I had no idea what I was doing when I started blogging – especially when it came to photography. Even now I look back at photos from a year ago and they look so different. I am constantly learning and trying to improve my skills. Over time I have learned that there are some questions to ask yourself as you take photos. This list of questions will help you to produce better content – and help you to edit your images more quickly.
1. Is it clean?
This applies to all bloggers. For fashion bloggers, ask if your clothing is free of stains and wrinkles. For food bloggers, check to see if the edges of the plate are clean. When you are taking photos out and about, check to make sure there aren’t trash cans or trash in the background.
2. Is it straight?
Taking a straight photo is surprisingly hard! But take the time to practice.
3. Are you getting the right shapes and sizes?
Do you need a square image for your featured image or social media? Do you need vertical or horizontal images for the blog post?
4. Are you following the rule of thirds?
Where is the focal point of the image? I like to follow the rule of thirds for some images, and then to break it in others to create variety.
5. Are the images different enough?
It is the worst when you realize that the 30 photos you took all look the same. For my personal site, I like to include 5-7 different images, and I like to make sure that they look different enough.
Sometimes the way that I make my food photos look different enough is to have human interaction. Instead of just food on a plate, I get my husband to hand model so that I can include photos of someone dipping a chip, holding a cocktail, or assembling a taco.
6. Did you get a hero shot?
A hero shot is the featured image for the blog post. It is one shot that lets readers visually understand what the blog post is all about.
7. Is there a balance of positive and negative space?
Having a balance of positive and negative makes photos interesting, it is also a way to make your photos look different.
Did we miss anything? Let us know in the comments!