5 Simple Steps to Taking Better Blog Photos

via Sofia Kasimova/Sofia's World

Introducing The Blog Entourage's very first guest blogger! I'm always telling you guys how important it is to have pictures in your blog posts. Here are some simple tips from Sofia Kasimova, author of Sofia's World.

These tips are vital if you write a food, decor, or craft blog; or if you blog about products for sale.

If you have a family blog and post a lot of pictures of your children, there is another article at Sofia's World that gives essential tips on photographing kids. The proof is in the pudding, folks. Click here to see that article. 

I hope you enjoy the post she made just for us, and don't forget to stop by her blog and show her some love!

Take it away, Sofia...

A photo is a nice compliment to any blogpost. It sure makes the post more enjoyable to read and provokes curiosity. So, how to take such a photo? You do not need to have the most expensive camera. Your point and shoot camera will do it. Here are five simple tips that will help you improve your blog photo skills.

1. LIGHT - the secret is in natural daylight. Do it in the afternoon - there is something magical in the afternoon light, soft and warm. Try to take your photos outside or by a bright window. Avoid too bright, sunny areas. But don't wait until the sun goes down to take a photo.

2. NO FLASH - turn off the flash, it causes very harsh light, washes away details. Shoot somewhere with enough light so you won't need to use the flash.

3. MACRO - to capture nice details use the "close-up" setting on your camera, it is usually marked with a "flower" symbol. If you do not have this setting, try the portrait setting, usually marked by a face symbol.

4. BACKGROUND - simplify the background: take photos in front of plain background, it lets your object (whether person or crafts, etc) stand out to the viewer and is also easier on the eyes. When I do make clothes for my toddler, I take his photos outside in front of the garage door or a brick wall. If you need to take photos of still objects, here is a simple ʻstudioʼ like shot idea.

Place a chair in front of a window, lay a poster or white seamless wrapping paper (thatʼs what I have in photo below, I believe $3 at HobbyLobby) and place your object and take a shot.

Here is the result:

5. EDIT - try to go a little extra and edit your photos. You can use free photo editing tools like picasa, picnic if you don't have one yourself. Just a little bit of adjusting exposure, brightness, color and cropping will do it.

Come visit me at www.sofiasworld.org

Happy Blogging!

Sofia,x