My Tips for Better Blog Photos

I get a lot of emails from my readers asking how I take my blog photos and whether I can share any tips. Its also the thing I get the most compliments about which is so flattering as I certainly don't consider myself a photography pro. I often look at other blogs in total awe of their photography so trust me when I say, we're never happy with our own photography! However, I know when I first started out, and even now, how useful photography tips posts can be so I thought I'd put one together and hopefully offer a bit of inspiration. With this being said, I hope you enjoy reading ...

Equipment  

Before you start taking any photographs for your blog, you're going to need a camera. I feel like one of the biggest misconceptions about blogging is that you need a big fancy pants DSLR to take good photographs or to be considered a 'proper' blogger. Now don't get me wrong, I'm not denying the fact that DSLR's are amazing - I use mine daily and can't imagine blogging without it. However, I didn't start blogging with the intention to get a DSLR or buy one specifically for blogging. I was actually very lucky and my dad managed to get me the Canon eos 600d through his business while I was visiting him in Australia a couple of years ago. However, before receiving the camera, I'd been blogging for almost a year and not doing a bad job with the Canon IXUS HS 115 - a standard digital camera. Yes my technique was a bit dodgy looking back at older posts but the image quality itself was perfectly acceptable for someone starting out in the blogging world. I've even used my Iphone for quite a few posts (the main photo in this post was taken with my Iphone) and as long as you get some decent lighting (which I'll talk about soon) and focus, it works perfectly fine. I also don't think there's a huge need for fancy lenses - yes they can help add a different look to your images but other than the 50mm lens which I use for outfit photos, I manage just fine with the basic kit lens.

Image source: Link

Look at your settings

The biggest photography game changer for me was working out how to actually use my camera and how to achieve the kind of photos I want - light, bright and clear. Although the auto settings on a DSLR work perfectly fine, they won't create the light and bright images you want, despite the lighting / equipment you have. To really get a control on the lighting, you need to change your settings. I always take my photos on the AV setting and then use the AV button on the back of the camera to up the lighting. All you need to do is turn the dial on top of the camera to AV, hold in the AV button of the right hand side next to the main camera screen and then scroll up or down with the thumbwheel on top of the camera until the lighting is to your liking. I usually set the lighting to around 1 (on that dial in the right image) so my images come out lovely and bright. I know lots of bloggers take their pictures in the manual setting but that's just far too complicated for me and AV seems to work just fine!

Take your own photographs 

This may seem like a fairly obvious one but I still see a lot of blogs using stock photos (images that can be found via google) instead of photographs they've taken themselves. For me personally, this is an instant turn-off as it looks lazy and it isn't personable. The only time I would ever use a stock photo is for a wish list post as I clearly don't have the products infront of me to take the photos. Lets face it - anyone can go online and search for an image but it shows you've put effort in and your personality if you take your own. Even if you put a lot of effort into the written content of your posts, a lack of images will reflect badly. Just something to think about!

Lighting & Exposure

Its probably the most obvious photography tips of all but natural light is your best friend when taking photos as it allows your camera to pick up more detail and make images appear crisp. Take photos by a window or outside if the weather is nice! I take my images on my dressing table as its right next to a window and allows me to create bright and detailed images. Admittedly its harder in Winter when the weather is dreary but a bit of editing can solve that which I'll talk about shortly. Its also important to ensure your images have the right amount of light - you don't want them to be over exposed or under exposed like the images above. You can usually adjust the amount of light your camera lets in on the settings.I do this using the AV setting as I mentioned above.

Don't shoot into the light

Its important to remember that when you're taking photos you should always shoot away from the light and not into it. What I mean by this is make sure the light is in front of the object you're shooting and not behind it. As you can see in the photos I've taken above, when the light is behind the object, all the camera will pick up is the light behind and not the product itself. However, when the light is in front of the object, it will ensure the product is the focal point and all of the necessary details will be picked up.

Avoid Flash

Unless you really need to use it, try to avoid flash at all costs. Flash has a habit of washing things out or reflecting off surfaces and creating an unattractive glare. If you want your photos to be really crisp and pick up the true colour/detail of a product, natural lighting is key! As you can see in the example above, whilst the left image isn't bad, the flash has created a glare on the bottom half of the lipstick and reflected onto my dressing table. Its also created a reflection off my lipstick holder in the background. In the right photo, the focus is completely on the lipstick and the packaging looks nice and even in tone.

Focus, Focus, Focus!

Another obvious one but I still see a lot of blurred/out of focus images on blogs and like the stock photos, its an instant turn off. As you can see in the example above, the out of focus image just doesn't look appealing - you can't see the detail of the product and it looks sloppy. I guess the reason out of focus images are such a turn off is because it comes across like you've not put any effort in. I always try to take at least ten photos of the same product just to make sure I've got one that's nice and crisp. It takes a bit more time but it will pay off!

Angles & Composition
I'm a very creative person and love photography so playing around with different angles is something I enjoy. However, if this isn't your thing it can be easy to fall into a trap of plonking a product on to a plain surface with no thought put into the angles or composition of the image. Its so important to remember that a photo speaks a thousand words so let it tell a story. Add props (flowers, candles, ornaments) into the surrounding areas and take your images from various angles - a birds eye view shot, one straight on and a close up are always good ones to go for. A range of images will make your blog post a lot more interesting! This also brings me on to composition which basically means how much space there is around your image. As you can see in the photos above, the left picture isn't focused on the product - there's too much space and distraction around it whereas the right image is focused in on the product which is what my blog post is about.

Background & Props 

Its important to think about the background you're taking your photos on as this is the basis for the whole photo and will give your images a personal touch. I've done a lot of experimenting with image backgrounds since I started blogging as I often like to change things up and make my images more interesting. A few backgrounds I'd recommend include a glass or plain white surface, a wooden floor or some pretty bedding. I used to take my photos of the TV stand in my living room because its glass and I now take them on my white dressing table. I find glass or white backgrounds look lovely and bright which makes the overall image more pleasing to the eye. Bedding, wallpaper and tile samples, fluffy rugs, flowers and cute items blurred in background all look lovely too!

De-Clutter
As I mentioned in my previous point, its sometimes nice to add some pretty accessories in the background of your photos but there's a huge difference between strategically placed accessories and clutter. By clutter I mean general mess that we don't really need to see in the background of an image. You can see what I mean by the photo above. Make sure you find somewhere clutter-free or have a tidy up before you start snapping. For example, the dressing table I take my photos on is often covered with makeup, perfume bottles, cotton pads and what not but I make sure I tidy most of that away before one of my photo taking sessions.

 

resized to same width as the post

Resize 

Most of my favourite blogs have one thing in common - large images. Images are one of the main features of a blog and the first thing our eye is drawn to so make sure they're large and clear. You can resize images using the standard 'Large' 'X Large' tabs when you hover over a photo but the way I increase the size of my images is by flicking over to the HTML tab when composing a post and changing the 'widths' and 'heights' of my photos. Its best to have a play around until you find a size that suits you and the design of your blog. For reference, the width of my photos is 765 as this matches the width of my post header. 

Keep it Consistent

I also think its important to ensure all images are the same width. I'm not sure why but I find it really off putting when reading a blog if the images aren't lined up nicely. What I mean by this is that some of the images will be wide and line up with the font and others will be tall and skinny so they don't match up with the others. If you look at my posts you'll see that all of the images are the same width across as I find it makes my blog look more symmetrical and pleasing to the eye.

Before cropping and adjusting brightness, shadows and contract on PicMonkey

Editing 
After you've taken your photographs, the next step is to edit them! I don't spend a great deal of time editing but I do make a few basic changes such as cropping, brightness, contrast, shadows and highlights. I do most of these thing on iPhoto but I also use PicMonkey as I find I can get my pictures nice and bright without over exposing them. I also use PicMonkey if I want to add text / a shape to my image or make a collage. I edited all of the images in this post using PicMonkey. Its super simple to use and does the job well. 

Renaming

Not a lot of people realise how important it is to rename images. I never used to do this when I first started blogging but I read a post about SEO and it mentioned that search engines won't find or list your images if it has a name like 'D54802' which is standard with most cameras. If you want someone to find your post about a MAC lipstick, rename your images 'MAC lipstick Review' so google and its little spiders that crawl our blogs for info will know what the image is. I also like to add a little summary of what my post is about into the 'properties' section of my images too. I've popped an example from this post above!

So there we have a few of my photography tips! I know most of them are fairly simple but sometimes its the simple things that really do make all the difference. Let me know your top tips in the comments below :)

"Photography is a Scrapbook of your Life" ...

Hi everyone! Todays post isn't about beauty or fashion but something I want to share regardless. Lately I got thinking about the world (wow, you'd think I was ninety) and it made me realise that lots of people, myself included, don't own 'proper' photographs anymore. What I mean by proper photographs is actual printed images that you put in photo albums. Nowadays its all about iphones and digital cameras and although they're fabulous, flicking through photos on a laptop or phone isn't the same as holding a real photograph in your hands.

When I was younger I remember my family taking photos and videos at every opportunity they had. Whether it was a special occasion, family holiday or just a relaxed day at home, they'd be there, capturing every moment. They still have those photos now, tucked away in neat photo albums, and looking back at them fills me with joy and happy memories. I travelled home to the Lake District recently and my Mum, Nanna, Sister and I decided to take a walk down memory lane looking through old photos and watching old videos (yes videos, remember those?). It was so lovely to see images from years and years ago that were still there, albeit a little bit worn out, to flick through and enjoy, decades later.

Image: Source

It got me thinking that although I take hundreds of photos (I'm the girl thats constantly taking photos wherever she goes. Yes, even of my food), I haven't had any of them printed and put into photo albums for a good five years. It actually made me really sad to think that if my laptop were to crash or I lost my phone, years worth of happy memories and photographs would be gone. Just like that, in the blink of an eye. 

With this being said, I immediately decided that I had to print lots of my favourite images, sooner rather than later. The thought of losing them all made me shudder - it might sound dramatic but the thought of having no images to look back on when I'm old and wrinkly made me really upset. I want to be able to show my children and grandchildren old photos and re-live the 'good old days'. 

I didn't want to pay a fortune to get my photos printed (which is the only downside to 'real-life' photographs) so I took to good old Google to see which sites would print me a big batch for a reasonable price. I was shocked by how many amazing photo-printing websites appeared in the search results and two of them really stood out to me - PhotoBox and TruPrint. I was amazed when I saw that Photobox are offering 60 free prints when you sign up to their website and TruPrint were offering 50 free prints if you signed up to theirs. Thats 110 free printed images for signing up to a couple of websites - amazing right? I must admit going through the thousands of images on my laptop and phone and only selecting 110 was quite a mission but it was lovely to look back at old photos and pick out the ones that were special to me.

After I'd chose my 110 free prints I proceeded to the checkout expecting there to be some sort of hidden catch. Luckily, there wasn't, just a small delivery fee. I think I paid around £1.99 for delivery on both websites and as simple as that, hundreds of memories were on the way to me in the post. They both arrived only two days later (big thumbs up for speedy delivery) and I'm absolutely thrilled with them. I got such a huge sense of satisfaction looking through them all and I can't wait to organise them all into albums. That will be my next photo project - finding a website that sells cute and affordable photo albums. If you know of any, do let me know.

This is quite a spontaneous post and not one I'd planned to write but I hope it gives you that little nudge to go and get some of your favourite photographs printed. The current deals on the PhotoBox and TruPrint websites are just too good to miss so do make sure you go and check them out, you won't regret it! They do lots of other cute bits and bobs too like photo books, canvases and calendars.

"Photography is a scrapbook of your life". Don't lose any chapters from yours!

Lots of Love,

The Christmas Tag

Hi Ladies! As Christmas is fast approaching (one week today, eek!), I thought it was about time I brought some festivity to my blog and what better way to do that than with a Christmas Tag. I also wanted to share all of the lovely photos above that I've been snapping with my DSLR lately (apart from the last one) so what better excuse than a Christmas themed post ;). I've also seen some of my fave bloggers doing this tag including Hannah from Hannah's Bow, Melissa from  Pretty Little Obsessions and Chelsea from Through Chelsea's Eyes. Go and check out their blogs if you haven't already, they are definitely worth a read. So without further ado, lets get into the questions...

1. What is your favourite thing about Christmas?

To be honest, I love everything about Christmas. The way everyone is so much happier, the shopping, the lights, the smells, the food, the snow, the decorations - the list could go on. However, my ultimate favourite thing about Christmas is getting to spend lots of quality time with my nearest and dearest. Everyone is so much happier at Christmas time and I love nothing more than spending the day exchanging gifts, eating lots of food and getting merry. There's nothing better in my opinion. The only thing I would change if I could would be to have my family from Australia here with me as well - that would be the icing on the cake.

2. What is your favourite makeup look for the festive season?

My favourite makeup look for Christmas without a doubt is bold red lips. Obviously red is the ultimate Christmas colour so I feel I have to incorporate it into my makeup somehow. I think my mum started the 'red' tradition as every year she has to wear a read top or dress on Christmas day. I won't be wearing red clothing this year but I'll certainly be slicking on some red lipstick paired with a simple gold and brown eye.

3. Real or fake tree?

Now this might be a bit controversial but I actually prefer fake trees. I recently had this conversation with my mum and boyfriend and we came to the conclusion we prefer fake trees because they are more 'symmetrical' and visually pleasing (did I really just say that?). I guess what I mean is they aren't as awol as real trees. No needles everywhere and no stuggling to stick in in a huge tub surrounded by all sorts of crap to try and secure the beast in place. Artificial trees last years too which makes them cheaper in the long run and they are generally a nicer shape. I don't like that real trees have branches sticking out here there and everywhere. If you hadn't already guessed I have an obsession with symmetry (it's my OCD - I'm not mental I promise! haha). The only thing I do prefer about a real tree is the lovely Christmas smell.

4. Giving or receiving presents?

I don't want to sound like a complete soppy wet wipe but I 100% prefer giving presents. I mean of course I love receiving them too (who doesn't?) but as a self-confessed shopaholic, I love nothing more than going shopping and buying presents that I know people will love. It gives me so much joy to see someones face light up when they open a present I give them or to know it was something they really, really, really wanted. For example, I bought my little sister concert tickets last year and I just knew she would be over the moon with them so when I saw her little face light up, it made me exceptionally happy. As you can see from the photo of my Christmas presents (so far) above, I tend to go a bit mad with Christmas shopping and often wish I was a multi-millionaire so I could go even more crazy. I'm also an avid wrapper as well and everything has to be matching in terms of colour scheme, bows and tags. I blame you for this as well mother.

5. Do you open your presents in the morning or evening?

My sister and I usually get up at a ridiculously early time in the morning and then open our stockings (yes I still have a stocking), in my mum and step-dads bedroom. The room usually ends up looking a complete mess with wrapping paper thrown all over the floor but I guess that's all part of the fun. We then make our way dowstairs to the Living Room where all of our 'main' presents are left waiting for us, perfectly positioned by my lovely mum might I add. We then open them all at top speed and are usually done by around 8am (I'm not even joking). My step-dad then cooks up a huge fry-up and we sit infront of the TV watching new DVDs or in my case, having a pamper with all my new beauty products. We then get spruced up, have Christmas dinner, you know, all the usual things. All in all, it's an amazing day!

6. Handmade or bought Christmas cards?

I have to be honest, it would have to be bought. I don't think I'm quite artistic enough to be able to make beautiful looking homemade cards but I do think they are incredibly thoughtful and if I had the skills and time, I would definitely give it a go. I do however always pick nice cards for my close family. I know they often get thrown in the bin straight after Christmas but I always like to choose cards that have a thoughtful and relevent message on them. The card I've got my mum this year sums her up perfectly and the one I've bought my boyfriend is the most epic card of all time. I won't say too much as I know he reads my blog but lets just say it's not your standard card.

7. What is your favourite Christmas film?

I was thinking about this and I'm going to have to say Home Alone and Miracle of 34th Street as they are both amazing and classic Christmas films. They are the type of films that never get old and I could watch them over and over again. My family and I always watch a Christmas film on Christmas Eve to get us in the Christmas Spirit which is always lovely.

8. What is your favourite Christmas food?

Where do I begin? Turkey, stuffing, pigs in blankets ... CHOCOLATE! Traditionally my family always start our Christmas dinner with a prawn cocktail (yum!), then Turkey with all the trimmings (yum!) and a humongous Pavlova for dessert (my fave!). Both of my Nanna's do ginormous and yummy buffets between Christmas and New Year too which are amazing and full of mouth watering treats, I'm looking forward to it already.

So there we have it, that's my Christmas pretty much summed up. As you can probably gather from my uber rambly answers to these questions, I'm just slightly enthusiastic at this time of the year. Like I said earlier though, it is my absolute favourite time of the year so it's fine to get a tad carried away.

Do you love Christmas as much as me? Have you done this tag?

Lots of Love,

Instagram Diary #2

Follow me on Instagram - @kayleighjcouture

I reached over 1500 followers - thank you!  ♥  Addicted to The Sims Freeplay on the Ipad  ♥ Ready to go out for a meal  ♥  Cocktail at Hervey Bay  ♥  Yummy Bruschetta  ♥ Funny Quote  ♥ Writing my name in the sand  ♥  Me at Hervey Bay Beach  ♥  Love this lipgloss  ♥ Freshly manicured nails with a clear top coat  ♥ Me and my friend Camille  ♥ My amazing new double ring  ♥  Loving this mascara (Review soon!)  ♥  Aztec OOTD  ♥  My supposed celeb lookalikes?  ♥  My boyfriend using the outdoor gym - genius idea ;)! 

Hi Ladies! Just a very quick Instagram post from me today. This selection of pictures have been taken over the past couple of weeks so I thought I'd share. I recently hit the 1500 followers mark on my blog and I couldn't of been happier. This is such a huge milestone  considering I only started this blog 9 months ago. Thank you so any one who always takes the time to leave me nice comments, tweet or email me and hello to any new followers. I promise I will be doing a giveaway as a thank you very soon. Me and the boy went to stay at Hervey Bay (tourist destination in Queensland) for  a couple of days last week and we had a lovely time sipping cocktails, eating yummy bruschetta and chilling on the beach. I obviously had to write my name in the sand - does anyone else do this when they are in another country or is that just me? We also came across this outdoor gym which I thought was absolutely genius? I swear if I lived anywhere near a free gym like this I would have the body of a goddess haha jokes!  Apart from that I haven't done a great deal over the past couple of weeks apart f rom chilling out and blogging. I also went and got my nails infilled which made me very happy as they were an absolute state. I wear clear acrylics so I can apply polish on top but I thought they looked lovely and elegant with just a clear top coat. 

Oh and just to finish this post, how awesome is that quote? I saw it stuck on the fridge at the place we were staying at Hervey Bay and thought it was such a funny motivational quote. If you can't read it from the small picture, it says -

"This is a tuit. At long last we have sufficient quantity for you to have one of your own. Guard it with your life! These tuits are hard to come by - especially the round ones! For years you've been saying "I'll do that as soon as I get a round tuit" - Now that you have a round tuit of your own, many things that you mean to do just might get done! So get tuit!

Get it? I thought it was a clever quote and definitely motivational as I am all too often saying "I'll get round to it" then never actually doing it!

I hope you have all had a lovely week!

Lots of Love,

Instagram Diary #1

Top Row (L-R) - Australian Sunset, Me being silly, My dads Canon EOS 1000d, My new Cath Kidston Iphone Case.

Second Row - Cut-Out Primark Swimsuit, My fave summer outfits, Feeding the ducks with my boyfriend and little brother, Gold & Black smoky eye.

Third Row - Taking my Louis Vuitton on its first outing, Louis & Champagne in Brisbane, Me & My Dad, Starbucks with the boyfriend.

Bottom Row - New River Island Peplum top, New Jewellery, Noosa Beach, Plaiting my hair.

Hey Ladies. I hope you are all well. As you may be aware, it was my birthday at the start of the month and I was super duper excited to receive and Iphone4s as one of my presents. I was also majorly excited that I could now join the Instagram club and these 'Instagram Diary' type blog posts. I personally love taking photos, I even wanted to be a photographer when I was younger so an app like Instagram is the perfect place for me to get snap happy and upload my pictures. I upload a mixture of things on there from beauty and fashion photos, to scenic shots and everyday life. The selection above have been uploaded over the past couple of weeks but I had so many more I could of included. I decided to stick with these ones for my first post to see how they go down. I will be more than happy to do a weekly Instagram diary though if it is something you might be interested in seeing? I realise some of you may of already seen these pictures if you follow me on Instagram so I do apologise for that but I thought it might be a nice way for those of you who don't have Instagram to get to know me a little bit better. As you can see, I have had a lovely couple of weeks with trips to feed the ducks at the park, the stunning beach at Noosa and a shopping trip to Brisbane. I have also got a few new goodies including a River Island Peplum top, chunky jewellery and this cute Cath Kidston phone case. My dad also informed me he has won a Canon EOS 650D in a promotion at work and he is kindly giving it to me as he already owns the 1000D. I couldn't be happier as I have been harping on about how I would love one of these cameras for months now. I can't wait to get snapping with it, it will be amazing for my blog so watch out for some high quality photos in the near future. It also means I will now have something to film HD videos on so Youtube might even be an option for me? Would you like to see me doing videos? I'm not 100% convinced yet but I may give it a whirl when I receive the camera and see how I feel.

I hope you have enjoyed this post and if you have Instagram feel free to follow me - 'kayleighjcouture' :)

Lots of Love,

OOTD - Casual Layering

Hey Everyone! If you follow me on Twitter here you may already know I had asked what everyone thought of posed outfit posts. By posed I don't just mean your usual hand on hip and smile to the camera type pose, I mean proper posed pictures with a nice background or surroundings that have a somewhat professional look to them. I guess you see these type of pictures mainly on fashion blogs but as I had never tried it before I thought I would give it a whirl. My dad lives in a lovely wooden house with big windows so I thought the balcony would be the perfect place to get some good shots. I do quite like these more posed pictures as I think they show off an outfit better. I wasn't planning on doing an outfit post yesterday in the slightest as I got up, through my hair up in a messy bun and didn't even bother putting any makeup on. Hence the big Primark sunnies I'm wearing. However, as I was looking for something to wear I decided on this aztec print playsuit from H&M. I then teamed it with my new jumper featured in my previous post over the top and I thought it made quite a cute combo. I'm a huge fan of layering as I think its such an easy way of creating a stylish look. You can create so many different looks with a simple bit of layering. For accessories, I wore the necklace and bag I bought in Brisbane which are also featured in my previous post. Overall, I think the whole  outfit worked well and made for a stylish casual look. 

What do you think of these posed kind of pictures? Would you like to see more outfit posts like this on my blog? Please let me know your thoughts.

Lots of Love,