While in graduate school, I had to start a blog for a class. That was six years ago, and that blog has evolved into Barbie’s Bookmarks.

I’ve met so many people interested in starting a blog. I use WordPress, but there are a lot of choices out there. This post will focus on how to write and shoot a post once your blog is up and running.

My audience loves beauty and skin care. They also love recipes. This is the majority of my content. Since my background is in broadcast journalism, my blogs are picture driven, informative, and include hyperlinks.

 

I shoot with this Samsung WB35F 12PX  which is on its last leg. On this day, it was having a temper tantrum, so I had to shoot with my Samsung Galaxy S10e.

When you begin your blog shoot, get a good cover shot. It should include the items featured in the post.

You shoot the cover last when cooking a recipe. It will be the plated dish.  Sometimes I shoot the dish while it’s in the pot.

Be creative and try something different. I use placemats, fabric, and items around the house for backdrops. Natural light is best and much easier.

Shooting from different angles works wonders.

This tall vase with lighted branch stems is perfect for draping a scarf. A fake plant, an orange placemat, and a tray highlight the soap.

Photograph what you can inside the store. The lighting is perfect. I pull out my cellphone and set up shots right there.

It’s a quick crop when you go to edit the picture. No more Conair hair dryers in the shot.

Some items have to be propped up and then I crop them out during editing.

Some items I just can’t get to work. The lighting was off for these cards, and I couldn’t get them propped up, so I left them out of the haul blog.

Lighting is my biggest problem. I had to reshoot this jewelry holder after I started editing. The lamp took away from the details of the jewelry holder.

Light a candle and brighten your post up!

Sunlight is the best way to go. Natural lighting on the left. My shotty attempt at lighting with cheap lamps on the right.

Unless you can invest in an expensive camera and lighting equipment, wait until the sun is bright and then photograph. This was a cloudy day, and I had no choice but to pull out my low-class lighting set that I bought for twenty bucks on Amazon. There were shadows everywhere.

My cooking blogs are easy to write and shoot. I like to have a cover shot, a cooking shot, and an ending shot. The only problem is I’m usually starving when I cook a recipe and I rush to plate the food because I’m ready to eat. Sometimes it looks messy.

A lot of my recipes don’t make it in a blog. This was a Korean barbecue scallop and green beans recipe.

Where are the scallops? They’re tiny.

It looked worse when I plated it. This dish was delicious, but it doesn’t look good. I’ll remake it with big sea scallops.

I generally shoot several blogs at a time. This past week, I had my IPSY bag, my Sephora Playbox, and my items from multiple trips to Marshall’s and TJ Maxx. I keep everything in this storage bin so the items don’t get lost. The subscription boxes are easy, but the hauls are time-consuming.

I have a Happy Planner specifically for my blog posts, but I also come up with ideas and just go with it. I decided to write this blog and here it is. I also write generic blogs that can be used at any time, but not too many. My journalism background kicks in, and I like my blogs to be fresh and new.

There are lots of editing websites out there. I use the Befunky photo editor. I don’t have an account nor do I pay for the upgrades, so it’s free.

As you can see, you don’t need high-end equipment to start and maintain a blog. Make what you have work. You just need ideas, time, and lots of passion. Please let me know if you have any questions, suggestions, or advice.

Stay blessed,

Barbie