bloggers take between 20 and 50 photos of the same thing just to get one great photo! That’s the benefit of digital cameras. You can take numerous photos to get the “right one” and delete all the rest!
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