How to: Format with Photos

I believe that a photo is a must in almost every post. Now not everyone agrees with me, but as we talked about last week with eye strain, and the fact you want your blog to stand out, a photo adds character and a sense of "knowing" the blogger.

But not every photo is a good blog photo. When adding a photo, just throwing some random shot up is not going to have a beneficial effect. Many times a photo can make the reader walk away from your post, not drawl them in. Every blogger has made the mistake of using a too dark photo, a blurry image, or an image that is just too small.

Here are some photo tips:

Edit your photos first:
This one is a huge pet peeve for me. It is amazing how a few tweaks in google photo, or on your iphone can change a image! Pretty pictures pull in readers.

 Here is an image I took of my youngest (you can ohh and ahh, he's adorable.).

Image taken on an iphone 4

This is the edited image, see the difference? Don't look at just the way it is edited, but the way it draws you in more than the first image did.

Image edited in instagram- Sierra filter, blur around face.

 Now look at a project I was working on. Just a quick shot.

Image taken with iphone 4

After a quick crop and edit, doesn't the image look more inviting?

Image edited in instagram, Sutro filter, blur around hoop.

A big photo is best:
Just like using a normal size font, a large photo is the easiest on your readers eyes. You don't want them to squint to see what your posting. Not only is the photo easier to read, but gives the readers a place to rest their eyes and really take in what you are writing about.

Center your photos:
Now this might be a personal belief, but I truly believe a centered photo is the best.  When you justify a photo to one side or another, and let the text wrap around the photo it becomes a distraction. Your words and images fight each other for the readers attention. Also typically if your photo can be justified and text is wrapped around it, your photo is too small.


I hope this helps you tweak your images, and see them as a way to add to what you are writing. Also please keep in mind you can not just take an image from any where you want! There are copyright laws! I just use my own images, that way I do not even have to think about copyrights.