After my last post of Faking It As A Blogger || What I See vs What You See I knew it was something I wanted to make a little series of here on Darling Jordan, so I'm back with the second installment! Only this time it's all about does it really matter if you use a DSLR or a phone camera to take your blog photos! So I layed out different products and took a photo with my camera and my iPhone to see is there really that much of a difference.
Natural Lighting
When it comes to taking blog photos I really cannot praise natural lighting enough. Trust me when I say it's the only thing you need when it comes to taking your blog photos. If you have a camera fine but if you don't, you can use what you already have. Blogging shouldn't have to cost you anything.
When you take a photo with artificial lighting eg. your bedroom light it creates a very orange glow to the photo and it's really hard to get rid of it when it comes to editing it. I'd also recommend having no flash on, a flash tends to drown out the products colours I find. So definitely try taking your photos near a window with your phone/camera with your flash off!
Tripods
A tripod is actually a really handy thing to have, whether you're using your camera or your phone. You can get one for both and it just makes it that little bit easier to take photos as the device is kept steady and in the one place. Its especially perfect if you're not great at keeping the device steady by yourself, some angles I find are harder to stay steady for than others. I have only actually discovered that I own a tripod for my Canon camera and it's actually been pretty helpful!
I have ordered a tripod for my iPhone from eBay and cannot wait to get it. I had one before but it broke but it just made taking my Instagram photos that more easy. You can get tripods for your phone for a couple of euro and I'm pretty sure I've paid €3 with free p&p for my one currently in the post.
Positioning Smartly
It's all about faking having gorgeous marble tables and distressed floorboards in blogger land ;) So when it comes to taking your photos make sure you have things placed smartly and have no gaps showing. For example make sure your marble background is the only background you can see and not your messy room in the left hand corner of the background! Hands up who's room is messy right now!? *raises hand*
Flatlays are not my strongest point but it's fun to play around with them, so have fun while doing so! Take any little nicknacks that may be around your house and use them as props! The list is endless really. Take multiple photos of the same thing and play around with different angles until you find the perfect one.
Editing
Editing photos is such a fun thing to do in my opinion as you can really change how a picture looks. You can brighten, add some more contrast, add some warmth, the list in endless. Again just like how you don't need a fancy camera to take photos you also don't need a fancy editing programme as there are many accessible ones on the internet.
If you have photoshop that's great! For the first year of blogging I used Macromedia Fireworks to edit my photos as I had been using it for years and so knew all the functions of the programme. However going into my second year I have been loving Picmonkey! It's such an easy site to use and does everything I need it too. You could also try out Pixlr, Fotr, the list is endless!
When using your phone you don't even need to upload it to your computer without having it edited because there's even so many great apps out these days! Apps such as Afterlight and VSCO Cam can bring your photo to life in just a few simple steps!
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So in my opinion I don't think it matters what you take your blog photos on at all, once you're using natural lighting and thinking smartly about how you place things in your photos you're good to go. Remember editing can also make a big difference to your photos too and can really make them pop. I'm not going to tell you how to edit them because everyone has different tastes, but if you're happy and proud of your photos that is all that matters!
I have included photos in this post, with each photo featuring one taken by my camera and the other taken by my phone. When editing the photos of course the camera photos are a lot more crisp as the quality of the canon camera are better than the iPhone 6 plus camera. However because I'm not used to editing iPhone photos I think people could do a much better job than I did and really make them look fab. Reason I know this is because I follow people who take their blog photos on their phone and they look better than the photos I even take on my camera!
I would love to know your opinion on this subject!
What do you use to take your blog photos?
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Hi lovely. Thank you so much for writing this post. To be honest I feel my photos are where I'm personally lacking - and as we all know photos are so important. After doing some research yesterday I got some great ideas but also after reading your post just now I have some more ideas, so thank you and have a beautiful day 💖
ReplyDelete@BeautyLusciousx
xbeautylusciousx.blogspot.com :)
Xxx Zoe.
Oh I'm so glad lovely! Thank you so much for the kind words :) x
DeleteI'm really bad at taking photos in natural light! This year I'm going to really work on it!! x
ReplyDeleteHolly ∣ Closingwinter
Best of luck with it :) x
DeleteI have always used my phone since I started blogging and its still going strong! No need for any fancy camera.
ReplyDeleteParie x
classandglitter.com
Thats brilliant to hear! Once you're happy thats all that matters :) x
DeleteI used my phone for a long time but now I have my camera I couldn't look back! I can't get HQ photos using my phone personally! Xx
ReplyDeleteOliviaCheryl.com
I suppose once you go from a phone to a camera you notice the difference :) But everyone to their own I guess. Thanks for reading lovely :) x
DeleteGreat post lovely! When I started blogging, I honestly believed you had to have a DSLR to be successful and bought one, and realised it was ALL down to lighting! You can have the most priciest of cameras but if you have rubbish natural lighting, your photos will look the same as a £10 camera! xx
ReplyDeleteGemma ♥ | Miss Makeup Magpie
Honestly I was the same I was just fortunate enough to have one already in the house. But I totally agree with you, everything is about the lighting. 100% agree that you can use the camera in dreadful lighting and it won't look any better than a 10£ camera, such a great point! x
DeleteThese are such amazing tips! Really need to get myself a tripod :) xx
ReplyDeletewww.chasingbelle23.blogspot.co.uk
Thanks for reading lovely :) x
DeleteGreat post - I definitely need a proper tripod. I have a gorillapod but sometimes just doesn't give the height you need. I love Lightroom for editing raw images, it's really user friendly.
ReplyDeletewww.sarahsparkles.co.uk
When I use my tripod for my phone and want it higher I just stack books and dads under it, t's a very professional way as you can tell haha. I must try out Lightroom thanks for suggesting it :) x
DeleteReally great post and comparison pics!
ReplyDeleteMakeup Monster
I think you can probably get away with not using a fancy camera because at the end of the day to get the best photo the functions the camera does doesn't really matter, its the person using it who counts! x
ReplyDeletekatielou99.blogspot.co.uk
100% agree, you can have a fancy camera but still not know how to use it to its full capabiltiy x
DeleteJust discovered your blog and I love this series so much! It's really great! :)
ReplyDelete-blogabouthanney xo
Awh thank you so much lovely! I cannot wait to write more of it :) x
DeleteI don't know what I would do without tripod in gloomy winter days! I prefer taking photos in natural light, it gives better result (if you don't have soft lights). Positioning smartly is what I am working on :) x
ReplyDeleteEla BellaWorld
Totally agree with you! I'm currently working on it too :') x
DeleteI find photos on my blog are the hardest thing to organise. I run a theatre blog and find the photos are often repetative (e.g. just a photo of the cover of the programme and nothing else really) but I still really enjoy the editing process. Great post, I loved seeing the photos before and after editing!
ReplyDeleteYou could try playing around with different props and angles if you wanted to change it up a little :) Thank you for reading x
DeleteThis was a really interesting read and I'm 100% with you on the power of natural lighting. A phone photo with natural lighting will always look better than a DSLR one with that horrible artificial glow!
ReplyDeleteThe Makeup Directory
Totally agree! Thank you for reading :) x
DeleteIt's really true though, you can have the most expensive camera in the world but if you're using it in dreadful light it's going to be the same quality as a disposable camera :') Thank you so much lovely! x
ReplyDeleteThis was so interesting! Absolutely loved the comparison shots - you couldn't really tell which one was taken with the camera and the phone unless you look closely! Totally agree with you about natural lighting - it makes the biggest difference doesn't it!
ReplyDeleteRachel | Beauty and the Bird
Thank you so much lovely! It really is such a big thing when it comes to taking photos :) x
ReplyDeleteLove this post - personally I started out with an old Canon camera and have only recently upgraded to a better one. It has helped a lot but I still take pics on my iPhone, too! x
ReplyDeleteArianna x
www.ariannachatz.com
Thank you for reading :) I always take pictures for my Instagram on my iPhone as it's just much easier to do x
DeleteReally interesting, I've often wondered what other people find takes a better photo because sometimes I'll use my camera phone and other my DSLR. Sometimes I get a better picture in low light on my phone, other times on my DSLR. So in conclusion I'd agree too. It doesn't matter! Becky at zerosugardiet.com
ReplyDeleteI always use my camera for blogging, when it comes to instagram I can totally get away with the camera phone, but I personally feel Dslr is so much worth it when it comes to blogging, specially when you want to take it to the next level.
ReplyDeleteAnd I'm 100% with you on the naturally lighting, its the key when it comes to taking well lit, beautiful pictures.
Sam || Beautydetour