Low Brow Photography: Quality Blog Photos in Under 10 Minutes
It’s Dec 31st and this day brings to close the first year in which I’ve run my own personal blog. I’ve had a lot of fun and I’ve learned that more people enjoy seeing photos of me in a skin suit riding a bear than doing honest reviews of cycling insoles and energy bars. Truthfully though going around shooting photos of me in a time trial helmet was much more fun that comparing cycling orthotics anyway so I can’t judge. I’d like to share one thing I’ve learned this year that is applicable to those that own or run blogs (who don’t have easy access to stuffed bears) everywhere, in all fields and all topics. That one thing is images, more specifically how easy a blog can be enhanced in a very short amount of time using images. A properly used image can add depth, professionalism and draw a reader into a blog post unlike words will ever be able to do. Using a simple point and shoot camera and Picasa for photo organizing and lighting adjustments I’ve found a system that lets me upload photos in less than ten minutes.
Want to Use Images to their Full Extent?
(the quick and simple way):
- Select an appropriate template for your WordPress Blog: I prefer simpler templates for blog in which I’m going to use images as an attention grabber. Templates, especially those in diffused shades, white, black and gray allow the images to stand out and speak for themselves. This blog is actually a good example of that. For several reasons I prefer fixed width blogs. Step #2 is a good example of why.
- Bigger is better: Figure out the maximum width you are allowed to use for an image. In this blog it’s 588px including the border for a caption. Crop your images to this and use them proudly at the top of your blog posts.
- Don’t go stock: With the methods mentioned below it is very very simple to use your own images.
- Find a process and stick with it: I keep a point and shoot camera on me at all times. I never know when a photo opportunity is going to sneak up. With modern cameras it’s easy to keep them in your pocket and shoot away. Next I take a little bit of time to organize them in Picasa so when I’m writing a post I can grab one of my personal “stock” photos. I also use Picasa to quickly edit the photo, adjusting for light balance, sharpness and contrast before I upload.
- Details!!! This is my philosophy. And it works, again and again and again… and again. When uploading photos fill in all the fields. Think them over, write a gripping caption. Do not use the default for the Title Field. This value is not visually apparent on the blog so people often times skip over it. I send emails to my clients all the time reminding them to use it. So don’t be like some of my problem children, take my advice and use it! Small things like this will get you better search engine traffic especially from image indexers like images.google.com. If you want to take image indexing a step further you can use the Media Tag plug-in. It’s finicky and sometimes it takes a while for me to get it going but it’s well worth it if your blog is image heavy.
A note on details: They are not the kind of thing that get you a high spike in traffic, they are not the front page of digg. But if you are careful and detail oriented all your blogging and photography efforts become that much more effective. Good posts have a better chance of ranking, getting noticed, linked to, etc. If you rank in a relatively unpopular term can get you 5-10 hits a day. 20 of those articles and you have a good base of readers to build on.
With Picasa the sunset becomes just a touch more vibrant.
Before I get into this let me take a few sentences to tell you who I am. I’m for lack of a better term, an “internet professional.” I manage and consult for blogs, e-commerce sites and anyone else trying to build an internet presence or turn a profit. I believe in standards, white hat practices and doing things the right way to see long term steady and profitable growth rather than short term irrelevant spikes in _____. I’m proficient in PHP, CSS, HTML and a bit of JavaScript. I design and implement fully custom sites or custom installations of Zen-Cart or WordPress. Both of which I develop plugins, modules and templates for. This blog is not only a place for me to have some fun it’s also my public sand box and a way for me to thank my partners clients and friends.
Images, cheap fast and effective. All the images on this site are shot with my little pocket camera and almost non of them have seen Photoshop. That’s right there isn’t an expensive nor technical side to effectively using images, infact I use a $130ish camera (Nikon CoolPix S560) that I tend to keep in my pocket or jersey so it’s with me when I need it. For light and image adjustment I just use Picasa to touch things up a bit. Simple effect, my mom could use it, and above all else free! What do I get? Lets take a look at some images from my past posts:
Blog Photos Shot Edited and Uploaded in Under 10 Minutes!
5 minutes: Dr Will Bar Energy Bars
Dr. Will Bar has sponsored me for the 2010 season and they deserve credit as a great tasting nutritous bar. So when my first box arrived I went to go do a review and snap a few photos. I quickly took out the hose and washed the side walk down. This was good for two reasons the twigs and leaves were now out of the shot and the wet concrete offered a better contrast allowing the bright colors of the box to “pop.” I also enjoy the industrial look of the concrete contrasting with the the colors and complimenting the simple lines on the box. After a bit of adjusting in Picasa the photo took 5 minutes.
Sheets; A cheap white background! Bill Peterson's Cycling Orthotics
With a white sheet already draped off of a curtain rod for some E bay photos it was easy to throw my insole on the white and snap a shot. With a simple macro setting on my camera I was able to get relatively good detail of the sole and highlight the curves for my foot. No Picasa needed, this took less than 1 minute, 10 including setting up and pulling the sheet down.
It's good to live across from a Rose garden: Kinlin Wheel Review
Be creative, use your surroundings. From the previously mentioned sidewalk to taking advantage of the City of Roses’ abundance of rose gardens I’ve tried to accentuate images by simply walking out the front door. Again using the rain to highlight the colors of the garden I walked my bike outside and let the bike’s colors blend with the garden while the rims (the focal point of the article) “pop.” This took 15 minutes to set up, snap, adjust, and upload.
Not for the Vegetarians: Vodoo Donuts' Bacon Maple Bar.
Taking advantage of a recovery ride with some friends in Portland I snapped a few photos during a coffee shop stop. This is the first image I used Picasa on and found out I’d be using it more than Photoshop for quick touches. Jokingly snapping a few shots, adjusting the photo, and uploading probably took all of 10 minutes.
Snapped during a bike ride: Sunset in Portland
I was riding my bike along PDX’s river path when I saw the sun set. I have hundreds of images similar to this I’ve tried to make work. This one for some reason just did. Fall leaves, sun flairs, and Portland’s Steel Bridge from an angle only a cyclist or pedestrian will ever see make this image complete for me. A touch of contrast and light adjustments in Picasa made this image come alive. Done in under 10 minutes.
A delicious snack looks warmer after Picasa
The power of Picasa
For 99% of the bloggers our there Photoshop is going to be over bloated, cumber-sum and hard to learn. It’s array of features are great if you’re a professional but for the rest of us we could do more damage than good. For a simple to use, free download Picasa will add, take away or adjust that last 10% needed to make your photo truly ready to represent you blog and interests. The common mistake when referencing Picasa is the perception that it’s only the web based Flikr competitor. Since Google took it over the desktop application has become a great stand alone feature. Not to mention one touch synchronization with your web based profile. I now use Picasa to organize my photos, manage my screen saver, upload photos to the web, and of course perform minor on the fly photo adjustments.
Picasa rulez! good work chico.
emiliano, thanks for a great article and what looks like valuable information for me. i just downloaded picasa and am eager to check it out and do some badly needed organizing of my photos.
that donut looks amazing-rarely eat them but maple bars are a favorite and i recently ate bacon for the first time in maybe two decades! another good reason to get up to portland.
and…..i never realized the importance of filling in the fields when using photos. i am starting immediately-any hints ?
@michelle
I’d start by making sure you fill in the “Title” and “Caption” fields. These are the most important. Description is dependent on the settings for your WordPress install and template so no worries on that. The basic break down is “Caption” is good for your users as it can help them understand the photo. It also give you a chance to throw in a few more keywords outside of the flow of the article. The title is less visible. It should describe your photo with as much keyword density as you possibly can.
Hope that helps! Have fun blogging.