If you are a professional photographer, you should really have a blog (if you don’t have one already). A blog is the best place to display all your photographs, divided into categories and available for anyone to view.
Even if you already have a photography website, converting it into a blog would magnify the online presence of your passion for photography. That’s the power of blog in photography websites. Not only your existing or past clients would be interested in reading what you write, but many new prospects could also find your content appealing. People hire photographers not just because they admire their photography, but also because they admire the photographer for his view of seeing the world. And the best way for you to reveal your views to your audience is to share them in your blog articles.
A well-designed photography blog would allow your prospects to view your latest and greatest work. It is much easier for anyone to trust you and hire you if they can see all your previous photography, beautifully exhibited on a photo blog.
Image taken from Strikingly user’s website
If you’re one of those who think creating a blog would occupy too much of your time, money, and energy, then this article is for you! Here, we’ll discuss how to make a photo blog, and you’ll see how easy it is to actually build your very own photography blog.
How to Make a Photo Blog
- Sign Up For a Website Builder
To make things simpler, we wouldn’t suggest you hire a web developer. There are many different free website builders available in the market these days, which can get your photo blog up and running in just a few minutes.
One website builder that’s really simple to use is Strikingly. Strikingly is a free site builder that comes with tons of ready-made website templates, SEO features, drag-and-drop site building ability, live chat support and paid packages for further add-ons.
All you need to do is sign up for a free Strikingly account, after which you’ll be redirected to your Strikingly dashboard. That’s where you start creating your photo blog.
- Choose a Template
Once you have created an account in Strikingly, you need to select a template to begin. Strikingly features a variety of blog templates to choose from.
Image taken from Strikingly
There are many sure-fire ways to make your blog stand out, and among them is to choose the best template for your photo blog. The template that you choose for your website determines your web design.
The web design of your photo blog would reveal to your clients the extent of your motivation in delivering your photography service. In other words, the better looking your photo blog is, the better your clients would perceive your photography quality to be. Therefore, it is crucial for your photo blog to have an impressive and appealing design.
Following is an example of a good blog design.
Image taken from Strikingly user’s website
Select a suitable template based on your photography needs and get started with uploading your photographs.
- Upload and Organize Your Photos
Now is the time to build your photography portfolio. All the photography work that you’ve done in the past can be uploaded and displayed on the photography blog. Display your photographs neatly to present your work in a professional manner.
Click wherever you want to add some text and key in whatever you like. You can add text to each photo you upload to briefly describe what the photo is about. Make your work sound appealing to your prospects.
Editing your photo blog is very easy with Strikingly. The Strikingly editor functions with the drag-and-drop feature. To edit a website in a browser, just click on the area you want to edit and change the text or image.
- Beautify the Header and Footer
The template that you choose will come with a ready-made header and footer for your photo blog. But you can choose to further beautify it by adding your details and perhaps rearranging the text.
It’s always a good idea to include an ‘About Us’ section in the footer or create a separate ‘About Us’ page. There is great potential in the ‘About Us’ page for any business.
Your header must include your name (or brand name) or logo that you have. Simply upload a logo image and give some final touches to the header. You might want to fine-tune the color theme of your photo blog too according to your choice. These kinds of minor changes will give your blog a personal feel.
Here is an example of a well-written ‘About Us’ section on a blog built on Strikingly. If you are a team of photographers offering photography service, you can also design your ‘About Us’ page like this.
Image taken from Strikingly user’s website
- Integrate Your Blog With Social Media
Strikingly offers this amazing feature to link your blog or website with your social media pages. This is done by adding social media icons on the footer. Integrating your photography blog with your social media gives a larger reach to your portfolio. Every time you take on a new photography project, you can post the new photos on your social media pages (e.g. Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter) and link them to your blog page where the same photos are uploaded;.
The image below shows how a Strikingly user added social media icons on the footer of their website.
Image taken from Strikingly user’s website
If your audience wants to get in touch with you though, the best way for them to do that is to use the Strikingly live chat feature which will be available on your Strikingly website. This is the most instant way for anyone to contact you directly from your website.
- Post Some Articles About Photography
If you are a photographer, you are probably a creative person. You might consider posting some articles on your photo blog to share your knowledge about photography with your prospects. This is a way of doing content marketing and is quite effective in establishing your name as an expert in your field. Writing about your photography will improve your marketing strategy and help you get more high-quality clients. Your articles will also help enhance the search rankings of your photo blog.
- Update Your Photo Blog From Time to Time
Website updates are important because they keep your clients from getting bored with your website and your work. Now that you have a photo blog, make sure that you keep uploading your latest photography work on it. You never know who’s admiring your latest work and thinking of hiring you as a photographer for their next big event.
- Check Out Other Photography Blogs
Now that you know How to Make a Photo Blog, you would probably want yours to always stand out among others. After all, we all need inspiration from time to time. That’s why it’s a good practice to keep an eye on other photography blogs to make sure you’re not lagging behind in any features or quality.
7 Good Examples of Photography Blogs to Follow
1. Creative Live: This photo blog hosts some of the most stylish photography instructors of the world. They offer online courses on topics like starting a photography business or learning how to use a photo editing software. You can not only compare your photo blog with Creative Live but also learn a lot about the photography world by taking some of their courses.
Image from Creative Live
2. ISO by 500px: This is both a photo-sharing site and a blog. They publish articles about art and photography for those who are interested in exploring and learning about the photography world. If you create a profile in 500px, you can share your photography work there and also make some money out of it.
Image from 500px
3. DIY Photography: This photo blog shares tips and tricks on how to get better at photography. It also teaches how to make simple photography equipment of your own instead of spending money on expensive cameras and other photography tools. Tons of articles published on this blog can take you a long way in your knowledge about photography. For example, you can learn how to turn a space in your home into a photography studio.
Image from DIY Photography
4. Expert Photography: If you are a beginner in photography, this is the blog for you to follow. It offers helpful guides that teach how to use different camera functions and other photography equipment. It’s a very simple photography blog but worth it to keep an eye on.
Image from Expert Photography
5. Photography Axis: This one particularly focuses on birds, wildlife and nature. The author of this blog, Govind Vijayakumar, is a passionate traveler who likes to do photography wherever he goes. He uses different camera gear views and writes about his post-production activities. His photo blog has a unique beauty to it that makes it a must-watch to keep you inspired in this field!
Image from Photography Axis
6. Joe McNally: Joe McNally is an internationally renowned and award-winning photographer who runs his own blog to display his latest photography projects and ideas. He uses exceptional photography techniques. You’ll definitely learn some interesting facts about photography by following his blog.
Image from Joe McNally
7. The Sartorialist: This one belongs to Scott Schuman, who’s a blogger and photographer focused on street fashion. He likes taking photos of people presenting their interest in fashion. It’s a cool blog to follow to keep up with the trends in both fashion and photography.
Image from The Sartorialist
Photography is quite a complex form of art and one really needs to be a master in it to be able to sell it. If you have this skill, you are truly blessed. Don’t keep it a secret. Share it with the world. And when you realize how it is to share your portfolio with the world online, you wouldn’t want to stop.
Having a photography blog of your own is a matter of taking pride in your passion for photography. If you don’t have one yet, build one today!
