# Blogging, making irt a habbit?



## Trever1t (May 1, 2013)

SO I just attended Lindsay Adler's seminar here in San Jose where she stressed the importance of regular blogging. I got lazy and stopped for a long time but really it only takes about an hour a week to keep it up. I just posted a new one, feedback is welcomed. Please give feedback on the blog itself, my prose and arrangement?

WSG photography | San Jose Wedding & Bridal Photography - Linda Tran at The Ranch Golf Club


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## sm4him (May 1, 2013)

My blogs always die a horrible lonely death from neglect. :lmao:

SINCE you asked:

"...I introduce the lovely Linda Tran who's recent bridal session..." should be "whose"

"Hair" and "Make-up" don't need to be capitalized.

Watch your use of "its" and "it's"-- "With it's lovely arches" should be "its." 
"...well manicured landscape I feel it a perfect place..." should be it's. Although actually, I'd also drop the "I feel." You're writing the blog; it's your opinion--therefore the "I feel" is not really necessary.

You've got "it's" where you should use "its" again in the next paragraph ("it's wide aperture). Just remember to ask yourself the question: Do I mean "It is?" If not, then lose the apostrophe.

That's as far as I've read. I know it probably sounds like nitpicking, but I personally think good grammar and correct spelling go a long way to make a blog more professional looking, and helping to attract readers.

EDIT: One thing I *do* really like is how you've broken the text up into small paragraphs in between the photos. It makes it more readable and then as a person scrolls down to look at the photos, I think they'll be more likely to keep reading as well.


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## Trever1t (May 1, 2013)

Got it, corrected and I thank you! Its & it's...mybad!


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## KmH (May 1, 2013)

Yep, the hard part is making adding to a blog a routine.


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## Steve5D (May 1, 2013)

I tend to blog only when I go out and shoot something that might be construed as being mildly noteworthy...


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## Light Guru (May 1, 2013)

Steve5D said:


> I tend to blog only when I go out and shoot something that might be construed as being mildly noteworthy...



Excellent point.  Forcing a blog post so that you can post something each week can actually be bad if all your blog post don't provide anything of value. This is the problem with 95% of blogs that people do to "promote" their business.


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## spacefuzz (May 1, 2013)

I agree, blogging is hard! //Mine is 2 months behind :/


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## runnah (May 1, 2013)

Light Guru said:


> Steve5D said:
> 
> 
> > I tend to blog only when I go out and shoot something that might be construed as being mildly noteworthy...
> ...




its a double edged sword. There are companies out there that all these do is write articles for your blog. The purpose behind this is to boost your "searchability" for search engines like Google. Google sees that more content has been added to your site so it then combs through your blog post looking for unique keywords to help optimize the searchability of your blog and it's service. This is good and bad. It's good because you get more searchability for potential customers, but the bad is that you has article that are fluff or add nothing good to your site. The best way to go about it to post frequently but have decent content. Personally I feel like quality trumps the quantity. 

And remember - unique keywords!


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## Trever1t (May 1, 2013)

Yes, keywords and metadata. I do note blogging get's me higher up the list of a Google search for wedding photographers. 

I have plenty of images, shooting at least once a week for a long time now. I also don't think blogs need be a pictorial essay either, perhaps a blog about some new gear or a technique learned?


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## runnah (May 1, 2013)

Trever1t said:


> . I also don't think blogs need be a pictorial essay either, perhaps a blog about some new gear or a technique learned?



Exactly. Try to stay away from opinion pieces, but describing your process or talking why you use a certain piece of gear all helps.


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## Light Guru (May 1, 2013)

Trever1t said:


> I also don't think blogs need be a pictorial essay either, perhaps a blog about some new gear or a technique learned?



Here is the thing that bothers me and I dont mean to be rude at all.  Your blog post does not seem to match the purpose of your website.  Everything else on your website is geared toward getting people to hire YOU to photograph them yet your blog post talks about gear, lighting, and other techniques.  

Do people looking to hire a photographer care that you bought your lens at WPPI, or that your lens has no zoom.  No they don't. they want to know that you can deliver the kind of images they want of themselves.  

If you were advertising workshops where you teach new photographers then that information would be more suited for a blog post. 

Other then the images which  are also shown on the home page how exactly does that blog post make prospective clients ant to hire you you photograph them?


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## runnah (May 1, 2013)

Light Guru said:


> Here is the thing that bothers me and I dont mean to be rude at all.  Your blog post does not seem to match the purpose of your website.  Everything else on your website is geared toward getting people to hire YOU to photograph them yet your blog post talks about gear, lighting, and other techniques.
> 
> Do people looking to hire a photographer care that you bought your lens at WPPI, or that your lens has no zoom.  No they don't. they want to know that you can deliver the kind of images they want of themselves.
> 
> ...



You're thinking of it all wrong. The blog is a great tool for getting people to your site. The portfolio is what sells his services. Well prices too.

Now if we're were talking about another type of site the blog would play a different role. But in his current model and all service type sites work the same way.


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## Trever1t (May 1, 2013)

Those are good points Light Guru and spot on runnah. Yes, my blog is really intended as a searchable draw to my site, to gain Google recognition. I also feel that although the average client knows nothing of photography, they *are *interested. No they don't care where I bought my lens (Key word linked) or that it has no zoom, but they might appreciate that shallow DOF (doesn't everyone just love that?) and the fact that although more difficult I will go to any length to get that image....well that's what they are supposed to get from that.


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## Light Guru (May 1, 2013)

runnah said:


> You're thinking of it all wrong. The blog is a great tool for getting people to your site.



But blog posts about gear and shooting tips are going to attract other photographers and other photographers are not your target audience that you are trying to sell to. 



Trever1t said:


> No they don't care where I bought my lens (Key word linked) or that it has no zoom, but they might appreciate that shallow DOF (doesn't everyone just love that?)



But they don't care what lens you use or what you do with that lens to get it. 

*When I go to a restraunt I don't ask them about what frying pan or oven they use. *

Trever you shoot weddings portraits etc. Why not do blog posts that potential clients might find useful to help them get better pictures. A couple of ideas. Tips on how choose where to have your engagement photos taken. Include things like time of year and how that can effect the choice. Or a blog post on what to ware to a photo session, with things about sliming clothing etc. in general things your prospective clients may find useful and things that would keep your current clients coming back.


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## Light Guru (May 1, 2013)

You could also do posts on what to expect when going to your bridal photo session or to your senior portrait session. Explain the overall process of the shoot, how long it will take how many different outfits they should bring etc.


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## Trever1t (May 1, 2013)

Not going to deny that's sound advice  thank you!


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## Light Guru (May 1, 2013)

Trever1t said:


> Not going to deny that's sound advice  thank you!



And I don't even photograph people. I do landscapes.  

For the type of photography a good blog post would be showings photo and then giving the backstory. Things like the journey you took to make the exposure, was it one of those magic moments like Ansel Adams Moonrise Over Hernandez, or is it an image you you have been trying to get for years and you keep coming back to the same place. Did you have to wake up at 3am and hike 5 miles for it. Things like that something to make the reader feel like they were their with you on the journey to take the photo.


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## runnah (May 1, 2013)

Light Guru said:


> And I don't even photograph people. I do landscapes.
> 
> For the type of photography a good blog post would be showings photo and then giving the backstory. Things like the journey you took to make the exposure, was it one of those magic moments like Ansel Adams Moonrise Over Hernandez, or is it an image you you have been trying to get for years and you keep coming back to the same place. Did you have to wake up at 3am and hike 5 miles for it. Things like that something to make the reader feel like they were their with you on the journey to take the photo.



That's all well and good when there is photo to write about, but what about the other days of the year? A quick post saying xyz about a lens and is good.


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## Robin_Usagani (May 1, 2013)

IMO, you need to be extra careful talking about technical stuff.  It is sometimes a dangerous slope because you are talking to other photographers.  You need to have enough fans that follow you already and want to learn from you.  You have seen enough posts here gone sour because two photographers are arguing.

IMO, "no flash, no reflector" topic is one of those you want to avoid.  I can totally see bunch of photographers will automatically put you in "fauxtographer" category because you mentioned this... unless of course you are a famous photographer who is super good with natural light photography.  You dont want to end up like this guy:
Exposing to the right | warrenjrphotography

I personally would just avoid technical stuff and just talk about the subject.


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## Robin_Usagani (May 1, 2013)

Also, you still need to fix bunch of stuff.  English isn't my first language but I can tell you still have a lot of errors.  Also, a telephoto just means a long ass lens.  It doesn't mean it is always a zoom lens.


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## Trever1t (May 1, 2013)

Robin_Usagani said:


> IMO, you need to be extra careful talking about technical stuff.  It is sometimes a dangerous slope because you are talking to other photographers.  You need to have enough fans that follow you already and want to learn from you.  You have seen enough posts here gone sour because two photographers are arguing.
> 
> IMO, "no flash, no reflector" topic is one of those you want to avoid.  I can totally see bunch of photographers will automatically put you in "fauxtographer" category because you mentioned this... unless of course you are a famous photographer who is super good with natural light photography.  You dont want to end up like this guy:
> Exposing to the right | warrenjrphotography
> ...





Robin_Usagani said:


> Also, you still need to fix bunch of stuff.  English isn't my first language but I can tell you still have a lot of errors.  Also, a telephoto just means a long ass lens.  It doesn't mean it is always a zoom lens.



Now that's good feedback from you, finally.  I made the necessary changes. My English is American, other than the it's its it's all good!


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## Light Guru (May 1, 2013)

runnah said:


> That's all well and good when there is photo to write about, but what about the other days of the year? A quick post saying xyz about a lens and is good.



Writing a blog post just so you can say I made my blog post this week may actually make people stay away from your blog. 

If you continually post things that are irrelevant to them and what they want to know people will stop coming by to see what you have to say. 

Kinda like the story of the boy who cried wolf to many times after awhile people just didn't listen to him at all. 

If your content is quality and relevant to what people want to know then its certainly worth the wait. 

If you have seen the blog of photographer Ben Horn http://www.benhorne.com/ Ben takes several photography trips each year with his 8x10 camera. He documents these with video. Obviously with 2 or 3 trips a year he is not going to have content to post every week. But because his content is so good and he makes people feel like they went on these trips with him people still follow him. After he is home from a trip it's about a month or more before he starts to post the videos and blog posts, at that point he released a video for each day of the trip once a week. But once that trip is done it may be several months before you hear from him. 

When your blog is not as frequent and contrary to the belief of some not all blogs need to be you should allow people to sign up for a news letter that you email out. 

When I get Ben's email about his latest trip I know to start looking each week for a new post. 

The same principle can be applied to a wedding and portrait business. People are not looking to have professional photos taken of them every week so they a probably not going to keep checking your blog every week. So maybe you just post every month or two and offer a news letter. A month or so before the senior portrait season you post about how to make your senior portraits stand out from others. Two or three months before Christmas you do a post on what makes fun interesting Christmas card photos. At the beginning of spring you send one out about the importance of a nice family photo. And of course through out the year you mix in posts about wedding photos and other types of photos. 

So many people have been told so many times that they must do blog posts weekly or even multiple times a week. Now that may work really well for some types of blogs but NOT for all types of blogs. 

If you post boring content that is not relevant to your target audience just so you can have a post once a week eventually people are going to stop following you.


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## SJ_PhotoG (May 2, 2013)

Robin_Usagani said:


> IMO, you need to be extra careful talking about technical stuff.  It is sometimes a dangerous slope because you are talking to other photographers.  You need to have enough fans that follow you already and want to learn from you.  You have seen enough posts here gone sour because two photographers are arguing.
> 
> IMO, "no flash, no reflector" topic is one of those you want to avoid.  I can totally see bunch of photographers will automatically put you in "fauxtographer" category because you mentioned this... unless of course you are a famous photographer who is super good with natural light photography.  You dont want to end up like this guy:
> Exposing to the right | warrenjrphotography
> ...



First off, thanks for the pingback. You linked everyone to my website on here as I'm the author of the ETTR article and I still stand by that article despite what the naysayers say as I know plenty of professionals and ETTR is a waste of time and pointless now a days.

I just wanted to say to the OP and others that you should update your blog as often as you want. Don't close yourself in just because some random guy like the guy that quoted me or other random people tell you "oh you shouldn't update your blog that often" as that is terrible advice and you should update it as often as you want.

Most pros will tell you the more you update your blog the merrier even if it's just a 1 photo update with no caption.

If you try to please everyone especially photographers you will end up not enjoying photography yourself and you will end up kicking yourself in the ass.

You should shoot what you enjoy and enjoy what you shoot, don't care about anyone else's opinion, and update your blog as much as YOU want to.

If you listen to the random guy that quoted me and other random posters and than listen to a professional like Frank Doorhof who says that you should update as much as possible and do what you enjoy doing who's advice would you rather take? 

A novices or a professionals?

Screw opinions. You're just going to get a mixed bag of advice from different people.....do what feels best for YOU.


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## Trever1t (May 2, 2013)

Robinson = Burn! 

Thank you SJ_PhotoG  I always follow my own heart by listening to everything I hear and disregarding what I don't agree with. I don't believe there's a single right or wrong way.


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## Robin_Usagani (May 2, 2013)

Did I say dont blog as often??  I encouraged the OP to blog.


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