Are your photos social media ready? Read this.

So you’re a blogger and you’ve probably got that writing side of things sorted, but what about photos? Let’s chat about those. In the beginning of blogging it was enough to just share a photo… any old photo, but now we need to think a little bit bigger? Does it tell a story? Is it shareable? Is it {dare I say} up to scratch? Let’s explore how to master great images for social media.

Take your readers on a journey

Food blogging, and other niches of blogging would tell their stories in photos differently, but we’re really talking about personal and parenting here. Where possible, you want to evoke emotions, or make your reader feel as if they were right there with you, or coming along for the ride. Two of my favourite photographer/blogger people who do a really good job of documenting the little details are Tim Coulson and Lou from Sunny and Scout. If you click the links I’ve shared you’ll see how they’ve both shared a wedding they shot, but you really feel like you were there. You can sense the anticipation. You can imagine what it was like to be right there with them. This is particularly pertinent for your blog and Instagram.

A few tips for shooting real life:

      • Snap the little details. If you were sharing a day in your life, for example, take photos of the smaller details like half eaten toast, the view from where you sat at lunch, the moment you see the kids for the first time at school pick-up
      • Take too many photos. Yep. Edit them down later, but just keep snapping away throughout the day and you’re sure to capture more magical, normal moments

Make your photos shareable

If you want your photos to be shared from your blog, and on Facebook and Pinterest, there’s one really great tip that can help. This is particularly relevant when you’re sharing a recipe or a craft project, or something useful.

1. Visit picmonkey.com

2. Upload your photo.

3. Add a shape to it. I suggest choosing rectangle and then stretching it over either the bottom or the top of the image.

Screen Shot 2014-05-31 at 7.29.45 pm

Why do this? If someone sees this in on your Facebook page, they’re more likely to share it when it has an obvious title. The cupcake alone is pretty, but not particularly shareable. Add the title and immediately it’s got a share-ability factor. A person sees it and shares it to their own feed to either save the photo for later reference, or to show their friends that they’ve found the perfect cupcake recipe. Same goes for Pinterest. A cupcake picture on Pinterest is pretty, but add the title graphic and it’s immediately shareable.

Keep it simple and consistent

This is simple advice for sharing photos across all platforms, just keep it simple and consistent. Consistent because you want to almost create a recognisable style, where people will see your photo in a feed and connect with it. And simple, because the online world is so noisy, don’t try to complicate it further. On Instagram we’re working with such a small canvas, if you eliminate some of the noise (objects cluttering up your photo) you get to the heart of the subject matter more easily, and your audience connects more quickly.

Do you have anything to add? What makes you connect with a photo online? Or share it?

12 thoughts on “Are your photos social media ready? Read this.”

  1. I never noticed how adding a title to your photo made it share-able!
    I even put my and up and covered the text a few times to compare.
    it REALLY does help! Thank you. You always seem to answer my questions before I ask them. 🙂

  2. I am trying to learn as much as I can about photography because it’s what I struggle with most when putting a blog post together. I tried buying the Mollie Makes Photography mag but it’s sold out online 🙁 Do you have any books/mags/online courses you’d suggest ?

  3. I’m so inspired by how pretty your blog and its pictures look. I really want to work on incorporating more of my ‘real life’ photos into my blog and I love the advice about adding titles and making them shareable. Thanks!

  4. Top tips as always, Chantelle. My food photos are looking a million times better now that I have a grown up camera. I added my first graphic as you suggested, but now I’m thinking what do I do with the watermark? Or is the watermark not necessary?

  5. Great tip about being consistent. Sometimes I get lost in posting content, that I forget about the basics. Thank you for sharing this, Chantelle. Hope all is well with you and your lovely family. 😀

  6. Great post! I am in the process of setting up my blog and my stumbling spot is adding photos to tell my story. This little post helps me with setting up my photos. Thank you so much for your ever helpful posts

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