We now live in an age where a blog is pretty much mandatory for a photographer. It doesn’t really matter what your goals in photography ultimately are. If you want the world to see your photography, consider starting a blog. For the amateur, a blog is a step beyond showing images on Flickr. You have full control over the way the photos are presented, and you can avoid all the Flickr group “awards” that are so prevalent and to many, so annoying. For the photographer making the transition from amateur to professional, a blog is a great way to draw traffic to your portfolio site, establish your name and branding, and connect with others on the same path. For the working photographer, a blog lets the world see a little peek (or a large one) at the person behind the lens. Personal projects, behind the scenes information, outtakes and the like all help to convey a sense of who you are which can be all important in a digital world in which photographer and client may never meet face to face.

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Blogging allows you to connect with other photographers who may give and/or receive advice and inspiration, friends who tell friends, clients including those current, past and potential, and more. A good blog, one that stands out from the crowd, can achieve a level of fame all in itself. When other people are talking about you and your blog in a positive way, that’s essential free word-of-mouth advertising which is often the best kind.

A blog gives extra exposure to your work and also provides the opportunity for you to interact with your readers and viewers. Make sure you allow people to leave comments and where possible reply to these comments. They may open your mind up to new ways of thinking, inspire new directions and promote more creativity. Keep an eye out for spam comments though. You will get them from time to time and it’s important to quickly remove them when they slip through.

Your blog can be strictly a photoblog where the images do the talking or it can contain writing. It can be a mixture of both, possibly offering the backstory to an image or some of the technical details. You may choose to review gear, critique others work (with their permission), offer links to the sites of other photographers, run a competition, post photos relating to a particular theme and more. The possibilities are pretty much endless.

When entering into the world of blogging, there are a few key things to remember.

• Be Consistent – Set a blogging schedule and try to stick to it. Maybe once a week at first, increasing in frequency as you gain more experience.

• Make your blog easy to read and easy to navigate. Consider using a custom theme or hiring a web designer to modify an existing one.

• Pay attention to spelling, grammar and readability. Ensure you proofread before posting.

• Create great content. It doesn’t matter how often you post, or how great the theme looks, if the content is weak, no one will read it.

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