As a blogger, taking better photos is a skill I am constantly working on. If you’re like me and still working on those photography skills, there are a few simple things you can do in your environment to improve your photos.
Create a photo studio!
I get it, that sounds completely over the top pretentious, but bear with me. Think about the last time you had professional photos taken. There were lights, there was a back drop and there were props and the pictures were great. Now if I can make all of that happen in my tiny little house most likely anyone can.
Designate a space
The first step is to set aside a space for taking photos. This is so important for bloggers because we are working in our homes where daily life continues to happen. Who wants to scramble around hiding that load of laundry waiting to be folded or the dishes you haven’t yet got to so you can take that picture you need for your next post?
This was one of the biggest driving forces behind my closet to craft space makeover, and it has been awesome to have an area that is ‘photo shoot’ ready. Life happens, and it happens a lot at my house so having this one space for taking pictures removes tons of frustration from my blogging life.
Improve your lighting
This is probably one of the biggest things you can do to improve your photos – add more lighting.
If I lived in the US this would be my first choice for lighting (affiliate link), but this same item is nearly 3 times as much in Canada.
So I did the next best thing with two of these clamp on lights*. and LED bulbs equal to 75 watt flood lights. (*affiliate link)
Here are a series of photos that clearly show the difference these two floodlights make.
Notice that the photos with flash are never as nice as the ones without? And that is during the day! Because I work during the day, I take most pictures for my blog at night and without the extra lighting they always have a yellow cast to them.
Get some Props!
My house is a work in progress, so a lot of my rooms have horrible flooring or worse, painted plywood. I have two placemats that simulate the look of wood flooring. I also have a panel that looks like tile for ‘kitchen’ shots. The boxwood ‘hedge’ in the background is plastic greenery tiles that I picked up at the dollar store.
One last thing…
Probably the number one thing you can do to improve your photos is get a tripod. I am assuming you already have a decent camera, but even if you’re still using your phone for pictures, get a tripod. I found the one I use at a thrift store but I’m sure there are newer ones with more bells and whistles.
If you are looking for more photography tips, consider following me on Pinterest where I pin the very best I find on my Images and Graphics board. Bloggers are usually helpful people, and a lot of them have published tools, tips and hints on this very topic so you can be sure I’ll have more to pin.
