Whether you set out to create a photo blog from your daily life or simply to use photos to enhance your entries, good technique and a wide variety of subjects are the two key ingredients to creating a stunning photo blog. Two existing Internet guides to draw upon in your search for great blogging photo opportunities are Smashing Magazine and Tumblr. These sites are good examples for aspiring photo bloggers because Smashing Magazine offers a photography guide and high-traffic Tumblr pages lend insight into what makes a blog popular. Tumblr is a blogging sight dedicated primarily to image blogging, and does not take a web design professional to use. It is the most popular blog networking sight of this kind.Let’s take a look at the photography process, then examine what makes certain images appealing.
High-speed photography captures rapid movements to fast to be detected by the naked eye. A frozen image of a glass shattering is an example of high-speed photography. Capturing such images involves working with exposure times faster than 1/6000th of a second. The trick is to handle the shutter tag, synchronize the flash and time the exposure to just the right moment. To do this, you will need a dark room so that the shutter can be opened without getting any exposure. The exposure time set on the camera has to be just long enough for the action to happen. A flash is fired – that’s the actual exposure time. A good example high-speed photography found on image blogs can be found here. This, believe it or not, is what it looks like when a bubble pops.
Tilt-shift photography usually requires the use of a special lens and is done on small and medium format cameras. Tilt is used to manipulate the orientation of a plane so that it appears to be angled a different way. It also controls which part of the image appears most in focus. Shift is used to change the line of sight while avoiding converging parallel lines. It’s useful for photographing tall structures. Tilt-shift can give the impression of a large-scale object looking like a miniature model. This process is called tilt-shift miniature faking and can be done on Adobe Photoshop. A tutorial on tilt-shift miniature faking can be found here.
There are multiple methods of taking black and white photos. Converting a color image to black and white by manipulating the layers of conversion channels is one process for making black and white prints. Here’s a tutorial on how to work with the different layers of color in a photo. The trick is to separate the layers and reduce the saturation to achieve the effect you want. This method gives the photographer the most control over their black and white results. Simpler techniques include grayscale and desaturation, but these methods lack definition. Beautiful black and white photography usually comes from settings with a lot of contrast. Here’s a gallery of beautiful black and white photos done with the right technique and setting.
With knowledge of basic photography techniques, anyone can make appealing photos for their blogs. The elements of what makes an image blog popular depend on the demographic you are looking to reach. Some image blogs are more specific- the highest traffic Tumblr pages are usually dedicated to a single theme or interest. Landscape photography pages featuring people, cars, and recreation are popular subjects. Americana-themed blogs are popular in outdoor photography. Image blogs with the most hits, however, usually have to do with sports or some specific interest. In that case, photographs should be funny, or related to the area of interest in some way.
Whether you’re interested in pursuing a degree in photography, launching your own website, or just making a hobby out of image blogging, there’s a photography school that can help you. Taking original images helps your site get more hits when photos are linked back to the source. Taking a few photography classes can help your web design career or just help you take beautiful photos.
