In November we kicked off a series of talks about blogging at Next Door Chicago. These talks are being held on the third Sunday of the month at 2pm, and we are covering a wide range of topics.
The first talk was Photography for Bloggers, and presenters included Regan from Up Close & Tasty, Sabrina from Sabrina Souffle, Ashlee from The Lil Foxes, and Kit from The Kittchen. Here is a recap of the tips shared during the session:
- Include a photo with every blog post. People are more likely to read a post that includes a photo.
- You don’t need fancy equipment. Careful lighting and composition are just as important as the camera you use. You can use the camera on your phone, just make sure that you use natural lighting and carefully position your props.
- Ashlee taught us that when you place utensils in your shot it automatically makes your food more appetizing.
- Regan told us that if the dish you are photographing has bland colors, you can use bolder colors in your props. If your food has bolder colors, you should make sure your props are neutral colors.
- An easy way to add some color to a bland colored food is to add cracked pepper, or a sprinkle of herbs of the top. It is amazing what a little green will do for a food photo.
- Regan’s site has gorgeous photography and she explained that she goes to home depot and buys already cut boards at a discount at Home Depot. She also picks up the small tester cans of paint to paint the boards. Check out Regan’s Apple Pie post to see an example of this.
- Sabrina talked about making photo collages. She suggested that when you add words to your photos, you should always use the same font to help brand your images. You can also add your blog logo to your images.
Our next talk is being held on January 19th at 2pm at Next Door Chicago, and it will cover Blogging 101.