One of key elements of blogging is the visual aspect. Of course, not all blog niches focus on it so heavily, but on the whole photography alongside well-written articles can set your blog apart from others. Thus attracting more readers.
I absolutely love to get creative with my own blog photography, so today I thought I would share my own tips and tricks on how to style and shoot your blog images like a pro.
The Basics
Photography Backgrounds
Starting at the beginning we need to talk backgrounds. The most popular choice for bloggers (myself included) is a plain white matte background or faux marble. Both of these work well as they don't overpower the subject matter. However, taking inspiration from editorial still-life images can help to broaden ideas. Matte pastel backgrounds (bought from craft stores) can work well even using more than one colour either joining them together or overlaying them. For richer images try out more detailed backgrounds such as aged wood or slate. If you can't get your hands on anything, finding wallpaper samples in your local DIY store can be just as effective! Reflective surfaces also have their place, I especially like acrylic sheets (eBay here) which are inexpensive and can be bought in any colour, you can see an example of how I used a black acrylic background here. To add interest or to give a certain feel to the image, material can work well. Not only is it more fluid in appearance but you can style it to work with the objects you are photographing.
EXAMPLE: Effective use of wallpaper as a backdrop here
EXAMPLE: Favourite use of material as a background here
Creating a Prop Box
Having a large variety of props on hand for your images is essential. These can be anything from notebooks and stationary to plates, ribbon and dried flowers. Flowers and even food can also work well to dress up a shoot into something more interesting. As you can see in the above fragrance image I used leaves and water from a spray bottle to create an autumnal/winter feel. Though my personal favourite props are satin ribbon (you can find a cheap listing on eBay here), dried rose petals (eBay here) and books/magazines. However if you are looking to achieve more editorial style images then thinking outside of the box with unique props is key. For ideas flicking through your favourite magazines should help with your own creative inspiration.
Choosing a Colour Palette
Colour is definitely something that should be explored within still life photography. For styled images sticking to a palette of 3-4 colours always works well. But there may be times you want to stick to a single colour to add impact or go all out to create a vibrant image with an unlimited colour palette. All monochrome or pastel images can also work really well. Here it's about being aware of colour while also having fun because there really aren't any rules!
To Flat Lay or not to Flat Lay - Talking Angles
Deciding to shoot in a flat lay style, directly above, or at an angle really is personal preference. I often like to mix it up to make sure my images don't appear to same-y and just to add a bit of extra variety and interest. When shooting a flat lay from above I like to stand up straight and lean over my shot and zoom in if I feel I need to (sometimes a tripod is required). If you have quite a lot going on in your setup you may want to grab a small stool or even a pair of compact step ladders to capture everything. This generally isn't needed when it comes to photographing makeup products as a beauty blogger but for larger items, or showing what the products are placed on (maybe a table or bed) then getting up high and shooting directly from above is key. As for shots from a slight angle the main benefit is that is allows for a depth of field to be created (a blurred background) which gives a stronger focal point and is always pleasing on the eye. I personally prefer to shoot in this way as products can appear more tactile as the shape of them is more visible than in a flat lay, it also allows for soft shadows to be created.
Example post with a mix of flat lay and traditional angle shots here
Flat Lay Styles
The main type of flat lay in the blogging world is one that sets the scene/tells a story. These generally include a focal item with other items staged around it in a natural way. However, there are so many other ways to shoot flay lays that can expand your ideas. Below are the main types of flat lays that all work well for blog photography and social media posts.
Side note: Flat lays have become increasingly popular on social media. Other than being aesthetically pleasing, they are a popular choice for many for a reason. The lens on a phone is greatly different to an actual camera and can often distort the perspective and shape of products when shooting from an angle, making it pretty obvious the image has been taken by a phone camera. Shoot directly from above and that problem disappears!
The "setting the scene' flat lay
As I explained above this is the most popular type of flat lay for bloggers. Anything goes here really, as long as it makes sense and tells a story or sets the scene that is! For example when writing a blog post that's about blogging I often photograph the keyboard of my laptop, a notebook, a pen and even a few extras like a few plants or flowers and even a cup of coffee. This is a relatable scene and goes well with the blog topic I will be writing about. Talking about products to induce sleep? Photograph them on a white duvet with a cosy looking throw, a candle or two and even a pair of slippers, instantly setting the scene and creating a serene image. This kind of flat lay is so simple, yet so effective. Want to go one step further? Try an "action" shot by including your hands into the image to really make your story come alive. For this you will need a tripod and your camera on the timer setting or a willing helper!
The "organised' flat lay
If you like to keep things neat and simplistic then the organised flat lay style may be for you. The best way to start is to imagine a square or rectangle and place items within it, generally at equal distances apart .This does however mean you won't have a focal point as all the items will appear equal. Not all of the items need to have straight edges but using items with straight sides for the outer part of your imaginary straight edged shape reinforces the shape and the neat look you are going for. This becomes even more effective when paired with a single or minimal colour palette to give a contemporary editorial look. This style is perfect for sharing a similar collection of items, for example your skincare stash or the contents of your bag, albeit the receipts!
EXAMPLE: The Makeup We Buy
The "all about white space" flat lay
In photography white space can say a lot whilst remaining a simplistic looking image. But in blog photography it's slightly different and can give your focal product that you want to write about the space to breathe (and shine!) or even create a nice space overlay title text when it comes to editing your images. This style isn't as common, but with a focal product and one or two items to support it the shot can really work and look beautiful.
EXAMPLE: Luxury Beauty Favourites
The Main Elements of Photography Styling
Placement
I could write endless blog posts on styling (don't worry, I won't!) because there are so many elements to it. The main element that can make an image shine is placement. Depending on the type of image you are wanting to convey you may want to give products equidistant space and lay them mostly flat (good for flat lays) or mix this up with over lapping items with some stood up (good for shooting at an angle). Also opening up products for example a makeup compact or a magazine can give a more realistic yet editorial look to your images.Lighting
Lighting is another important element to be aware of. Natural even lighting is a must, so shoot in front of a large window if you can and avoid using flash at all costs. However shadows may actually be your friend and often play a large part in editorial still-life shoots; from soft shadows cast from the products you are photographing (example) to deliberate harsh shadows that add extra interest and dimension (example).Hopefully I've covered the basics with this post and have given some food for thought when it comes still life blog photography.
Let me know your favourite types of photography for your own blog and to see on others? I have a feeling it may be flat lays!
Fee xo.
Today I thought I would share an easy and cheap DIY project with all my fellow beauty bloggers or any bloggers that takes still life images.
Right about now most UK bloggers will be noticing the lack of bright natural day light, which will only get worse when the clocks go back at the end of October. So anything that will help increase the brightness of photos is pretty handy, especially something that you can create in minutes with items you will probably already have!
A Photographic Light Reflector is used in professional photography to reflect light back on the shadow side of the subject/product you are shooting. These are generally circular and large in size held by an assistant or held at the angle needed with clamps. However for blog photograph when space can be an issue a large reflector isn't that practical so a smaller standing DIY one it is!
As you can see it really is very easy to make and costs under £2 - if that! Once you have created your reflector just place it on the shadow side of your product, out of view. It does however have to be facing the light to reflect any light and will not work with artificial lighting or flash. Below you can see the before and after effects of using a DIY reflector. This just removes most of the shadow making the image brighter, even and also a lot easy to edit.
Tips
- The closer the reflector to the subject the better the results. You can also move it about/angle it to brighten the shadowed side.
- To get the maximum benefits of the reflector make sure to edit the images in a photo editing program - highly recommend Photoscape which you can find on CNET for free.
- You can also use the DIY reflector (or a large piece of A2 card covered with tinfoil) to photograph makeup looks by holding it at chest or waist height and angling it toward the face. This will just brighten the face and remore shadows from the neck area.
As you can see in the un-edited before and after images, above, the DIY reflector removes the shadow from the left hand side of the image, giving a brighter overall effect.
If you are still struggling with lack of natural light you may want to check out my post on 'Better Blog Photography in Autumn/Winter' here.
Hopefully this can be a little weekend project for a few of you!
More DIY projects to come soon.
Fee xo.
I thought I would write a post today giving a few tips and tricks I have learnt over the past few years when struggling to get enough natural light to take blog images in winter.
I really wanted to tackle this as I know most bloggers, myself included, don't own professional lighting, so when autumn/winter comes along taking images for your blog can be hard work. So instead of suggesting things you can buy such as lighting/a tripod, or even a better camera I thought I would share some tips that everyone can try!
Take your photos in daylight!
My first tip probably seems really obvious but in winter make sure to take your blog pictures before it starts going dark. I know this can be pretty impossible if you work full-time and just blog as a hobby, but maybe think about taking all the images you need for the week at the weekend during the day. Around noon is probably the best time to take your blog pictures in winter.
Making the most of the light you have
Even if you are taking your images in daylight in winter some days can be so dark & miserable that it can be a challenge to take non-blurry photos. One mistake that lots of people make is turning the light on, this will only make your images look yellow/warm toned and it will also create shadows. So even if you feel like the room is dull or even dark, leave the light off. Also in my opinion flash ruins photos that are taken inside, close up, so I would always turn off auto flash.
Next you want to be as near to a window as possible, the more daylight you can have on your products the sharper your images. Only last week when it was such a dull day I took my blog pictures on a door mat in the kitchen as I have a glass patio door that lets in the most light. Whether you place a chair next to a window, take your images on a window sill or even outside (I do this sometimes on my garden table!) simply find the seemingly brightest area.
Use a backdrop/background
It can be a white A4/A3 piece of paper, an A2 piece of mounting board or free wallpaper samples, anything as long as it removes where you are taking your images... because lets face it no one wants to see a mouldy window sill or what your kitchen floor looks like.
Use a backdrop/background
It can be a white A4/A3 piece of paper, an A2 piece of mounting board or free wallpaper samples, anything as long as it removes where you are taking your images... because lets face it no one wants to see a mouldy window sill or what your kitchen floor looks like.
Using props
A lot of the time if you aren't in even lighting (lighting that is directly/all around your subject) you will find that the products you are photographing can cast shadows. To minimise this place a mirror out of shot on the side of the shadows, this will just illuminate the light in that area and reduce the shadows. I personally use a full length mirror that I lean against the arm of the chair I take my photos on, but if you can prop it up even a makeup/free standing desk mirror.
Drop your ISO number or turn off AUTO ISO
A lot of the time when dealing with low lighting conditions you get blurry images because the camera isn't as still as it needs to be. Now if you know a little more about cameras I suggest you take your camera off the Auto ISO setting or if you always set it higher when shooting in bad lighting actually bring it right down. I suggest doing this as a high ISO or an AUTO ISO in dull/dark lighting will only give your images lots of noise (when your pictures look grainy) which of course not what you want when taking detailed images. Here is a comparison of an image taken with a low ISO and a high ISO. So as you can see you want to be opting for a low ISO. My ISO is always set no higher than 200 for blog images, this does make my images darker however I know I can edit the brightness afterwards, as basically what I am after is high quality images.
However using a lower ISO means you need to hold the camera really still, so if you don't have a tripod, rest your camera on a pile of books or anything you can. I sometimes build a little tower of beauty boxes to get the right level that I want to take my images at. This will prevent the camera from shaking half as much when you are pressing the shutter button to take the image. However if you need/want to hold the camera make sure to keep your elbow in to the body and also if you can, kneel down on one knee and use your other knee to rest your arm or elbow on.
However using a lower ISO means you need to hold the camera really still, so if you don't have a tripod, rest your camera on a pile of books or anything you can. I sometimes build a little tower of beauty boxes to get the right level that I want to take my images at. This will prevent the camera from shaking half as much when you are pressing the shutter button to take the image. However if you need/want to hold the camera make sure to keep your elbow in to the body and also if you can, kneel down on one knee and use your other knee to rest your arm or elbow on.
Edit your images
Even when I do all the above measures in winter my images can look dull, (also because I use a low ISO) but I have made sure my images are as sharp as they can be so when I do brighten them they will look good and like bright natural daylight. As you can see from my example, brightening the image below made a huge difference.
I don't use any fancy editing programs just a piece of software called PhotoScape (CNET download - here) which is a free & easy program that once you get the hang of is very straightforward to use. The 'bloom' tool is what I use to most as you can brighten areas more than others which is great when you have a certain area of the image that is dark. Though you could even use Windows Live Photo Gallery if you have Windows operating system.
Also after you have brightened your image you may also want to sharpen it slightly, which is just a click of a button with Photoscape and most photo editing programs.
I really hope this have been helpful and takes some of the stress out of snapping your blog pictures on any of the miserable winter days to come.
Fee xo.
I really hope this have been helpful and takes some of the stress out of snapping your blog pictures on any of the miserable winter days to come.
Fee xo.
As some of you may know I upgraded to a beautiful Nikon DSLR a few months back... well 3 months yesterday to be precise. It wasn't love at first sight but after a week I had got my head around all the buttons and functions and was so impressed by the image quality and what it could do. You see I took Photography for a year at college (I wasn't very good) and since then I have loved taking images even of products that are sharp and crisp and true to life.
Though sadly a few days ago my camera went a bit funny, it stopped auto focusing and just wouldn't take any photographs... then a day or so later the screen started to go dark and I knew it's days were over. Well actually I was hoping that wasn't the case and I was being a total thicky and it was just a setting that needed to be changed! So I took it back to the retailer I had purchased it from to be greeted by the biggest technophobe who didn't even know how to turn the camera on (this was the person who was supposed to be telling me if it was in fact broken or not). To cut a long story, short, it basically is totally broke and it's only 3 months old!
Looking on the brighter side it is under warranty however I need to now send it off to Nikon (I'm waiting on them sending me some special packaging) so that they can repair it or replace it. I really am going to push for it to be replaced as I don't want a refurbished camera after just 3 months! But what I am mourning over is that I will be without my shiny big camera for over a month... so no taking it to the Manchester Christmas Markets or taking beautiful photos of my nieces on Christmas day... or even pretty images for my blog.
So today is definitely feeling a bit sad as I now have to revert back to a £40 Samsung camera that really cannot compare... so here are some of my favourite images that I took with my now dead Nikon D3100.
Fee xo.
The lovely Tsunimee (Liloo) on Twitter suggested I write a beginner's guide on beauty blogging photography as I was lacking in the inspiration department.
Now I'm not even saying I'm any good...you could probably find my camera on Ebay for around £30. I'm definitely not talented and my camera isn't flashy or a digital SLR. It's just a standard camera and to be honest if you want a camera for taking random pics and photos for blogging you really don't need anything special.
However I have studied Photography at college and do enjoy it and enjoy getting the most out of the camera I have.
Now I have a list of questions as long as my arm of what I think people would want to know about - lighting and taking still life shots. But I would be guessing.
So I want to know all the questions you have, from using the macro setting to when you should/shouldn't use flash.
Basically anything!
Then I can write a nice long post touching on all the things that everyone has mentioned.
I however don't want this to seem like I think that I am some amazing blogger or amazing at taking photos. I just thought it would make a good reference point for other blogger's and also something that bit different.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)