Say hello to Natalie of Flocking Owls! We swapped blogs for the day. She's too sweet!
Hello readers of True Blue Abbi! My name is Natalie Smyth, author of
Flocking Owls. I'm so glad to be able to do this guest post on her lovely blog.
Flocking Owls is a fashion and lifestyle blog with an emphasis on photography. My blog is one of my creative outlets; I post about the things I love and am so excited to make new internet pals!
Photography is incredibly important for bloggers. Poor quality photos can turn a reader away in the first few seconds of visiting a blog. I recently got my first super-nice camera, a Canon Rebel T3, but I've been taking pictures for a long time. I love what I can do with my new camera, but it's definitely NOT a necessity for taking good photos. Cheaper point-and-shoot, disposable cameras and cell phones can take beautiful pictures without breaking the bank (although disposables can add up if you use them a lot).
So today I'm going to give you all some tips on taking beautiful pictures! These work with whatever camera you have; some of them I have learned since I started
my blog (I only started it in February, Flocking Owls
is still a baby, hehe) and some of them I have learned over the years. Here are three tips for better photos.
1. Use natural light. Natural light is so important; it creates much better quality than a flash. Using natural light can fix so many issues people have with creating beautiful photos. For instance, it would prevent your pet from getting those creepy devil eyes, or having an overexposed subject with an underexposed background; not to mention the fact that natural light makes food look way more appetizing than a flash does! Of course, sometimes you do need to use a flash; after all, it is not always light outside. But when you have the option, choose natural light. Put your pet near the door or your food near a window; it makes a difference!
2. Choose your background wisely. The background of a picture can change the picture's mood, for better or for worse. To take a better picture, make sure that everything that is in the picture is something that you want in it. If you are trying to take a pretty picture of a flower, don't get the construction that is going on in the background of the picture; it can ruin a perfectly good photo. Here's an example:
I was doing a photo shoot recently in a park. The park was beautiful, and the photographer wanted to capture that beauty in the background. At first, she did not notice the construction in the background, and the pictures turned out like this:
Not so pretty. Then, she moved over about five feet to shoot from a different angle, and the next photo turned out like this:
So much better! A simple fix can really do wonders for your picture.
3. Don't forget to edit! Editing is super super important. It adds personality to pictures. You don't need to buy anything if you don't want to. You can find free editors on Google, through photo sharing websites like Flickr and if you have a Mac, you have a simple editor on iPhoto. Editing is easy and does not take a lot of time, but can really boost the quality of any picture.
I hope these tips will help you in your future photographs! If you liked this post, don't forget about me! You can follow my
blog on
Bloglovin or subscribe. I would be honored to have you! I am also on
Instagram,
Twitter and
Lookbook.
xoxo
