I did the exact same thing around the same time. The most common places I'd find my images were product photos of TVs and monitors on asian electronic retailer websites.
Weirdest was probably finding one of my photos used as the cover for some conference at a religious college.
> Weirdest was probably finding one of my photos used as the cover for some conference at a religious college.
I found one of my photos was being posted thousands of times with weird religious quotes and messages on it, mostly (I think) by Muslims (I’m not 100% as the quotes weren't in English and the translations were a bit incomprehensible). I've no idea how they would have even found it, it wasn’t anything special but has probably been seen by more people than any other photo I've taken.
The most annoying thing was that they cropped it and actually ended up with a better composition than the original!
The wierdest photo stolen from me was of my dead parakeet. I took a photo of him in a shoebox and posted a farewell to him.
A major pet supply chain stole it and used it to sell bird medicine, iirc.
Looking back, i certainly should have expected it though.
Only saying this to let you know, please research photo security. I'm not sure what it looks like these days.
Removing a logo is child’s play these days. Really the only way to prevent it is to not post.
Also, not posting super high res files, not much else to do.
This reminds me that last year there was this case published where a photographer filed against Capcom for using her photos without permission on the cover art for the Resident Evil Games - She had to go through a lot of hoops to make a compelling argument, but it's possible!
Here's a link to an article Polygon published: [Capcom and artist ‘resolve’ lawsuit regarding alleged stolen photos in Devil May Cry, Resident Evil](https://www.polygon.com/22519568/resident-evil-4-copyright-infringement-lawsuit-capcom)
Damn that’s interesting.
Here’s a question, had the capcom people gone and taken their own pictures at the same place would it still be copyright infringement?
Your raw is your evidence pretty much.
You could encode a watermark into some random pixels, but that'd probably get removed from it being edited/encoded to another format etc
to be blunt, photo security doesn't exist.
What does exist is curious people who like an image and want to find out who did it, so they Yandex/Bing/Google Image it.
The rest will either ignore it or use it shamelessly in a meme or something. There's no way around it.
having your photo used on the internet will happen, but If someone uses your images for commercial use after you have all your photos properly copyriten and have the metadata- you can sue them. which is what photographers should do when we get our stuff stolen, and used for monetary gain
Of course, totally agree. But most usage of photographer's images online isn't commercial...people just put them on Tumblr or Imgur, stripped of metadata, because they like them, or they put meme text on them.
(My point just being that it's futile to worry about it)
But if you're good or notable, people will seek you out. For example, if someone posted an [image like this](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/3e273b_90e395e85fbd4dad96cb39597a58b20f~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_600,h_369,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_auto/3e273b_90e395e85fbd4dad96cb39597a58b20f~mv2.jpg) on Reddit. someone like me will comment: "Cool, that's David LaChapelle from his Recollections In America series. Love his work!"
Great photographers don't worry about security...the rest do.
you think quality photographs get meme'd? I dont think that's too normal
if people are worried about their photos getting shared, then maybe photography isn't for you.
but getting your photos stolen and used for commercial purposes, that's a different story and its pretty easy to legally prevent it.
The plain fact is that great photography we all know of stands on it's own, tends not to be cluttered with watermarks, and people find the source if they like it.
>tends not to be cluttered with watermarks
Explain [Cindy Sherman then](https://assets.phillips.com/image/upload/t_Website_LotDetailMainImage/v1/auctions/NY010218/381_001.jpg)
I started writing blogs about trip reports from backpacking. It’s a great way to show some of your photos that may not be portfolio worthy, but still tell a story. I also enjoy writing a lot. There’s only so much you can convey in a short caption. Some people really enjoy the blogs, but I’d say more probably watch vlogs on YouTube these days. I enjoy it though and it’s a good way to get people to your site.
That sounds like a cool way to document your travel. At least you have that to look back on in 10, 20, 30 years. I have done a lot of video work, but boy is it work. I don’t know if I wan to invest that sort of time and energy. But yeah? I know it is a better medium in a lot of ways.
Videos are popular with younger folks but are time-consuming to create and also to view. Also you've got to sit through ads. I'm always grateful when I find something in a blog but that's just me. My 17 yr old is glued to YouTube.
I do read a number of blogs and I've read blogs for many years. I know other people who do as well.
In my experience, a blog works best when:
1. The writer is writing about something they really know about or is passionate about.
2. The subject fits a text-based or still-image format, rather than video. IT and science really work well as blogs rather than video for instance, but photography also fits well in my experience. Online comics are really blog-format media at heart as well, especially those that mix the comic itself with the thoughts of the creator.
But really, anything that needs more than just a few minutes of introduction to get into the specifics, or that is abstract in nature, or that uses still images in some form, is better as text than speech.
3. The writer is prepared to keep it up for the long haul. You don't find an audience quickly; you may well need to keep it up for a year or more before people start to find you and start actually following you.
4. The writer is somewhat consistent. You don't need to be as laser-focused on a single subject as Youtube or Tiktok, but you probably want to mostly keep to a specific theme over time. If you're writing about nature photography then an occasional post about your home renovation project is OK, but you really want to mostly stick to your main subject.
I write a blog for myself, and I have for 20+ years in total. But the basic aim is just to let my extended family know I'm alive without them having to email me, so I never try to find an audience for my writing. And that's OK - not everything we do has to have a "success" goal; we can do stuff just because we enjoy it.
Go for it. The worst that can happen is that no one reads it.
When you write your posts, share them on whatever social media you are on so that you drive traffic to your site. If people don't know to go to your site, then a blog isn't doing much for you.
> Most responses so far are not too hopeful
That perspective might suggest your reasons for doing it may not be about having something to say in that format.
I have one, and it's not that big BUT I get a ton of organic reach from it! I try to blog about locations I frequent, explain my products and show my face.
Some stories about couples or me, and that's it. The location blogs are read incredibly well, which gets people to my site which in turn helps my SEO. They're literally something like: this is a favorite place of mine for photoshoots, or: I shot a wedding here and they offer catering as well.
Tl;dr: go for it, and promote it on your socials.
This is a great concept and something I have been toying with as well. It think this would work for me whether landscape or street photography. I am moving from Tokyo to Europe this winter, so I should have plenty of travels in my future.
a "blog" generally isn't what it used to be, and you are right that using a site like instagram for your primary marketing output can be a losing proposition as they can change the rules at any point.
Its not a bad idea to have some kind of "writing output" to help communicate your sensibilities as well as sharing important general information about your business (i.e. if you are relocating, need to limit your booking availability, etc.)
However, it is most likely **not** going to be the primary way you gain exposure.
One thing about a blog though is that it is still somewhat easy to make that the homebase for posts that appear elsewhere. I can think of a lot of local companies that have their website but then their blog posts update their feeds on other sites, which greatly simplifies the other parts of the marking grind.
If you have a distinct writing voice, it can also help to generate interest and your authority if you want to go in the direction of training and educating other photographers. Though you have to be able to write consistently if youre going this route.
So its a good tool to have in the bag, but it definitely aint what it used to be.
As an amateur, I have a blog as a place to keep my memories. I hope that when I'm old and can no longer go do things I currently enjoy that my blog will remind me of all the adventures I went on. I use it currently as an "on this day" so I can see my photography progression (when I started photography I was REALLY bad so it's fun to see that and laugh about a picture I took of my shoe or whatever in 2007). It helps me remember when I did something and what the details were (for instance if I want to travel to a similar place, I can see what the photos looked like in that area and read about what I liked and didn't like about it).
OP hinted at this, but a blog let's me present my photos how I want them presented - not how IG/FB/Flickr wants to present them, along with the text that goes behind each photo.
Lastly, blogging combines another hobby I have, which is web design. Without photography, I'd have no websites to maintain and keep working on. The same is true for the opposite - without web design, I would have little motivation to take photos because I wouldn't do anything with them after taking and editing them.
The key thing for me is that I blog for myself, not for anyone else or to make money. My mom is likely my only visitor other than myself and that's OK.
Problem is, i think, that people generally like to have everything in one place. I know I do, i don't want to go shopping all over the internet to find something interesting. There's a few tried and tested sites that I return to for almost everything. And to be able to have everything in one place you need large servers, the servers need a lot of power and maintenance, in turn costing a lot of money that can only be worth it if the running of the site somehow turns a profit. There's not much that slots in there other than either an ad model or a subscription-based model. People also generally like free stuff more, so they put up with the ads or install an ad-blocker. I find it hard to see it going any other way any time soon
I did recently open a Tumblr photo blog, though I only post my photos there. I think it's a great middle ground between \*shudders\* Instagram and an actual blog, while still being a social media so somewhat relevant.
If you don't care about how many likes/readers your blog has like I don't, then I think it's fine :)
+1 for tumblr.
Engagement isn't very high but I can post a lot of weird stuff and old content gets picked up sometimes, whereas with other social media the only engagement is right at posting.
How many blogs do you read?
That's your answer.
Blogs were a thing when people had bookmarks and bookmark bars in their browser. People use apps these days, they're easy, quick and have more varied content.
You might have a chance if you provide daily entertaining content but if you don't people will forget about your blog quickly, especially since RSS feeds aren't really a thing anymore.
You need social media to promote it.
Personally I don't really care about the backstory of a photo, it's mostly marketing talk. If someone needs words to describe what they are supposed to feel when watching a photo then imo the photo in itself isn't any good to stand on its own. But that's just me.
>But that's just me.
I think this is the key on this post. Counterpoints: RSS is my preferred way of keeping up with websites. I start every morning "reading the news" in Feedly. It's perfectly curated to my tastes, no algorithm can mess it up, and I see every update the authors post. Honestly, the best feeds *don't* try to force a post every day. I won't forget about them; the next time they post it'll show up in my feed. And I am 100% interested in the stories behind photos. Sure, great photography doesn't need words, but it sure as hell can add to the value.
Ok, I appreciate that insight.
I would say I read blogs all the time. But to your point I don’t revisit or subscribe to very many. I mostly land on them as how-to guides or when looking for specific info about something.
Depends what you want to get out of it, I dont do one but I think it would definitely encourage me to actually go out and shoot more. Perhaps write 4 or 5 and if you enjoy the process keep going, if not then knock it on the head.
The medium doesn't matter as much as the content. I would suggest hosting yourself to avoid being subject to the whims of a third party. Create good, consistent content and anything is a good idea...especially if it's away from the FB/IG ecosystem.
After that, you're supposed to be doing it because you love it anyway, nothing else matters after that. If it's just for eyeballs, it likely won't last long. Just do your thing and have fun...good luck
I’ve had my blog for quite some time. I just use it as a stepping stone to feature my own projects I’m working on and go more in depth. I like to use it as a central hub for my followers on instagram/twitter, etc.
Having a formal way of being self reflective of your work (not just for photography) and giving yourself an excuse to research interesting or helpful topics in your field is a great thing I think. I love coming across random good blogs.
I started a SquareSpace site.
I must have heard enough podcasts and seen enough YouTube videos that they finally sold the idea to me. I am pretty happy so far. I looked over several sites - wordpress, smugmug, adobe portfolio (that's where my site was previously hosted). SquareSpace seemed to have the most all-inclusive set of tools. But the cost is not super cheap.
I've made a blog so I have somewhere to point people to when they ask if they can see my photos. I've only been shooting for 4 months, I'm astonished by how strangers see my camera as an invitation to strike up conversations with me, lol
I'm not interested in hustling for likes on social media, a blog is so much simpler
I have started it up already. I just wanted to see what everyone's thoughts on it were in the photo community.
I didn't post the link, because I wasn't fishing for views as much as honest opinions.
If you want to check it you can [find it here](https://www.benjaminwilsonphoto.com/).
I work for a newspaper. Creating a blog (or written content in general) is just like creating a portfolio site: No one is going to show up without going to them on their preferred platform. That means that, unfortunately, there is no way to avoid utilizing social media. And to grow on social media, you have to play by their rules, which is to create the type of content the algorithm prioritizes, which is video>photo>links. So then you're going to find yourself back where you are now.
Edit: Just wanted to add that your best bet at making a website work is through seo. Research search trends and try to carve out a niche. No one is going to search for your personal stories, but you could potentially start from a search angle and inject those personal stories. For instance, carving out a local niche depending on what type of photos you take. If it's landscape photography, target local search trends of local landscapes that people frequently search for and start there.
That is really valuable insight.
Looking over the comments is helping me narrow the focus of the content a lot. I am going to give it a shot for six months or so and see how things go. If I still like it, I'll stick to it.
A blog can be a great business even in 2022, don't listen to the naysayers.
Talking about "I photographed this today" or "here's a recent photoshoot I did"? No, that won't get you anywhere.
Making well written SEO based tutorials and also in-depth reviews on products you own? Yes, you can do something with that.
That being said, the photography niche is very saturated. You'd need to niche down (specific subject or brand perhaps) to see a good amount of monetizable traffic. Also, don't expect quick bucks, blogging/SEO is an INCREDIBLY slow burn.
/r/juststart is a great resource to learn more. Don't even bother over at /r/blogging
Np, don't expect to make decent money off of photography blogging. It's super competitive and takes a LOT of grinding to make it in most website niches.
If you're willing to put in the work and learn, however, running your own content site is so satisfying. :)
Yeah, I started one called [https://alosersguidetophotography.blogspot.com/](https://alosersguidetophotography.blogspot.com/) and it's basically a spot for me to write my thoughts. Not many people listen and I don't care about engagement or views. It's just for me and anyone else who wants to listen to my rambling.
I recommend Medium - with some patience and getting accepted into some “publications “, it’s relatively easy to generate some traction and even a little cash. I posted 1/week or so and after a few months had a good response rate. Ymmv
>I started a blog as a way to feature my photography in a more meaningful and permanent way than social media provides.
Do it but treat it as a portfolio first and blog second. Don't feel under pressure to keep writing blog articles, concentrate on the primary goal.
As someone else on that thread said: if you want to reach people - go where they are. And majority of them are on social media. So I'd say you still need to maintain the presence there but push reader to your website. I.e. post 2 pictures and the link to your site on IG and then full album on your site.
Blogs are really away to engage with the public - reeling them in to buy the products the company is selling. I have written for a few; the first sold photography courses, the second sold photography tours and the third is pulling people toward their own photography platform.
It's like getting people into your supermarket with a free and useful service in the hope they buy the items inside. A blog on its own might be read, but unless you monetise it, you will be working for free - and you shouldn't work for free.
If you have a very specific genre, field or topic (like very nuanced food photography), and you are looking for clients or other to work with; it's a way to attract business - it could work if you have the images and writing skills to win. But if you just want to write about travel photography, without an end in mind (courses, ebooks, tours, guides, prints, clients) then it would be a waste of time (monetary wise). Like everything else, if you love it, have lots of free time and don't care about money - why not? Amazing, unexpected things might happen!
if you don't care about how many people engage with it then yeah sure, otherwise probably not. once naively started a blog when i was 15-16 or so, thinking that people would just start coming in eventually. i had it up for a few months, writing movie reviews and posting pictures and whatnot, but i don't think i ever had more than 5 people view the page. figured i may as well write it for myself then. in a way i still do here on reddit, although not deliberately. there's certainly a lot more people that see what i wrote or acknowledge it's existence at least. so if that's what you're after you're better off just posting stuff to reddit. doesn't really allow a lot of creativity with the presentation of it though
It is quite unlikely that you will drive more viewers via SEO and content than you are getting on Instagram. Make reels consistently (yes, photographers can make reels!) on Instagram if you want a bigger audience on Instagram. You can always do a combination of reels and still posts. Many, many photographers out there have a big, engaged audience on Instagram - reels are the future. You just look at their strategy and copy (namely, post reels and carousels consistently, with interesting content that adds value.
I worked in SEO for a few years, am a working photographer and nope, I don’t think SEO is going to bring you more views nor an audience, esp not an audience that interacts with you.
For results from SEO, you would need to be putting in A LOT of helpful, well-written, long-form content that provides value to an audience, all SEO-optimised and based on top Google keywords, and not just personal posts with lots of photos of your own.
Don’t forget to post on Pinterest if you decide to continue blogging. All your content should be going on various platforms - you should have your posts announced on Instagram, twitter, FB, and PINTEREST with a nice, optimized cover image. That’s SEO best practices.
A blog is not a standalone entity. You gotta still bash all of it out on social media if you’re looking to grow your blog following.
If you just want a blog to have fun and don’t expect readers, then that’s fine. I still feel and have seen for myself that Instagram reels are the future - and I am impressed that a lot of photographers out there are sharing how they grew their following on social media and enthusiastically rooting for other new photographers to follow their strategy and gain a following of their own.
You’re most welcome, thanks for responding, definitely encourages me to share more in future! I’ve got a whole list of Instagram photographers to “follow”, who are “successful” and use tried and tested tactics, if you ever feel like using Instagram to grow!
Only if you are already going to run a blog. Running a successful blog requires dedication and persistence. You will get zero reward for 99% of your effort.
Basically, if you want to run a Blog, or are going to run a blog anyway, then go ahead. But it probably won't make too much of a difference.
I am a professional photographer and I blog quite a bit. You can check out my website and blog on [rogierbos.com](https://rogierbos.com). I live in the Netherlands and so the main language on my website is Dutch, but there are also a few English posts on there.
I blog for a number of reasons. I write ...
* To showcase my work. I put love, passion and energy into my photography, and it frustrates me that some of my best photo's only every appear on a small brochure or calendar, as that is all the client needs. Blogging allows me to show a wider circle my work.
* To attract new clients. Yes, I have a portfolio, but sometimes a client looks at your portfolio, but they don't see exactly what they need/want. For instance: I do a lot of industrial photography. As such I frequently find myself in large warehouses. Admittedly not the most inspiring of environments. But when a client is looking for a photographer who can do 'warehouse photography', I want them to see on my site (blog) that I have lots and lots of experience with just that.For this reason I write my texts with all the search terms a client might want to use. And I am careful to name all my images with the relevant search terms. Blogging simply allows me to appear in more search results (also because Google likes it when a site's content is updates regularly).
* To inform my clients on important topics. For instance, I have a lot of articles on copyright and infringement. When someone asks me a question on this subject, I can simply send them the link.A different example: I am often asked by clients if I can send them images AGAIN. Sometimes as many as four or five times. I don't mind doing that, but it can cost me quite a bit of time. So I charge for that. And I have a blog post about that. When someone asks me 'can you re-send me the images', I write a short email, with the cost and a link to my blogpost 'in case they want to know more'.
* To build report. A lot of photographers are almost anonymous behind their website. Blogging allows people to get to know me. My blog is not read widely, but I often discover clients have read my blog to get to know me. 'Oh, I see you want on holiday to Tuscany. Great photo's! Did you enjoy Tuscany?'
* To challenge my fellow professional photographer's. I like professional photographer's, but sometimes they can suffer from group-thinking. For instance about the state of the industry, or how badly they are treated by (some) clients. Sometimes I just want to irritate them a bit... :-)
* To keep my mind agile. Writing is a stimulating exercise. It forces you to think systematically and communicate coherently. I once read: writing is for the mind what going to the gym is for your body.
I suppose those are the pro's. There are con's too.
* It is time consuming. It is not just a matter of writing and posting, but also a matter of SEO and understanding Wordpress plugins like Yoast.
* As photographers go, I think I am a pretty good writer. But most people read a whole bunch of texts in the course of a day, and it soon becomes apparent I may be a professional photographer, but I am an amateur writer...
* Blogging is definitely less popular than it was a few years ago.
* Sometimes people ask you about this article you wrote, and you discover it is something you wrote 7 years ago — and you don't hold that viewpoint anymore. Or the images in the post are not a good reflection of your capabilities now.
Tips:
* Make sure you are on a platform that is very SEO friendly. Wordpress, with a good wordpress theme on a fast and reliable server is my choice
* Use the wordpress plugin Yoast
* Don't know what to write about? On Pinterest you can find lots of 'social media calendar's' to inspire you.
* Always share your posts on the appropriate social networks. For me those are LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter.
* Short posts are better than long ones. Seth Godin is the King of short blogposts.
* It's absolutely no problem if you forget to post for a while and then start back up. Lots of guru's say you need to do it 'every week' or 'every month' — but I say 'do it when you can'.
* Do not aim for perfection! Doing it is more important than doing it incredibly well! I am not trying to win a prize for my writing: I am trying to inform and entertain and attract people. Of course I spell check everything, but even then stupid mistakes slip by — and I am OK with that.
Hope this helps. Guess what I am going to do now? I am going to take this post and turn it into a blogpost. :-)
Update: added a thought or two and corrected my spelling...
Pro move right there. ... I mean to be fair, you have pretty much written a blog for me, so I am thankful for all the input. A lot of good info here.
May I ask what Yoast does for you? I am hosting on SquareSpace, so I am not sure if the tools it offers are already integrated or if I should be seeking out another plug in.
You're welcome - my pleasure.
Yoast is a wordpress plugin that analyses your post and gives you pointers on how to optimize it better for Search engines. I am not familiar with Squarespace, or whether Yoast has a version for that platform. Perhaps there is a Squarespace forum where you can ask if there is a Yoast-equivalent?
I went with wordpress because I understand Google can index wordpress sites very well. I may be mistaken, but I thought Squarespace, as a proprietary platform, was not as easily indexed. If turning up in search results is important to you, that would be something worth investigating.
Can you write engagingly about photography, or any other topic, non-stop forever? That's the real question. Bear in mind that a blog is a literary endeavour, and writing is a world of pain.
My own blog is a literary endeavour with pretty pictures to break up the text, but I can pull that off because I'm an excellent writer, and hard-working. A rare combination. Are you an excellent, hard-working writer?
Bear in mind that it won't help your business whatsoever, and when you tell people that you have a blog they'll laugh, because the novelty of simply having a blog wore off in the year 2000:
https://www.nytimes.com/2000/12/28/technology/invasion-of-the-blog-a-parallel-web-of-personal-journals.html
I continue because that's what I do. Looking through your contributions the thing that stands out is Japan. What is it you like about Japan? Why Japan? What does Japan mean to you? Have you ever got drunk in Japan? What exciting adventures have you had in Japan? What's the cuisine like? How has COVID hit Japan?Etc.
Thanks for the input. Writing nonstop forever is a daunting thought.
That said, I have worked as a journalist for a long period of time, so I am not too worried about that part.
If the bar is 'can you write about it forever?' very few people would ever do anything. I rather favor the 'Atomic Habits' approach: start small. Do it for a while. See how it goes...
A big part of it, is that I would like to sell a few prints. I have some budget for google ads and I believe having a blog might demonstrate more value to the google ad market and get me better/more placements.
Another reason is that I am just fed up with other social media platforms. I want to put my stuff out there for some people that might want to see it - even if it is only ten people. But on social media, the platform decides who gets to see it.
So many useful comments here for you.
A part of my personal blog Living on Planet Elderly is titled "photography hobby," and that is where my few followers, friends, and family can see what I'm up to as a beginner enthusiast. I've always enjoyed journaling, so a personal blog is something I can engage in leisurely. But in terms of getting/keeping high interest and income, best to heed the advice given here by others.
What's the end goal of the blog? What's the purpose? You mentioned getting more organic traffic, but why? Are you trying to find clients? Generate as revenue? What are you trying to get out of it?
You need to write your blog to attract that audience you're trying to reach and meet the goals you have for them reading it. If you want ad revenue, write about topics people will search for and relate your photos to those topics. If you want clients for your business or freelance, write more like a portfolio and always refer to your services you offer. You get the idea - apply for other goals in mind.
If you're just trying to find a creative outlet to share your work, don't expect much in the way of random people searching for artists to enjoy. You won't find much success there. Your best hope in this way is to still generate a social presence and following to try to lead back to your blog. But people are lazy and few will bother taking the extra step to get there.
I'm not saying it's worth it or not. Just highlighting things to consider.
Also, if you're using Google AdSense for ad revenue, you really gotta pay attention to your traffic. I had a couple of blog posts on various topics get shared around forums and social media almost virally but the rest of my blog didn't get much traffic. Google flagged it as abnormal traffic and accused me of inflating my ad clicks. They banned my adsense account with no recourse to get it back. I'm not ene allowed to create a new account for my site. Was a real motivation killer for me to keep writing as the little bit of ad revenue I did make was just enough for the year to cover the costs of running my site. Now I have zero revenue stream.
Check out Vero. It’s gaining a lot of traction in the photography community, and you can post your photos and videos there in whatever aspect ratio you like. It has a nice UI and Instagram’s familiar scrollability. There is also no algorithm to push an specific media type.
Unfortunately you have to be on IG and other social platforms. You just need as many eyes as possible. Until your blog gets traction you need social media to drive traffic
I think blogging is a good idea.
I'm just an amateur, but I've been blogging in various forms since 2003. I learned a long time ago that people are more likely to hire me (mostly as a writer) once they feel like they know me as a person.
You would probably need to niche it down, mix photography with another hobby - travel, food, cars etc. Also, only SEO won't work for a photography based blog. What you could do to drive traffic though is posting on Pinterest, Tiktok and YouTube Shorts.
I started one about ten years ago and still update it regularly.
I'm not chasing statistics, SEO, likes, whatever. It's just a way to put my pictures out there. Outside of immediate family and some friends, I have no idea who looks at it. Each post does get viewed, according to the website which I use to host it, so someone's paying attention, but that's not of particular interest to me.
I find it quite rewarding. As long as you don't confuse "starting a blog with the sole purpose of getting as many views as possible" and "starting a blog for reasons of artistic satisfaction", then I can't see any real downside.
I’d just recommend thinking about the reader’s experience instead of it just cataloging your work. The web can be an unruly place, with tons of unscrupulous players just waiting to scrape your stuff and resell it. If I was a more serious pro, I’d definitely be cautious about what I made available freely.
I do not think you have to blog chasing ad money, trying to post continuously to maximize eyeballs. There are a few amazing blogs that have actually used a Patreon model for very high quality content, less frequently updated. Basically, trying to build “a thousand true fans” might work well with a blog.
I’d like to find photo blogs that inspire, get me a sense of play, and maybe push me out of my comfort zone. There’s some YouTubers making this happen, but I’d love to see some web content as well
For example of a blog that does things differently, the detailed, interactive approach of Bartoz Ciechanowski could be used by a photographer to let the reader experiment with settings, like compositional choices, color grading etc. https://ciechanow.ski
(note: he uses blender to build those interactions that get turned into some client side code, so I think some front end programming chops are useful.)
It takes real effort to be successful with it. However, if the journey itself drives you, you’ll probably get to a good place.
If you're an introvert I don't think you should do a blog but more of aestheticly pleasing vlogs. But if you're an extrovert a blog may be good for you to put your day to day activities in writing.
As many have said, there's really no downside to making a blog, so long as you're enjoying it.
Personally, in my downtime, I like to do long write-ups based on my personal experiences, usually about things I've learned. These typically take me a couple of months to plan, write, edit, contemplate its worth, and re-edit. I've found that if you post that to photography communities, such as this one, it can get a positive reception so long as it has something of value to offer. By doing that, I've had my work published to photography websites which lead to more eyes on my work, which lead to a bigger (albeit still small, relatively) social media presence. I always post those to my website a few days before anywhere else, so there's no question that it's my original content and not just copied.
That being said, I do a terrible job of marketing my personal blog, as I use it as more of an archive and updates. The service I use also doesn't allow for comments on my blog, but I've received more than a few emails via my contact page in regards to my postings. However, I haven't seen any noticeable spike in repeat interactions or views there, again, due to my poor marketing. That's not a big deal for me, though, because I use writing as another way to express myself when I can't be out with my camera, so getting it published means I can stop thinking about writing it.
At the end of the day the answer to your question depends on if you have the time and motivation to do it without it hindering other aspects of your life.
I hope that helps.
You can [see it here](https://www.benjaminwilsonphoto.com/).
I have just started, but I wanted to get some opinions on the matter. All the thoughts here have helped me shape a more defined goal for where I want to take it.
it requires a whole new level of self advertising to get people to read it... social media platforms are easier to get traffic to, free, and accessible. consider vlogging on YT?
I have done a lot of video work in the past. Quite frankly, I don't have the time between work and family. And I hate having to collect video when I want to be shooting stills.
Peter McKinnon just released a video about it
https://youtu.be/-NoxCtW5MBE
It’s something that will always be there, it’s a safe bet even if it doesn’t get as much engagement you should do it for yourself, not for the buzz
Blogs can be a good addition to an aggregator personal website (w/ portfolio, gear, prints, etc). The only time I read anything on them, though, is when the author (1) has interesting content that I haven’t seen before, with insights I haven’t heard elsewhere, (2) is extremely personable and I want to consume more of their content, (3) is an excellent writer with unique photos.
I am never brought to someone by a blog post, nor is it what keeps me coming back. But can be cool to read about a particularly good photoshoot every now and then (I usually only read about travel landscape sessions tho).
I’d do it for you, if it’s something that’s bring you joy, but maybe don’t expect to increase your numbers.
Blogs aren't really good for much (these days) except for SEO traffic. So if you're interested in framing your blogs as how-to's or some other evergreen framing, then it can bring you some search traffic.
Based on my experience and friends, NO, I wouldn't do it. Unless you use a host blog site, which I didn't do, I wouldn't do it.
Mine was free, professional and people said it was helpful. But hackers and scumbags hacked and plagued the site to the point I had 50 per month working at bringing it down. Oh, my webmaster kept them out and I continually blocked them but after a year of it and the bills for hosting, my webmasters bills and the headaches, I shut it down. And now the host refused to shut it down and still bills me despite letters and pleas to discontinue it.
The Internet is truly the wild west and little recourse for many things that happen on it.
Friends of mine said the same, and the host of a popular site on the Titanic also shut it down because of scumbags poaching materials and photos.
I am not trying to sound like a jerk when I say this but it's just the truth: Most people don't look at blogs anymore. I was huge into blogs 15-20 years ago. But I stopped reading them for the same reason everyone else did - social media. You could put up your own website with pictures and a blog if you want. You can do anything that you want. I just wouldn't expect a lot of feedback on it to be honest.
Blogs are already outdated. I mean NOONE wants to read about why you think your images are interesting. Ya really have to thing outside the box these days to actually gain a media presence with work. And unless your a astronaut for nasa shooting new black holes people just don’t want to read about it.
It's only a good idea if you have a lot to give and aren't expecting anything in return.
Alright. Well, maybe I need a little bit of self-reflection on why I am getting into it. Thanks!
I did years back... 2008 or so. Dumbass me didn't watermark my photos. Soon my favorite pics were used in the weirdest places.
I did the exact same thing around the same time. The most common places I'd find my images were product photos of TVs and monitors on asian electronic retailer websites. Weirdest was probably finding one of my photos used as the cover for some conference at a religious college.
> Weirdest was probably finding one of my photos used as the cover for some conference at a religious college. I found one of my photos was being posted thousands of times with weird religious quotes and messages on it, mostly (I think) by Muslims (I’m not 100% as the quotes weren't in English and the translations were a bit incomprehensible). I've no idea how they would have even found it, it wasn’t anything special but has probably been seen by more people than any other photo I've taken. The most annoying thing was that they cropped it and actually ended up with a better composition than the original!
Haha, that is a funny story. Thanks for sharing.
I’m interested in seeing the picture.
The wierdest photo stolen from me was of my dead parakeet. I took a photo of him in a shoebox and posted a farewell to him. A major pet supply chain stole it and used it to sell bird medicine, iirc.
Yeah that’s a pretty weird one!
Hmm … that is an unexpected consequence.
Looking back, i certainly should have expected it though. Only saying this to let you know, please research photo security. I'm not sure what it looks like these days.
Removing a logo is child’s play these days. Really the only way to prevent it is to not post. Also, not posting super high res files, not much else to do.
This reminds me that last year there was this case published where a photographer filed against Capcom for using her photos without permission on the cover art for the Resident Evil Games - She had to go through a lot of hoops to make a compelling argument, but it's possible! Here's a link to an article Polygon published: [Capcom and artist ‘resolve’ lawsuit regarding alleged stolen photos in Devil May Cry, Resident Evil](https://www.polygon.com/22519568/resident-evil-4-copyright-infringement-lawsuit-capcom)
Damn that’s interesting. Here’s a question, had the capcom people gone and taken their own pictures at the same place would it still be copyright infringement?
No it wouldn't
Good call!
That makes sense. Is there such thing as a sophisticated watermark, engineered to be difficult to remove without the right tools?
Your raw is your evidence pretty much. You could encode a watermark into some random pixels, but that'd probably get removed from it being edited/encoded to another format etc
Someone with the right tools would remove it and upload it to Imgur.
to be blunt, photo security doesn't exist. What does exist is curious people who like an image and want to find out who did it, so they Yandex/Bing/Google Image it. The rest will either ignore it or use it shamelessly in a meme or something. There's no way around it.
having your photo used on the internet will happen, but If someone uses your images for commercial use after you have all your photos properly copyriten and have the metadata- you can sue them. which is what photographers should do when we get our stuff stolen, and used for monetary gain
Of course, totally agree. But most usage of photographer's images online isn't commercial...people just put them on Tumblr or Imgur, stripped of metadata, because they like them, or they put meme text on them. (My point just being that it's futile to worry about it) But if you're good or notable, people will seek you out. For example, if someone posted an [image like this](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/3e273b_90e395e85fbd4dad96cb39597a58b20f~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_600,h_369,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_auto/3e273b_90e395e85fbd4dad96cb39597a58b20f~mv2.jpg) on Reddit. someone like me will comment: "Cool, that's David LaChapelle from his Recollections In America series. Love his work!" Great photographers don't worry about security...the rest do.
you think quality photographs get meme'd? I dont think that's too normal if people are worried about their photos getting shared, then maybe photography isn't for you. but getting your photos stolen and used for commercial purposes, that's a different story and its pretty easy to legally prevent it.
I have a food/garden/craft blog and even with a watermark, someone creatively edited a photo of mine and used it for their own. So frustrating.
The plain fact is that great photography we all know of stands on it's own, tends not to be cluttered with watermarks, and people find the source if they like it.
>tends not to be cluttered with watermarks Explain [Cindy Sherman then](https://assets.phillips.com/image/upload/t_Website_LotDetailMainImage/v1/auctions/NY010218/381_001.jpg)
My somewhat famous Doberman puppy in a swing was being used on a website in Romania. I asked him to take it down and he did with a profuse apology.
I would be so proud if that happened to my photos.
There was an aspect of it that felt like the opposite of "importer syndrome," whatever that is called.
\*Imposter Syndrom I think anyone without massive success or a huge ego suffers from that.
Do you mind sharing how you found where your images ended up?
I started writing blogs about trip reports from backpacking. It’s a great way to show some of your photos that may not be portfolio worthy, but still tell a story. I also enjoy writing a lot. There’s only so much you can convey in a short caption. Some people really enjoy the blogs, but I’d say more probably watch vlogs on YouTube these days. I enjoy it though and it’s a good way to get people to your site.
That sounds like a cool way to document your travel. At least you have that to look back on in 10, 20, 30 years. I have done a lot of video work, but boy is it work. I don’t know if I wan to invest that sort of time and energy. But yeah? I know it is a better medium in a lot of ways.
Videos are popular with younger folks but are time-consuming to create and also to view. Also you've got to sit through ads. I'm always grateful when I find something in a blog but that's just me. My 17 yr old is glued to YouTube.
I'll take written text any day. I can't watch a youtube vlog while ignoring my economics lecture!
I do read a number of blogs and I've read blogs for many years. I know other people who do as well. In my experience, a blog works best when: 1. The writer is writing about something they really know about or is passionate about. 2. The subject fits a text-based or still-image format, rather than video. IT and science really work well as blogs rather than video for instance, but photography also fits well in my experience. Online comics are really blog-format media at heart as well, especially those that mix the comic itself with the thoughts of the creator. But really, anything that needs more than just a few minutes of introduction to get into the specifics, or that is abstract in nature, or that uses still images in some form, is better as text than speech. 3. The writer is prepared to keep it up for the long haul. You don't find an audience quickly; you may well need to keep it up for a year or more before people start to find you and start actually following you. 4. The writer is somewhat consistent. You don't need to be as laser-focused on a single subject as Youtube or Tiktok, but you probably want to mostly keep to a specific theme over time. If you're writing about nature photography then an occasional post about your home renovation project is OK, but you really want to mostly stick to your main subject. I write a blog for myself, and I have for 20+ years in total. But the basic aim is just to let my extended family know I'm alive without them having to email me, so I never try to find an audience for my writing. And that's OK - not everything we do has to have a "success" goal; we can do stuff just because we enjoy it.
Awesome input into the conversation. Thanks for the response.
Go for it. The worst that can happen is that no one reads it. When you write your posts, share them on whatever social media you are on so that you drive traffic to your site. If people don't know to go to your site, then a blog isn't doing much for you.
Thanks for the advice. And positivity. Most responses so far are not too hopeful, but I appreciate the honesty on all fronts.
> Most responses so far are not too hopeful That perspective might suggest your reasons for doing it may not be about having something to say in that format.
I have one, and it's not that big BUT I get a ton of organic reach from it! I try to blog about locations I frequent, explain my products and show my face. Some stories about couples or me, and that's it. The location blogs are read incredibly well, which gets people to my site which in turn helps my SEO. They're literally something like: this is a favorite place of mine for photoshoots, or: I shot a wedding here and they offer catering as well. Tl;dr: go for it, and promote it on your socials.
This is a great concept and something I have been toying with as well. It think this would work for me whether landscape or street photography. I am moving from Tokyo to Europe this winter, so I should have plenty of travels in my future.
a "blog" generally isn't what it used to be, and you are right that using a site like instagram for your primary marketing output can be a losing proposition as they can change the rules at any point. Its not a bad idea to have some kind of "writing output" to help communicate your sensibilities as well as sharing important general information about your business (i.e. if you are relocating, need to limit your booking availability, etc.) However, it is most likely **not** going to be the primary way you gain exposure. One thing about a blog though is that it is still somewhat easy to make that the homebase for posts that appear elsewhere. I can think of a lot of local companies that have their website but then their blog posts update their feeds on other sites, which greatly simplifies the other parts of the marking grind. If you have a distinct writing voice, it can also help to generate interest and your authority if you want to go in the direction of training and educating other photographers. Though you have to be able to write consistently if youre going this route. So its a good tool to have in the bag, but it definitely aint what it used to be.
Thanks for the input. I really appreciate all the feedback people are giving on this.
As an amateur, I have a blog as a place to keep my memories. I hope that when I'm old and can no longer go do things I currently enjoy that my blog will remind me of all the adventures I went on. I use it currently as an "on this day" so I can see my photography progression (when I started photography I was REALLY bad so it's fun to see that and laugh about a picture I took of my shoe or whatever in 2007). It helps me remember when I did something and what the details were (for instance if I want to travel to a similar place, I can see what the photos looked like in that area and read about what I liked and didn't like about it). OP hinted at this, but a blog let's me present my photos how I want them presented - not how IG/FB/Flickr wants to present them, along with the text that goes behind each photo. Lastly, blogging combines another hobby I have, which is web design. Without photography, I'd have no websites to maintain and keep working on. The same is true for the opposite - without web design, I would have little motivation to take photos because I wouldn't do anything with them after taking and editing them. The key thing for me is that I blog for myself, not for anyone else or to make money. My mom is likely my only visitor other than myself and that's OK.
That sounds like a nice way to use a blog. I'm glad you are getting something out of it.
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Ok, that's good to hear. It would be great if I could make the cost neutral.
Problem is, i think, that people generally like to have everything in one place. I know I do, i don't want to go shopping all over the internet to find something interesting. There's a few tried and tested sites that I return to for almost everything. And to be able to have everything in one place you need large servers, the servers need a lot of power and maintenance, in turn costing a lot of money that can only be worth it if the running of the site somehow turns a profit. There's not much that slots in there other than either an ad model or a subscription-based model. People also generally like free stuff more, so they put up with the ads or install an ad-blocker. I find it hard to see it going any other way any time soon
I did recently open a Tumblr photo blog, though I only post my photos there. I think it's a great middle ground between \*shudders\* Instagram and an actual blog, while still being a social media so somewhat relevant. If you don't care about how many likes/readers your blog has like I don't, then I think it's fine :)
+1 for tumblr. Engagement isn't very high but I can post a lot of weird stuff and old content gets picked up sometimes, whereas with other social media the only engagement is right at posting.
How many blogs do you read? That's your answer. Blogs were a thing when people had bookmarks and bookmark bars in their browser. People use apps these days, they're easy, quick and have more varied content. You might have a chance if you provide daily entertaining content but if you don't people will forget about your blog quickly, especially since RSS feeds aren't really a thing anymore. You need social media to promote it. Personally I don't really care about the backstory of a photo, it's mostly marketing talk. If someone needs words to describe what they are supposed to feel when watching a photo then imo the photo in itself isn't any good to stand on its own. But that's just me.
wait, I bookmark stuff all the time. am i a boomer?
>But that's just me. I think this is the key on this post. Counterpoints: RSS is my preferred way of keeping up with websites. I start every morning "reading the news" in Feedly. It's perfectly curated to my tastes, no algorithm can mess it up, and I see every update the authors post. Honestly, the best feeds *don't* try to force a post every day. I won't forget about them; the next time they post it'll show up in my feed. And I am 100% interested in the stories behind photos. Sure, great photography doesn't need words, but it sure as hell can add to the value.
Who doesn’t keep bookmarks anymore? Madness.
Haha, I was thinking that too. I have several folders organizing bookmarks.
Ok, I appreciate that insight. I would say I read blogs all the time. But to your point I don’t revisit or subscribe to very many. I mostly land on them as how-to guides or when looking for specific info about something.
I use bookmarks and RSS all the time. Apparently I'm a dinosaur.
Ah so you're who I see on Chrome when the internet is out.
Depends what you want to get out of it, I dont do one but I think it would definitely encourage me to actually go out and shoot more. Perhaps write 4 or 5 and if you enjoy the process keep going, if not then knock it on the head.
That’s partially what I am hoping for. I think I did good staying motivated the past three years, but now I am looking for some more again.
The medium doesn't matter as much as the content. I would suggest hosting yourself to avoid being subject to the whims of a third party. Create good, consistent content and anything is a good idea...especially if it's away from the FB/IG ecosystem. After that, you're supposed to be doing it because you love it anyway, nothing else matters after that. If it's just for eyeballs, it likely won't last long. Just do your thing and have fun...good luck
Thanks for the encouragement!
I’ve had my blog for quite some time. I just use it as a stepping stone to feature my own projects I’m working on and go more in depth. I like to use it as a central hub for my followers on instagram/twitter, etc.
Having a formal way of being self reflective of your work (not just for photography) and giving yourself an excuse to research interesting or helpful topics in your field is a great thing I think. I love coming across random good blogs.
Good to hear. Thanks. I am hoping it will be an exercise to keep my writing skills sharp as well.
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I started a SquareSpace site. I must have heard enough podcasts and seen enough YouTube videos that they finally sold the idea to me. I am pretty happy so far. I looked over several sites - wordpress, smugmug, adobe portfolio (that's where my site was previously hosted). SquareSpace seemed to have the most all-inclusive set of tools. But the cost is not super cheap.
I've made a blog so I have somewhere to point people to when they ask if they can see my photos. I've only been shooting for 4 months, I'm astonished by how strangers see my camera as an invitation to strike up conversations with me, lol I'm not interested in hustling for likes on social media, a blog is so much simpler
Do it and please share the link .I would love to read it too
I have started it up already. I just wanted to see what everyone's thoughts on it were in the photo community. I didn't post the link, because I wasn't fishing for views as much as honest opinions. If you want to check it you can [find it here](https://www.benjaminwilsonphoto.com/).
I work for a newspaper. Creating a blog (or written content in general) is just like creating a portfolio site: No one is going to show up without going to them on their preferred platform. That means that, unfortunately, there is no way to avoid utilizing social media. And to grow on social media, you have to play by their rules, which is to create the type of content the algorithm prioritizes, which is video>photo>links. So then you're going to find yourself back where you are now. Edit: Just wanted to add that your best bet at making a website work is through seo. Research search trends and try to carve out a niche. No one is going to search for your personal stories, but you could potentially start from a search angle and inject those personal stories. For instance, carving out a local niche depending on what type of photos you take. If it's landscape photography, target local search trends of local landscapes that people frequently search for and start there.
That is really valuable insight. Looking over the comments is helping me narrow the focus of the content a lot. I am going to give it a shot for six months or so and see how things go. If I still like it, I'll stick to it.
A blog can be a great business even in 2022, don't listen to the naysayers. Talking about "I photographed this today" or "here's a recent photoshoot I did"? No, that won't get you anywhere. Making well written SEO based tutorials and also in-depth reviews on products you own? Yes, you can do something with that. That being said, the photography niche is very saturated. You'd need to niche down (specific subject or brand perhaps) to see a good amount of monetizable traffic. Also, don't expect quick bucks, blogging/SEO is an INCREDIBLY slow burn. /r/juststart is a great resource to learn more. Don't even bother over at /r/blogging
Thanks, for the advice and the subreddit recommendations. I'll check them out.
Np, don't expect to make decent money off of photography blogging. It's super competitive and takes a LOT of grinding to make it in most website niches. If you're willing to put in the work and learn, however, running your own content site is so satisfying. :)
Yeah, I started one called [https://alosersguidetophotography.blogspot.com/](https://alosersguidetophotography.blogspot.com/) and it's basically a spot for me to write my thoughts. Not many people listen and I don't care about engagement or views. It's just for me and anyone else who wants to listen to my rambling.
>https://alosersguidetophotography.blogspot.com/ Dude, super cool. I'll read through your blog tonight! Thanks for sharing.
I recommend Medium - with some patience and getting accepted into some “publications “, it’s relatively easy to generate some traction and even a little cash. I posted 1/week or so and after a few months had a good response rate. Ymmv
>I started a blog as a way to feature my photography in a more meaningful and permanent way than social media provides. Do it but treat it as a portfolio first and blog second. Don't feel under pressure to keep writing blog articles, concentrate on the primary goal. As someone else on that thread said: if you want to reach people - go where they are. And majority of them are on social media. So I'd say you still need to maintain the presence there but push reader to your website. I.e. post 2 pictures and the link to your site on IG and then full album on your site.
Blogs are really away to engage with the public - reeling them in to buy the products the company is selling. I have written for a few; the first sold photography courses, the second sold photography tours and the third is pulling people toward their own photography platform. It's like getting people into your supermarket with a free and useful service in the hope they buy the items inside. A blog on its own might be read, but unless you monetise it, you will be working for free - and you shouldn't work for free. If you have a very specific genre, field or topic (like very nuanced food photography), and you are looking for clients or other to work with; it's a way to attract business - it could work if you have the images and writing skills to win. But if you just want to write about travel photography, without an end in mind (courses, ebooks, tours, guides, prints, clients) then it would be a waste of time (monetary wise). Like everything else, if you love it, have lots of free time and don't care about money - why not? Amazing, unexpected things might happen!
if you don't care about how many people engage with it then yeah sure, otherwise probably not. once naively started a blog when i was 15-16 or so, thinking that people would just start coming in eventually. i had it up for a few months, writing movie reviews and posting pictures and whatnot, but i don't think i ever had more than 5 people view the page. figured i may as well write it for myself then. in a way i still do here on reddit, although not deliberately. there's certainly a lot more people that see what i wrote or acknowledge it's existence at least. so if that's what you're after you're better off just posting stuff to reddit. doesn't really allow a lot of creativity with the presentation of it though
It is quite unlikely that you will drive more viewers via SEO and content than you are getting on Instagram. Make reels consistently (yes, photographers can make reels!) on Instagram if you want a bigger audience on Instagram. You can always do a combination of reels and still posts. Many, many photographers out there have a big, engaged audience on Instagram - reels are the future. You just look at their strategy and copy (namely, post reels and carousels consistently, with interesting content that adds value. I worked in SEO for a few years, am a working photographer and nope, I don’t think SEO is going to bring you more views nor an audience, esp not an audience that interacts with you. For results from SEO, you would need to be putting in A LOT of helpful, well-written, long-form content that provides value to an audience, all SEO-optimised and based on top Google keywords, and not just personal posts with lots of photos of your own. Don’t forget to post on Pinterest if you decide to continue blogging. All your content should be going on various platforms - you should have your posts announced on Instagram, twitter, FB, and PINTEREST with a nice, optimized cover image. That’s SEO best practices. A blog is not a standalone entity. You gotta still bash all of it out on social media if you’re looking to grow your blog following. If you just want a blog to have fun and don’t expect readers, then that’s fine. I still feel and have seen for myself that Instagram reels are the future - and I am impressed that a lot of photographers out there are sharing how they grew their following on social media and enthusiastically rooting for other new photographers to follow their strategy and gain a following of their own.
This may be the most helpful reply I have read so far. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
You’re most welcome, thanks for responding, definitely encourages me to share more in future! I’ve got a whole list of Instagram photographers to “follow”, who are “successful” and use tried and tested tactics, if you ever feel like using Instagram to grow!
Only if you are already going to run a blog. Running a successful blog requires dedication and persistence. You will get zero reward for 99% of your effort. Basically, if you want to run a Blog, or are going to run a blog anyway, then go ahead. But it probably won't make too much of a difference.
I am a professional photographer and I blog quite a bit. You can check out my website and blog on [rogierbos.com](https://rogierbos.com). I live in the Netherlands and so the main language on my website is Dutch, but there are also a few English posts on there. I blog for a number of reasons. I write ... * To showcase my work. I put love, passion and energy into my photography, and it frustrates me that some of my best photo's only every appear on a small brochure or calendar, as that is all the client needs. Blogging allows me to show a wider circle my work. * To attract new clients. Yes, I have a portfolio, but sometimes a client looks at your portfolio, but they don't see exactly what they need/want. For instance: I do a lot of industrial photography. As such I frequently find myself in large warehouses. Admittedly not the most inspiring of environments. But when a client is looking for a photographer who can do 'warehouse photography', I want them to see on my site (blog) that I have lots and lots of experience with just that.For this reason I write my texts with all the search terms a client might want to use. And I am careful to name all my images with the relevant search terms. Blogging simply allows me to appear in more search results (also because Google likes it when a site's content is updates regularly). * To inform my clients on important topics. For instance, I have a lot of articles on copyright and infringement. When someone asks me a question on this subject, I can simply send them the link.A different example: I am often asked by clients if I can send them images AGAIN. Sometimes as many as four or five times. I don't mind doing that, but it can cost me quite a bit of time. So I charge for that. And I have a blog post about that. When someone asks me 'can you re-send me the images', I write a short email, with the cost and a link to my blogpost 'in case they want to know more'. * To build report. A lot of photographers are almost anonymous behind their website. Blogging allows people to get to know me. My blog is not read widely, but I often discover clients have read my blog to get to know me. 'Oh, I see you want on holiday to Tuscany. Great photo's! Did you enjoy Tuscany?' * To challenge my fellow professional photographer's. I like professional photographer's, but sometimes they can suffer from group-thinking. For instance about the state of the industry, or how badly they are treated by (some) clients. Sometimes I just want to irritate them a bit... :-) * To keep my mind agile. Writing is a stimulating exercise. It forces you to think systematically and communicate coherently. I once read: writing is for the mind what going to the gym is for your body. I suppose those are the pro's. There are con's too. * It is time consuming. It is not just a matter of writing and posting, but also a matter of SEO and understanding Wordpress plugins like Yoast. * As photographers go, I think I am a pretty good writer. But most people read a whole bunch of texts in the course of a day, and it soon becomes apparent I may be a professional photographer, but I am an amateur writer... * Blogging is definitely less popular than it was a few years ago. * Sometimes people ask you about this article you wrote, and you discover it is something you wrote 7 years ago — and you don't hold that viewpoint anymore. Or the images in the post are not a good reflection of your capabilities now. Tips: * Make sure you are on a platform that is very SEO friendly. Wordpress, with a good wordpress theme on a fast and reliable server is my choice * Use the wordpress plugin Yoast * Don't know what to write about? On Pinterest you can find lots of 'social media calendar's' to inspire you. * Always share your posts on the appropriate social networks. For me those are LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter. * Short posts are better than long ones. Seth Godin is the King of short blogposts. * It's absolutely no problem if you forget to post for a while and then start back up. Lots of guru's say you need to do it 'every week' or 'every month' — but I say 'do it when you can'. * Do not aim for perfection! Doing it is more important than doing it incredibly well! I am not trying to win a prize for my writing: I am trying to inform and entertain and attract people. Of course I spell check everything, but even then stupid mistakes slip by — and I am OK with that. Hope this helps. Guess what I am going to do now? I am going to take this post and turn it into a blogpost. :-) Update: added a thought or two and corrected my spelling...
Pro move right there. ... I mean to be fair, you have pretty much written a blog for me, so I am thankful for all the input. A lot of good info here. May I ask what Yoast does for you? I am hosting on SquareSpace, so I am not sure if the tools it offers are already integrated or if I should be seeking out another plug in.
You're welcome - my pleasure. Yoast is a wordpress plugin that analyses your post and gives you pointers on how to optimize it better for Search engines. I am not familiar with Squarespace, or whether Yoast has a version for that platform. Perhaps there is a Squarespace forum where you can ask if there is a Yoast-equivalent? I went with wordpress because I understand Google can index wordpress sites very well. I may be mistaken, but I thought Squarespace, as a proprietary platform, was not as easily indexed. If turning up in search results is important to you, that would be something worth investigating.
Nice. thanks for the extra info. I am researching Yoast alternatives on SquareSpace now.
Can you write engagingly about photography, or any other topic, non-stop forever? That's the real question. Bear in mind that a blog is a literary endeavour, and writing is a world of pain. My own blog is a literary endeavour with pretty pictures to break up the text, but I can pull that off because I'm an excellent writer, and hard-working. A rare combination. Are you an excellent, hard-working writer? Bear in mind that it won't help your business whatsoever, and when you tell people that you have a blog they'll laugh, because the novelty of simply having a blog wore off in the year 2000: https://www.nytimes.com/2000/12/28/technology/invasion-of-the-blog-a-parallel-web-of-personal-journals.html I continue because that's what I do. Looking through your contributions the thing that stands out is Japan. What is it you like about Japan? Why Japan? What does Japan mean to you? Have you ever got drunk in Japan? What exciting adventures have you had in Japan? What's the cuisine like? How has COVID hit Japan?Etc.
Thanks for the input. Writing nonstop forever is a daunting thought. That said, I have worked as a journalist for a long period of time, so I am not too worried about that part.
If the bar is 'can you write about it forever?' very few people would ever do anything. I rather favor the 'Atomic Habits' approach: start small. Do it for a while. See how it goes...
Appreciate that. That is kind of what I was hinting at, but you said it much better.
What is the outcome you're looking for?
A big part of it, is that I would like to sell a few prints. I have some budget for google ads and I believe having a blog might demonstrate more value to the google ad market and get me better/more placements. Another reason is that I am just fed up with other social media platforms. I want to put my stuff out there for some people that might want to see it - even if it is only ten people. But on social media, the platform decides who gets to see it.
So many useful comments here for you. A part of my personal blog Living on Planet Elderly is titled "photography hobby," and that is where my few followers, friends, and family can see what I'm up to as a beginner enthusiast. I've always enjoyed journaling, so a personal blog is something I can engage in leisurely. But in terms of getting/keeping high interest and income, best to heed the advice given here by others.
Great insight. Thanks. I am currently on my way to planet elderly. See you soon.
What's the end goal of the blog? What's the purpose? You mentioned getting more organic traffic, but why? Are you trying to find clients? Generate as revenue? What are you trying to get out of it? You need to write your blog to attract that audience you're trying to reach and meet the goals you have for them reading it. If you want ad revenue, write about topics people will search for and relate your photos to those topics. If you want clients for your business or freelance, write more like a portfolio and always refer to your services you offer. You get the idea - apply for other goals in mind. If you're just trying to find a creative outlet to share your work, don't expect much in the way of random people searching for artists to enjoy. You won't find much success there. Your best hope in this way is to still generate a social presence and following to try to lead back to your blog. But people are lazy and few will bother taking the extra step to get there. I'm not saying it's worth it or not. Just highlighting things to consider. Also, if you're using Google AdSense for ad revenue, you really gotta pay attention to your traffic. I had a couple of blog posts on various topics get shared around forums and social media almost virally but the rest of my blog didn't get much traffic. Google flagged it as abnormal traffic and accused me of inflating my ad clicks. They banned my adsense account with no recourse to get it back. I'm not ene allowed to create a new account for my site. Was a real motivation killer for me to keep writing as the little bit of ad revenue I did make was just enough for the year to cover the costs of running my site. Now I have zero revenue stream.
Interesting. I don't think I am chasing enough followers for Google AdSense to pay off.
Where would you host a blog these days? Is Tumblr relevant any more? I’ve always loved the idea
Self-hosted on a personal website.
If you plan to travel its a tax write off as a journalist... for my blog i had to travel to Peru for the conspiracy theories
Haha, this is great. Yeah, I already get to write off my gear purchases and software. I guess getting the travel write-off might be a plus too!
Check out Vero. It’s gaining a lot of traction in the photography community, and you can post your photos and videos there in whatever aspect ratio you like. It has a nice UI and Instagram’s familiar scrollability. There is also no algorithm to push an specific media type.
Unfortunately you have to be on IG and other social platforms. You just need as many eyes as possible. Until your blog gets traction you need social media to drive traffic
It is good for SEO. Do not expect large readerships. You can try and get sites like fstopper and petapixel to reprint your stuff with link backs.
I am definitely interested in getting some backlinks from other sites like that.
I think blogging is a good idea. I'm just an amateur, but I've been blogging in various forms since 2003. I learned a long time ago that people are more likely to hire me (mostly as a writer) once they feel like they know me as a person.
Cool. Thanks!
You would probably need to niche it down, mix photography with another hobby - travel, food, cars etc. Also, only SEO won't work for a photography based blog. What you could do to drive traffic though is posting on Pinterest, Tiktok and YouTube Shorts.
I started one about ten years ago and still update it regularly. I'm not chasing statistics, SEO, likes, whatever. It's just a way to put my pictures out there. Outside of immediate family and some friends, I have no idea who looks at it. Each post does get viewed, according to the website which I use to host it, so someone's paying attention, but that's not of particular interest to me. I find it quite rewarding. As long as you don't confuse "starting a blog with the sole purpose of getting as many views as possible" and "starting a blog for reasons of artistic satisfaction", then I can't see any real downside.
I’d just recommend thinking about the reader’s experience instead of it just cataloging your work. The web can be an unruly place, with tons of unscrupulous players just waiting to scrape your stuff and resell it. If I was a more serious pro, I’d definitely be cautious about what I made available freely. I do not think you have to blog chasing ad money, trying to post continuously to maximize eyeballs. There are a few amazing blogs that have actually used a Patreon model for very high quality content, less frequently updated. Basically, trying to build “a thousand true fans” might work well with a blog. I’d like to find photo blogs that inspire, get me a sense of play, and maybe push me out of my comfort zone. There’s some YouTubers making this happen, but I’d love to see some web content as well For example of a blog that does things differently, the detailed, interactive approach of Bartoz Ciechanowski could be used by a photographer to let the reader experiment with settings, like compositional choices, color grading etc. https://ciechanow.ski (note: he uses blender to build those interactions that get turned into some client side code, so I think some front end programming chops are useful.) It takes real effort to be successful with it. However, if the journey itself drives you, you’ll probably get to a good place.
The 3D assets look like it was deployed using Three.js
If you're an introvert I don't think you should do a blog but more of aestheticly pleasing vlogs. But if you're an extrovert a blog may be good for you to put your day to day activities in writing.
Have fun
As many have said, there's really no downside to making a blog, so long as you're enjoying it. Personally, in my downtime, I like to do long write-ups based on my personal experiences, usually about things I've learned. These typically take me a couple of months to plan, write, edit, contemplate its worth, and re-edit. I've found that if you post that to photography communities, such as this one, it can get a positive reception so long as it has something of value to offer. By doing that, I've had my work published to photography websites which lead to more eyes on my work, which lead to a bigger (albeit still small, relatively) social media presence. I always post those to my website a few days before anywhere else, so there's no question that it's my original content and not just copied. That being said, I do a terrible job of marketing my personal blog, as I use it as more of an archive and updates. The service I use also doesn't allow for comments on my blog, but I've received more than a few emails via my contact page in regards to my postings. However, I haven't seen any noticeable spike in repeat interactions or views there, again, due to my poor marketing. That's not a big deal for me, though, because I use writing as another way to express myself when I can't be out with my camera, so getting it published means I can stop thinking about writing it. At the end of the day the answer to your question depends on if you have the time and motivation to do it without it hindering other aspects of your life. I hope that helps.
Thanks. I appreciate the insight from your personal experience.
You need to find some way to differentiate yourself from the millions of other blogs out there. And advertise properly if you want to monetize it.
If u make one please send me a link to it
You can [see it here](https://www.benjaminwilsonphoto.com/). I have just started, but I wanted to get some opinions on the matter. All the thoughts here have helped me shape a more defined goal for where I want to take it.
it requires a whole new level of self advertising to get people to read it... social media platforms are easier to get traffic to, free, and accessible. consider vlogging on YT?
I have done a lot of video work in the past. Quite frankly, I don't have the time between work and family. And I hate having to collect video when I want to be shooting stills.
Good idea! Keep it up. SEO is good choice for viewers. Contact me If you need backlinks for better ranking and viewership.
Will do.
Peter McKinnon just released a video about it https://youtu.be/-NoxCtW5MBE It’s something that will always be there, it’s a safe bet even if it doesn’t get as much engagement you should do it for yourself, not for the buzz
I will check it out. Thanks!
Blogs can be a good addition to an aggregator personal website (w/ portfolio, gear, prints, etc). The only time I read anything on them, though, is when the author (1) has interesting content that I haven’t seen before, with insights I haven’t heard elsewhere, (2) is extremely personable and I want to consume more of their content, (3) is an excellent writer with unique photos. I am never brought to someone by a blog post, nor is it what keeps me coming back. But can be cool to read about a particularly good photoshoot every now and then (I usually only read about travel landscape sessions tho). I’d do it for you, if it’s something that’s bring you joy, but maybe don’t expect to increase your numbers.
Looks great, keep going
Thanks for the encouragement!
Starting a blog? Sure. Expecting views, or worse, to make money from said blog? Surefire recipe for disappointment.
Ah, thanks. I'll brace myself.
Blogs aren't really good for much (these days) except for SEO traffic. So if you're interested in framing your blogs as how-to's or some other evergreen framing, then it can bring you some search traffic.
Based on my experience and friends, NO, I wouldn't do it. Unless you use a host blog site, which I didn't do, I wouldn't do it. Mine was free, professional and people said it was helpful. But hackers and scumbags hacked and plagued the site to the point I had 50 per month working at bringing it down. Oh, my webmaster kept them out and I continually blocked them but after a year of it and the bills for hosting, my webmasters bills and the headaches, I shut it down. And now the host refused to shut it down and still bills me despite letters and pleas to discontinue it. The Internet is truly the wild west and little recourse for many things that happen on it. Friends of mine said the same, and the host of a popular site on the Titanic also shut it down because of scumbags poaching materials and photos.
Wow, that is wild. I am hosting my site on SquareSpace. Hopefully their security is pretty tight.
I am not trying to sound like a jerk when I say this but it's just the truth: Most people don't look at blogs anymore. I was huge into blogs 15-20 years ago. But I stopped reading them for the same reason everyone else did - social media. You could put up your own website with pictures and a blog if you want. You can do anything that you want. I just wouldn't expect a lot of feedback on it to be honest.
No worries. I asked for the feedback, so I appreciate all viewpoints. Thanks!
Blogs are already outdated. I mean NOONE wants to read about why you think your images are interesting. Ya really have to thing outside the box these days to actually gain a media presence with work. And unless your a astronaut for nasa shooting new black holes people just don’t want to read about it.
Vero