When I first started blogging my photos weren’t exactly what you’d call great, and I knew it. I used to browse blogs with perfect pictures and then compare them to mine and want to quit blogging because I hated mine so much. Extreme obviously, but I felt embarrassed of my photos and for about six months, it was the one thing I hated constantly.
Now, I in no way think my photos now are anything to boast about, but they have improved thankfully. I am still trying different backgrounds and compositions to see which I like the most, and the lighting in my flat is practically non existent so I’m still working on getting around that issue but for the most part, my pictures are okay. Sometimes, I even get a shot I’m really proud of!
I don’t feel like I am consistently good enough at photos to give tips, so instead I’m going to take you through my photography process. When I first started blogging, my process was literally; put product on table, take photo on iPhone, upload. I’ve definitely come a long way since then!
I took the picture of Clinique High Impact mascara a couple of weeks into blogging. I had this weird obsession with fading the images in, which looks awful. I also didn’t edit my photos. The Urban Decay Perversion mascara was taken a couple of weeks ago. It’s not perfect, but the lighting and set up are a lot nicer to look at.
The Process
Whenever I have an idea for a post, I’ll make a note of what products I need to photograph, then when I have time I’ll bulk photograph everything. I use a Canon 1000d with 55-200ml lens. It’s normally on a weekend morning, as I can get a tiny bit of natural light in my living room (only in one corner of the room but better than nothing!). If I am taking photos in the evening, I’ll take photos with the ‘tungsten’ option on white balance settings, as this provides a slight clue cast which counteracts the yellow tones of rubbish light bulbs.
To get a white background, I’ve been recently using a large white canvas which I got for £2 from Home Bargains. I’m still playing around with backgrounds and compositions, so this will probably change but it’s okay for now. I’ll take around ten photos per product/ image, making sure I try a few different angles and set ups. I’ll also check each photo on zoom after I’ve taken it to make sure the colour, brightness and focus is okay.
Once I’ve taken my photos, I’ll upload them and from each ten photos, I’ll pick two or three to keep. Rather than deleting the other ones, I just move the ones I’m keeping to a separate folder! The final step is editing these photos, which I do on Pic Monkey, as it’s a free online editor. I don’t think my laptop could handle Photoshop! I normally crop, use the neutral picker (this is a life saver, you click on colours that are supposed to be white and it corrects the colour!), increase the highlights (which brightens the picture without making it too light and airy) and increase the shadows so the highlight and shadows are even. I’ll occasionally adjust the sharpness and clarity if the photo is a bit grainy, then I save it using the highest image quality.
I use the standard ‘large’ size on WordPress for uploading photos to my posts to ensure all the images are the same size, and voila! All is done.
I still want to improve my images; I’m thinking of investing in a day light bulb and my dad is getting me a macro camera lens for Christmas which I’m excited to have a play around with. I’m also still experimenting with the backgrounds and set ups of each image, as I don’t feel like I have a ‘signature style’ yet. I am also going to ensure my next flat is picture perfect, as the one I’m in at the moment is fine for just living but as it’s a student flat, the carpet is some weird pub like carpet, the walls are all painted a bit slapdash and the furniture is all a bit meh. I’ll be honest, the main reason we signed or it is because we don’t have to pay for the heating. I’ve just got a new job and Scott finished uni this year, so next year we’ll be able to afford a nicer flat AND heating!
What is your photography process? Have you got any tips or advice that has really helped your photography to improve?
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