Happy Valentines Day ya’ll! Sending XOXOs to everyone today! Mwah!
Lately I’ve been receiving tons of questions on how I create photos for my blog so I figured I would share! Since I started this blog five months ago, back in September 2018, my photos have evolved and with time become better. I don’t have any professional experience with photography and am no expert but if you like my photos and are in need of some tips and tricks, here’s what I have learned! Listed below are some blogging photography FAQs:
What Camera do you use for your blog?
When I first started my blog, I used my iphone 6s. This was easy, I already had it, and the quality works great for social media.
A few months in, my husband got a new phone, the Samsung Note. We started using his phone over my iphone 6s because the quality was a bit more crisp. Additionally, the Samsung Note has a photo feature called “Live Focus” that gave my photos a more polished look. The feature provides “bokeh” which is a little background blurring. The “Live Focus” feature also slightly airbrushed all my photos so fine lines and pores faded in a very natural (not too edited way).
Since January, I’ve been using a DSLR, Canon 6D Mark II with a 50mm lens. This was a gift to me over Christmas and a big investments! The main reasons I wanted this camera was:
1) I wanted to take my photography to the next level and get even more crisp and professional looking photos.
2) Not only did I wanted professional quality photos for my blog but I also wanted them for my everyday family life. I always admired family portrait and wedding photographers and I wanted to be able to create high quality photos of sweet memories on my own!
3) I really wanted the ability to take more indoor photos and our phone cameras weren’t allowing enough light in to create crisp indoor photography.
4) Overall, my attention to little details is over the top (I’ll be the first to admit it) it’s a blessing and a curse… And the phone photos just weren’t high enough resolution for my liking. After professionally working at a marketing agency and on companies marketing and branding materials for five years, my eye has been trained to favor DSLR photos.
After tons of research and seeing a trend of other fashion bloggers using the Canon 6D Mark II camera with a 50mm lens, I decided it was the best option for me. There are TONS of options out there, and ultimately you’ll decide what is best for your needs but this was the best option for me.
Who takes your photos?
My sweet and very patient husband 🙂 We normally shoot each outfit for 10 minutes. We’ve learned it’s best if he just keeps snapping photos regardless of if I’m ready for the photo or not. (Sometimes the best photos are the candid shots) As he is shooting, I try to pose differently and at different angles to get the most flattering shot. In the end, I’ll end up with anywhere between 50 – 80 photos and there will we a good handful that I’m comfortable with posting. I know that probably sounds crazy but I’m not a model and he’s not a photographer so it takes a lot of photos to get a good one haha!
Where do you take photos?
Typically we take photos in our backyard at sunset or on a cloudy day. Lighting is key! Although I have a very nice DSLR camera, we still need good lighting. We’ve found that indirect sunlight is best to shoot in.
Occasionally we will shoot inside our home but only on a sunny day and close to a window. Again, lighting is key!
Photos in public areas are very rare for me. I really dislike taking photos when other people are watching and I can only count a handful on my blog that have been taken in public. It’s just my preference and what makes me most comfortable!
How do you edit your blog photos?
Although lighting is key to get a good photo, sometimes editing is really what makes your photo look atheistically appealing to you!
I personally like bright and airy photos with high exposure. I never want to over edit and make the outfit I’m wearing look a different color but… I do want all my photos to have a cohesive looking theme for my instagram feed.
Here’s a list of apps I use to edit a get a cohesive look:
VOSCO: Vosco is great because they have built in filters that automatically edit your photo and get you 95% of the way on editing. My favorite Vosco filters are S1 and AL3. I occasionally use these at their full strength but you can adjust! On a 1-12 strength scale, I typically use them at a 8! Additionally I’ll increase the exposure by 1pt and increase or decrease the warmth (depending on if too many blue or yellow tones are showing)
FaceTune: I use this to brighten my smile and remove any photo bombs or blemishes 🙂 For example, perhaps a hair is out of place or there’s a huge stain on the sofa you’re sitting on, you can edit these blemishes out using the “Healing” tool. Occassionally I use their “Paint” tool to saturate a specific color in my photo. For example, say you want your lipstick to be more saturated, you can do so with this tool and app!
Lightroom: I just recently, as of two days ago, started to use Lightroom. Jillian Harris just came out with photo presets and I love her blog and photography SO MUCH that I bought them! So far the lightroom app seems very similar to Vosco – the upside is that I’m able to use my new Jillian Harris presets! She created 8 for 50$ and I’m already so in love! You can purchase the Jillian Harris Presets here and she’s created a great informational video and PDF FAQs / step by step guides on how to use! (The photo here is using the Jillian Harris “Home Love” preset)
Well… I think that’s it! I hope this helped ya’ll and answered any questions you may have about how I create my blog photography. If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out!
