Tips On How To Get Good Photos With A Smartphone For Newbie Bloggers In Bangkok And Why Professional Photos And Equipment Isn’t Necessary

I think one of the hardest parts about running a blog is figuring out how to take good photos and use the images. I believe photos are necessary to add context and visual interest to written content while sometimes I do feel a bit awkward about sharing so much of my private life on a public platform.

In a recent post I talked about how it took me a very long time to even start blogging because the whole photo and visual aspect became a self-created mental road block. But once I realised that photos actually play a very important marketing role for my blog and help increase readership, I had to learn more about how to take good photos (on a budget!).

Here are some of the tips and tricks I have learned in my young blogging career and hopefully you’ll also see why you don’t need to invest in fancy equipment or hire a professional photographer at this stage.

Planning out visuals and composition is just as important as planning out content

I made this the first tip because I think it’s the most important. When I started out blogging I wouldn’t give too much thought to my photos because I enjoyed writing and that’s what I focused on. But that quickly changed because I realised a reader’s eye will be drawn to an image or visual first before they begin reading the written content. If the image is something of interest to the reader, they will be more inclined to read on. Again, this doesn’t mean stressing out about having perfect photos. It’s just about being aware about the content and how to enhance it with the right photos. I like to add no more than three to four photos to a post unless it’s a product-related post or a tutorial which may require more images.

For example, a lot of my blog content centres on life as a mom so with that in mind I make it a point to take photos with my son and dog in focus, especially if we’re traveling or doing something unique and I have planned to blog about it. The photos are far from perfect; they’re always natural and raw and I prefer to compose it this way because it reflects motherhood in a way that makes sense to me — my visual strategy matches my content strategy.

Alternatively, I also write about beauty products and do makeup tutorials and the visual strategy for this kind of content is completely different. I focus a lot more on the photo composition and edit the photos so that the products and colours show up clearly. To put it simply — I pose a lot and in certain ways to achieve a desired effect.

Knowing where the light source is when taking a photo 

Given that sharing photos of our lives on social media is the norm, knowing where the light source is when taking a photo is a life skill and not just a photography one. The reason it’s important to know where the light source is coming into a photo is because it will determine how well lit the main object or person in the photo is. If the light source is coming from behind (such as standing against a sunset or sunrise), the main object or person will be badly backlit making them appear dark with a glaring outline. Now if for the same photo, the main object or person faced the sunrise or sunset then they would be very well lit and the photo would turn out much nicer. So you’ll often see me glancing around at the sky if we’re outdoors or at the ceiling if we’re indoors trying to see which direction the light is coming from and where darkness and shadows can fall, then I’ll decide where and how to pose to get a good photo. You don’t need any pro equipment for this tip, just your own judgement and a lot of practice and before you know it hunting for the light source kind of becomes an automated response to taking photos.

Editing photos is a vital skill, adding filters is not

I use iPhone’s photo editing tools as well as Instagram’s photo editing tools to edit my photos before I post them on the blog or social media. I think it’s perfectly fine to edit photos if the lighting or colouring is off. But I almost never use a filter anymore because I think it takes away from the depth and trueness of a photo. I also never use FaceTune or any other kind of editing app that will change the way I physcially look in photos because my brand essence is about keeping it real. As a visual strategy and personal style choice for my photos I prefer them to be bright, vibrant and more warm-toned so I will adjust and edit the settings for Brightness, Warmth, Saturation and Shadows and that’s about it. I spent sometime learning about colours and lighting from more experienced photographers and figured out my own aesthetic along the way. Again, nothing I do with regards to editing is fancy, complex or expensive, I learned most of it by experimenting with the editing settings on Instagram.

Asking friends, family and even strangers to help take photos 

Asking people to help with photos I want for my blog is a skill I had to learn. And it’s an important one if you’re serious about blogging and wanting to improve content and increase readership. I find it helps to ask someone I’m comfortable with to take photos of me because then I’m not as self-conscious and I can relax. But if I don’t have that option, then I’ll ask strangers and they’re mostly kind and obliging, I also always offer to take a photo in return as a thank you. Again, you don’t need a professional photographer to take nice photos because today’s smartphones have incredible cameras. As long as you have some idea of what the photo composition should be and where the light source is, any smartphone camera will do. I use my iPhone XS for all my photos.

Keeping an eye out for interesting locations and backdrops

Once I got comfortable with taking photos and posing for them, I automatically started to keep an eye out looking for new locations and backdrops to make my photos more interesting. But since my blog is not a fashion or travel blog, I don’t have to stress too much about this kind of photography; I think it’s important to do what makes sense for me and my brand. I also keep in my mind my blogger friends who might benefit from a location or backdrop — sharing is caring.

Having fun and being myself

It’s taken me a while to get comfy with the idea that me and my life are the focus of my blog. Now whenever I’m taking photos or asking someone to help take photos of me for the blog, I proudly and happily say “I’m doing it for the blog” even if I do receive looks of confusion, I don’t really care because this is my business, my product and I’m the CEO. I have stopped overthinking every pose and just go with the flow. Yes, there will be bad photos but who cares? Just go ahead and take more and cherish the outtakes as a memory. Having fun and being myself in photos is when the best moments happen and they’re the photos my readers respond to the most because they see someone they know and can connect to.

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I hope this post was insightful and useful but also clarified why you don’t need to invest in professional equipment or photographers for your blog, especially if you’re just starting out.

Have I missed any valuable tips?

Please share your tips, thoughts and comments below.