Photo Blogging 101, Part 1
Spring is in the air. With the weather warming up, now is a great time to get started on a photo blog. Creating a photo blog is a wonderful introduction to blogging on WordPress.com or an opportunity to refresh your current site. Ready to get started? You can sign up for a new blog right over here.
Getting started
Photo blogs, sometimes called phlogs, use pictures instead of words. While many photo bloggers choose a type of photo that they want to focus on, such as portraits, others use their photo blog to document their life’s events. Photo blogs come in a variety of styles, including those that focus on vacation photos or even snapshots of friends. With images, we can capture moments in our life in a way that sometimes words cannot.
When starting a photo blog, you’ll want to choose a theme with a wider content area to help to showcase your photos at full size. Similarly, choosing a theme that is minimalistic helps to reduce any noise that may detract from the focus on your photography. Popular photo blogging themes on WordPress.com include Nishita, Duotone, and Modularity Lite. Looking for some inspiration? Be sure to check out the photo blogs below or more of our recommended photo blogging sites for examples of photo-friendly layouts.
The Unknown Project, a WordPress.com photo blog using Anthem.
Tracey Capone Photography, a WordPress.com photo blog using Twenty Eleven.
Tomorrow Never Knows, a WordPress.com photo blog using Comet.
Want to add photo flair to your site without starting a whole new blog? Adding a photo blogging category to an existing blog is a great way to revamp your site. In fact, you may consider doing “Friday Phlogs” or a similar weekly special to help incorporate these tips consistently into your current site.
Tools of the Trade
What do you need to get started? Nothing but a camera and an internet connection. Photo blogging with a smart phone is growing increasingly simple, particularly with the Quick Photo button in the WordPress for iOS and Android apps where you can point, shoot, and publish. If you’re already a pro at the WordPress apps, you may be interested in taking a look at Camera+ and Flickr, which allow you to automatically share your photos to your WordPress.com blog.
On the left, QuickPhoto in WordPress for Android and on the right, QuickPhoto in WordPress for iOS.
If you choose to use a more traditional camera, there are few tips to keep in mind when uploading your photos to ensure they represent the full quality of your original picture.
- Don’t resize your photos after uploading them to WordPress.com. Instead, leave your images at full size so we can see your work in all of it’s glory. WordPress.com will automatically generate the appropriate dimensions for you.
- Make edits to your photos before uploading them.
- Save your photos as JPEGs. JPEGs are the best format for photos online. You can also use PNG if you’re looking to add a transparent image to your site.
Welcome to our series on photo blogging! Stay tuned for more tips and tricks over the next few weeks.
Posted: Monday, May 14th, 2012 at 3:00 pm. Filed in HowTo, Photos.
Tags: how to, mobile blogging, Photo Blogging 101, photoblogging
May 14th at 3:17 pm
what about adding and uploading videos… do u have any tips about that?
May 14th at 6:27 pm
Certainly! You can always learn more about adding videos to your blog here:
http://en.support.wordpress.com/videos/
May 14th at 3:51 pm
Reblogged this on pinkjhoysjem.
May 14th at 4:50 pm
Awesome Erica, TY!
I do hope you’re not phlogging a dead horse though!
(sowii, I know)
May 14th at 6:28 pm
May 14th at 4:52 pm
Like you mentioned, WP’s theme Nishita works well on my site for photos. I also like how the photos can be smaller for tag searches as well as archives. It’s an all around awesome theme!
May 14th at 4:57 pm
what is the widest content area available at WP?
May 14th at 6:33 pm
Anthem is a premium theme with a maximum width of 1240. Nishita is one of our free themes with a width of up to 1024 pixels.
May 14th at 6:48 pm
thanks for the info on Nishita (btw I like the sound of “phlog” — much preferable to “bloph”)
May 14th at 5:07 pm
I too run a PhotoBlog. More of a magazine look, but core is PhotoBlogging
May 14th at 5:25 pm
Great idea! But what has happened to the weekly photo challenge that so many of us enjoyed?
May 14th at 6:24 pm
Don’t worry – it’s still here!
http://dailypost.wordpress.com/category/photo-challenges/
May 14th at 6:37 pm
Thanks Erica, just found it in my In box. Have also just created a photo blog
May 14th at 5:42 pm
If you have a high megapixel camera its definitely worth resizing your photos before you upload them. It’ll be quicker, use less storage space and be a lot more convenient for people viewing your images. Resizing to 1024 pixels (or less) on the long edge works for me on my photo blog and the images still look great.
May 14th at 6:17 pm
Very nice examples and directions! Much of this information can also apply to graphics blogs.
May 14th at 6:26 pm
WordPress.com is one of the best sites for sharing photos. It has helped me in sharing my nature and outdoor photography.
May 14th at 6:28 pm
Thank you. Really inspiring.
May 14th at 6:29 pm
Thank you for featuring my blog!
May 14th at 6:31 pm
You’re welcome!
May 14th at 6:34 pm
These are gorgeous examples! Very inspiring.
May 14th at 6:41 pm
Nice…..
May 14th at 6:47 pm
Cool…didn’t know there was a photography contest option on WordPress. Shall have to check it out.
May 14th at 6:56 pm
One of these days, please write a 101 article on How to effectively promote the blog for subscription, i.e, what are various ways people are reading blogs, how can they subscribe based on their platform of choice, what can bloggers do to reach the audience from the audience perspective, etc. Not talking about how any blogger can increase the audience, instead, how one can provide awareness of various subscription methods.
We know RSS has not picked up steam, email has been dying for long time, we are increasingly mobile, WordPress has its own Reader. But what does the data say, how are people accessing blogs in recent times? Are more of us using email or chat messengers? You must have some behind-the-scenes clues, you just need to keep up with the trend and bring the awareness to the bloggers so they get the audience perspective.
May 14th at 6:59 pm
nice blog!
May 14th at 7:10 pm
Erica, Thanks for this series.
Can I use this opportunity to request for more themes with wider / flexible width. Yes Nishita is amazing by can’t have a side bar. There are just very few themes like “Under the Influence” (I currently use) that allows for a wider width when having a side bar too.
May 14th at 7:36 pm
I like it! Thanks for sharing!
May 14th at 7:45 pm
Generally I resize all of my images to 1024 pixels on the longest side and save them at around about 100kb. I also do a little write-up about my photographs to let viewers know my thoughts…
May 14th at 8:14 pm
This is a very interesting concept and I will try to utilize it, I’m just not sure if I could use it well with the massage demographic!? Any suggestions here?
May 14th at 8:17 pm
Very cool, I always considered starting a photoblog, but I don’t think I have the right sort of camera to do any real photography justice.
Very nice tips though.
May 14th at 8:31 pm
Great post Erica! Thank you very much for including my blog as an example
May 14th at 8:50 pm
Love it! Thanks
May 14th at 9:03 pm
Thanks for the great info, just kicked off my blog a few weeks ago, so this is quite timely. Looking forward to the upcoming posts!
May 14th at 9:47 pm
Hi all.
There is much talk about photo blogs now. I have created two blogs. One is called: http://bjorn.ottosen.wordpress.com
For the time being, any text in Norwegian, but it’s possible I translate also into English later.
The second blog, called: http://bergenairportflesland.wordpress.com
There is also some pages in English. too.
-Bjorn
May 14th at 10:09 pm
Reblogged this on Godz1fan’s Weblog and commented:
I am thinking about photoblogging
May 14th at 10:10 pm
Great post…
May 14th at 10:19 pm
As someone blogging through photo essays, this post was helpful; thank you!
May 14th at 10:19 pm
Great article. Great eye.
May 14th at 11:11 pm
informative article!
May 14th at 11:56 pm
Thank you, Erica!
May 15th at 12:05 am
I almost forgot the app feature “Quick Photo” instead I make the Photo and then use the sharing-mode from android.
May 15th at 12:24 am
Look like photo blogging start to get attention from wordpress.com team. i prefer to resize my image before uploading, to reduce the space consumption, and to ensure faster viewing speed for visitors.
May 15th at 1:14 am
Reblogged this on diianiiziita.
May 15th at 1:22 am
Someone came up with an excellent idea; thanks for the start.
May 15th at 2:47 am
nice, but I dont have a good camera to take a picture. I just take a picture from hand phone. thank for information
May 15th at 2:48 am
I’m a rookie at blogging. I can hardly get a written blog together and posted correctly. Lately I’ve been thinking about what I could do to spice my blog up. I did try to add pictures to my blogs. I got them on there but couldn’t manipulate them well. I will give this some consideration. Thanks for great information
May 15th at 3:11 am
Thank you for the tips! My blog has kind of morphed into a photo/text blog so I appreciate the advice. I love the tip about not resizing the images. I have to agree, the larger images do create more of a visual impact.
May 15th at 3:16 am
great idea.
May 15th at 3:18 am
Reblogged this on Undefinedliving's Blog.
May 15th at 3:18 am
I used to resize, but I found it works just as well not to.
May 15th at 4:32 am
Awwww, this is very helpful to new bloggers like me. Thank you! Looking forward for the coming tutorials.
May 15th at 5:56 am
Reblogged this on goldenglobe99.
May 15th at 6:02 am
thanks for your pic.
May 15th at 6:06 am
Erica, Good to see promoting phlogs! Btw, I use ‘Triton Lite’ theme for my phlog- http://theraise.wordpress.com/
Great theme. Might be u missed this theme to mention in your post.
May 15th at 6:24 am
Nice pictures! I like to do that in my blog, so my visitors could look around and enjoy the site. its cool!
May 15th at 6:55 am
Thank you for the tips. Seems like the universe is aligning. I recently started to blog and thinking of using a camera to integrate with my writing. Looking forward to the next.
May 15th at 8:35 am
Great blog, thank you so much!
May 15th at 9:10 am
Guess it’s time to make some changes on my photoblog!
Thanks for sharing and looking forward to more posts about tips on photo blogging!
May 15th at 10:46 am
LOVE it!!!
Just started a phlog – random pictures from my daily life…
I’m using the Forever theme – think it’s kindda cool.
May 15th at 11:36 am
This was actually helpful. Thanks!
May 15th at 12:09 pm
I wish WordPress would develop a very easy way to watermark photos.
May 15th at 12:56 pm
Thanks for this suggestion! I’ve registered it so we can keep it in mind for future updates to WordPress.com
May 15th at 1:45 pm
I have to say thank you for this understanding and idea. Photos can capture so many words we sometimes just can’t get out. I would love to add this aspect to my new blog I have just started. I am sort of a rookie at this whole thing, but mostly just not being able to know how to attract people. Hope to learn more from ideas you list.
May 15th at 2:42 pm
Well this is all very inspired – and practical – but what about a post on VIDEO blogging? I have a blog which is ENTIRELY a video diary of day upon day of me giving up alcohol. The shakes, the ups, the downs. http://www.VodkaWasMyMuse.com.
I love the photography I see out there in wordpress; it’s beautify, ALWAYS. I love , just love, the variety of blogs out here.
May 15th at 3:09 pm
Totally awesome
May 15th at 3:27 pm
Good to know!
May 15th at 4:34 pm
I am enjoying my “Dusk To Dawn” theme; it suits me. But the Nishita theme is one I will keep in mind if I ever decide I want a change. Thank you for this info.
May 15th at 5:50 pm
Thanks for the suggestion to make a ‘category’ for the photos.
also, I noticed that using the email posting option allows the photo to be seen without having to click on the title, as compared with the wordpress app for android
May 15th at 6:41 pm
I love Photoblogs! I too run a photoblog
I tried to update as much as I can and I do agree that a simple watermark tool would be a great tool for a photo blogger like me 
May 15th at 7:08 pm
As always, terrific ideas by and for creative minds!
May 15th at 7:16 pm
Thank you I have a new look now,
May 15th at 7:34 pm
Creativity will always have a large space in my mental and my heart…
May 15th at 10:39 pm
Thanks my girls love the pic’s.
May 16th at 4:33 am
I’ve always wanted to get into photography, I’m creative but not very tech savvy.. working the camera, and figuring out the best resolution ect.
These tips n apps will be helpful. I just joined the weekly photo challenge, eager to get started!
May 16th at 12:22 pm
Reblogged this on karenlawrencephotography.
May 16th at 4:47 pm
I’ve been using the Andrea Theme for the past month or so and really like it.
May 16th at 9:08 pm
Reblogged this on dthkokawknyaw.
May 16th at 10:04 pm
Wow I like this idea…thank you Erica..I love pictures so I will be getting me Cannon prepared! xoxoxo
May 17th at 1:20 pm
Beuty pic
May 17th at 5:50 pm
Many thanks for this post, have been thinking of setting up a Photo blog for a while and thanks to your post it finally happend
May 17th at 8:18 pm
Good tips, thanks very much!
May 17th at 10:06 pm
Thanks
May 17th at 11:27 pm
well written and extremely helpful. Thank you
May 18th at 2:18 am
Is there a way to upload a photo from the iPhone app but not publish until later. I find it is the quickest way to upload a photo, but then I like to type my post on my laptop. When I do this, my photo automatically publishes and then I have to “edit” to add the text. Seems there should be an easier way.
May 18th at 12:48 pm
When writing a new post on the iPhone app, you won’t see a “Save Draft” button. However, if you click on the cancel button, you will see an option to either delete the post or save it as a draft
May 18th at 10:14 am
J’y connais rien a la photo mais je trouves vos photos extra
C’est bien de créer et de donner des idées en mem temps!!!
Bon week end Amicalement
Cocopaillette
May 18th at 5:48 pm
I as well find that Triton Lite works really well for photoblogging, I use it for my travel blog
May 20th at 7:30 pm
Thanks…
May 21st at 8:19 am
Thanks for inspiring me to create a photoblog.
May 21st at 9:08 am
i recommended WP to a friend who’s just done with his 2-week photography class.
May 21st at 9:36 pm
Great ideas! I’ve implemented some of them already
May 21st at 11:54 pm
Nice and very useful post
May 22nd at 1:03 am
Reblogged this on iflicks and commented:
Good read
May 22nd at 1:51 am
I hope you guys could also put an option of using flickr stream on a blog. It will be much easier to make a portfolio that way. Thanks so much!
May 22nd at 12:00 pm
Thanks for your suggestion! You may also be interested in some of the Flickr tools that are currently available, as well.
May 22nd at 2:29 am
Erica, you have inspired me to start another blog (I now have Humorous Interludes going). I’ve been taking photos all over the world for many years. I’m not a professional, but a lot of my shots are decent. Many of them were taken with film (remember that media?). I’ve been converting my old color slides to digital files. I’m also on the hunt for a new digital camera. I will now move on to part 2 of Photo Blogging. Thanks!
May 22nd at 11:38 am
Glad to hear that – best of luck with your new blog!
May 22nd at 3:57 am
Reblogged this on PhotogBlog.
May 22nd at 3:36 pm
Love the helpful blog layouts you suggested!! Thank you!!
May 22nd at 4:54 pm
Love the idea of my photo’s being larger but don’t want to lose my sidebar. Great post thanks.
May 23rd at 5:05 pm
I made my first photoblog type post directly from my Android using the app and thought it was super easy. I’d like to add some larger gallery type posts soon so was very encouraged by the detail you have gone into. Perhaps you could shed some light on posting multiple photos?
May 23rd at 10:50 pm
Hi
i really enjoyed reading your PhotoBlogging 101 Parts 1 and 2 – thanks so much for sharing your insights!
regards, Erik
May 28th at 2:22 pm
Waaauuu! cool info Erica am new but i’ve liked photoblogging i’ll try it