As I mentioned yesterday, I started my blog with two goals: to blog for Weddingbee and to become rich and famous like Ree Drummond. Neither of those happened. Having been around the bloggy-sphere for nigh unto a year and a half, I’ve encountered some growing pains.
My first hurdle was photography. I had lots of great recipes just waiting to burst onto the scene and go viral on Pinterest. Then the cookbook offers and TV appearances would come rushing in (these dreams were formed right when I changed jobs. I had a lot of free time). The problem was that I had no idea how to photograph food, and my camera (a Kodak point and shoot) wasn’t the best tool, either. So I have these gems floating around my blog archives. Since then, I’ve upgraded my camera and learned to clean off the photo background.
I also picked up a copy of Food Blogging for Dummies from Barnes & Noble. It’s pretty helpful but is oriented towards a pure food blog. The author has a whole chapter dedicated to food styling and staging, which I clearly have not mastered. I’ve also invested in some staging gear: a few plain plates (these from Bed, Bath, and Beyond), some basic placemats (from Target), and a handmade background (just fabric wrapped around a piece of foam core).
Another issue was lighting. My kitchen in North Carolina was nice and spacious but had no source of natural light. The kitchen table wasn’t in a good location for taking photos. Here, we have no natural lighting but good table access. To combat this, I use the food setting on my camera with a blue light filter. I also have embraced the wonder that is photo editing software.
How have y’all improved photos and posts on your blog?
food is my favorte thing to photograph, but it’s hard!! The background tip is a good idea! I use picmonkey a lot to help fix some of mine up.
I love photographing food, but it’s definitely tricky.
sometimes its hard to get the right angles of the food and make it look appetizing. I am getting better at it as I go along.
This is still a work in progress for me too, but it’s getting better. Although sometimes it’s fun to look at some of my older photos just to see what crazy things were in the background. Ha!