I really don't like taking pictures, except of my dog. Would it be wrong to have 30 dog photos accompany a cobbler entry? (If I could get 30 worthy dog photos that is).
Ree,
I totally agree with you on this - all the way. Your photos were one of the things that kept me sticking around your site. I think it keeps more people sticking around - even if they don't realize it. We're a highly visual society now - especially those of us on the web. And photos convey mood so well. Sometimes the difference between a good blog post and a forgetable one is the pictures. Really.
I agree... LOVE photos on blogs... many times if there are no photos... I move on! My blog has lots of photos and paintings by moi...
http://fififlowers.com
Ree, you are my hero! I am new to your site and completey in love with it. Making Ranch Chicken for dinner on Thur too :) Love these photo tips, thanks!
Thanks for the suggestion to use Flickr a few weeks ago. I found it great when Blogger's photo hosting site Picasa was down. I believe Blogger made the transition to Picasa last year.
One of the faux pas that I made in the beginning when it came to the photos I used on my blog were using images off the internet instead of my own photos. Since I discovered this was not the way to blog, I have either deleted those posts or deleted the images and replaced with my own images. From time to time I find a new blog that makes the same mistake.
I agree that one doesnt have to have the best camera in the world to post great images to their blog. I use an older camera that has never worked correctly (HP R717), but I have found that a photo editing program works efficiently enough to fix my photos. I use PS Elements, but I know there are less expensive software programs out there.
You gave a suggestion on your blog once (I think it was once) about keeping photo bright. I tend to agree.
30 photos is not too many...it is just torture. Torture to my tastebuds. Torture because my tongue ain't getting any.
I have tons of photos on my blog... and now you have me wondering as well... should I check out Photobucket? I keep those photos I've adjusted for web publication in a special folder on my computer (72 dpi, 640x480) since I keep the original size as well. So far I'm doing what you're suggesting... ranch life... lots of photos... no music... no f words... no readers either! ah well.
I somewhat disagree about hosting photos on another server. You're TOTALLY right about the benefits that you mentioned but....
when you do purchase the space for your site to be hosted, and there's room for all of your photos -- it's best to keep everything together.
If you have to pack up and leave for another server, you just back everything up and move. It isn't like moving from blogger to your own server, that's a completely different experience. Think... moving your "My Documents" and "My Photos" folders to a new computer. That's about it.
The more sites you spread everything out on, the more chances for things to go awry. For instance, what if your external photo hosting site goes down? Or is running super extremely slow because they have more users and can't afford more server space?
You can control your own server space and bandwidth, but you can't control theirs.
Also -- Time.
I've been blogging for over eight years, on and off. In the old days, you used to have to upload the photos using FTP to wherever you wanted to store them. THEN you had to go into the blogging program and link thru to everything.
Yeah, that's pretty slow.
But today Wordpress has that amazing function to upload all of your photos at once, allow you to size them how you want, alignment, borders, linking, etc!
Plus, I have plugins installed to make this feature even more awesome. For instance, I have one plugin installed that allows my readers to click on the photos to make them larger, overlaying on the post. That's a great feature if a key part of the blog is photos.
To me... having to go thru flickr to upload my photos & get their linking code ... that takes SO MUCH more time than just uploading straight into wordpress.
And time is key for me. If I don't have time, I can't post.
Thanks! I use my photos for several purposes- the blog, etsy.com, just for family stuff. This puts them into all different sizes and shapes. Should the blog photos all be roughly the same size and proportion? Should I skip the ones I've cropped to highlight the centerpiece?
Thanks for the tips, P-Dub. I still remember seeing that bottom picture the very first time I visited your blog -- it's such an unusual perspective. My blog is currently on Blogger, so I will have to take your external hosting advice to heart!
I, too, believe in taking lots of photos for my site. Yours are so creative in content. Very good advice for everyone. Thanks so very much, Ree.
Joyce@oregonmomsemptynest.com
I really don't like taking pictures, except of my dog. Would it be wrong to have 30 dog photos accompany a cobbler entry? (If I could get 30 worthy dog photos that is).
Ree,
I totally agree with you on this - all the way. Your photos were one of the things that kept me sticking around your site. I think it keeps more people sticking around - even if they don't realize it. We're a highly visual society now - especially those of us on the web. And photos convey mood so well. Sometimes the difference between a good blog post and a forgetable one is the pictures. Really.
I agree... LOVE photos on blogs... many times if there are no photos... I move on! My blog has lots of photos and paintings by moi...
http://fififlowers.com
Ree, you are my hero! I am new to your site and completey in love with it. Making Ranch Chicken for dinner on Thur too :) Love these photo tips, thanks!
Thanks for the suggestion to use Flickr a few weeks ago. I found it great when Blogger's photo hosting site Picasa was down. I believe Blogger made the transition to Picasa last year.
One of the faux pas that I made in the beginning when it came to the photos I used on my blog were using images off the internet instead of my own photos. Since I discovered this was not the way to blog, I have either deleted those posts or deleted the images and replaced with my own images. From time to time I find a new blog that makes the same mistake.
I agree that one doesnt have to have the best camera in the world to post great images to their blog. I use an older camera that has never worked correctly (HP R717), but I have found that a photo editing program works efficiently enough to fix my photos. I use PS Elements, but I know there are less expensive software programs out there.
You gave a suggestion on your blog once (I think it was once) about keeping photo bright. I tend to agree.
30 photos is not too many...it is just torture. Torture to my tastebuds. Torture because my tongue ain't getting any.
I have tons of photos on my blog... and now you have me wondering as well... should I check out Photobucket? I keep those photos I've adjusted for web publication in a special folder on my computer (72 dpi, 640x480) since I keep the original size as well. So far I'm doing what you're suggesting... ranch life... lots of photos... no music... no f words... no readers either! ah well.
http://blog.rimrockenglishshepherds.com
I somewhat disagree about hosting photos on another server. You're TOTALLY right about the benefits that you mentioned but....
when you do purchase the space for your site to be hosted, and there's room for all of your photos -- it's best to keep everything together.
If you have to pack up and leave for another server, you just back everything up and move. It isn't like moving from blogger to your own server, that's a completely different experience. Think... moving your "My Documents" and "My Photos" folders to a new computer. That's about it.
The more sites you spread everything out on, the more chances for things to go awry. For instance, what if your external photo hosting site goes down? Or is running super extremely slow because they have more users and can't afford more server space?
You can control your own server space and bandwidth, but you can't control theirs.
Also -- Time.
I've been blogging for over eight years, on and off. In the old days, you used to have to upload the photos using FTP to wherever you wanted to store them. THEN you had to go into the blogging program and link thru to everything.
Yeah, that's pretty slow.
But today Wordpress has that amazing function to upload all of your photos at once, allow you to size them how you want, alignment, borders, linking, etc!
Plus, I have plugins installed to make this feature even more awesome. For instance, I have one plugin installed that allows my readers to click on the photos to make them larger, overlaying on the post. That's a great feature if a key part of the blog is photos.
To me... having to go thru flickr to upload my photos & get their linking code ... that takes SO MUCH more time than just uploading straight into wordpress.
And time is key for me. If I don't have time, I can't post.
http://www.whatmegmakes.com
Thanks! I use my photos for several purposes- the blog, etsy.com, just for family stuff. This puts them into all different sizes and shapes. Should the blog photos all be roughly the same size and proportion? Should I skip the ones I've cropped to highlight the centerpiece?
Thanks for the tips, P-Dub. I still remember seeing that bottom picture the very first time I visited your blog -- it's such an unusual perspective. My blog is currently on Blogger, so I will have to take your external hosting advice to heart!
I, too, believe in taking lots of photos for my site. Yours are so creative in content. Very good advice for everyone. Thanks so very much, Ree.
Joyce@oregonmomsemptynest.com