As much as we’re all for using styled stock photos when the project calls for it, it can be really fun to plan and style little shoots in your own at-home photo studio to complement the written content you have planned for your blog. We’ve talked about iPhone photography and creative prop ideas, but what about the blog photo shoot itself? Over the years we’ve learned ways to make these shoots run smoothly and produce beautiful photos. Here’s our advice!
Make a shot list
It doesn’t have to be as fancy as a professional photographer might make, but if I don’t jot down a few notes about what I want, I usually forget at least one important step, and have to go back and re-style the whole scene. Here are some examples of the types of shots we might plan to get when we set up a scene for The Blog Market:
- Flatlay image for the blog graphic with text-friendly composition (like the above)
- Flatlay image that looks complete without adding text
- Photo composed specifically for Instagram (square/with the square in mind to see how it will look on our grid)
- If shooting a product we’d like to promote, we’ll want one with a logo or packaging showing
See what we mean? Even a single blog post can have a lot of moving parts, and it’s so much easier to grab these shots in advance than try to crop a photo that wasn’t meant for X purpose.
Have your props ready
Make sure there’s plenty to choose from! I like to have 2-3 of each prop if I’m banging out a few posts at once: backdrops, coffee mugs and coasters, plants, candles – you know, the usual lifestyle props. It doesn’t seem like the most exciting thing in the world, but these accents are what actually makes a photo look polished and stand out in a sea of similarly composed images. Basically, we generally raid our living rooms for decor, and combine it with the subject, which is often a planner or workspace furniture. It’s nice to have it all in one place so, again, you don’t forget that it’s at your disposal.
Set up a “template”
Not all blogs go off of similar photos for each post but if you are sticking with the same general format like we do for each post, creating a general template of your scene will help. Set up and replace items as you go along. You can do this with everything from beauty product flatlays to food photos to fashion photos by having a dedicated spot/backdrop for your photos and a few elements that are always included.
Do you plan little photo shoots for your blog? Share any tips you’ve learned below!
Planner c/o Hadron Epoch
Kelsey says
I love this post! I’m still trying to be more organized when taking pictures for my shop and my blog. I try to plan a specific day at least once or twice a month to take pictures because I have to rearrange my furniture to have space! And I like the shot list idea. That’ll stop me from taking pics haphazardly :)
Dan says
Thanks for the rundown. Basic but good if you’re new to this sort of thing.
Esther says
This is very helpful! I am a beginning blogger and I am working on improving my photography, so I could use some tips :)
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