Do you really need to hire a professional photographer for your fashion blog? If so, when do you need a professional photographers help? Do you find someone who specializes in working with bloggers or find a fashion or lifestyle photographer? Should you hire right when you start out or once you start out or once you pick pup traction? You’ve probably asked yourself all of these questions and more. I’ve got some advice that might surprise you! It also applies to any type of blog: lifestyle, food/cooking, fitness/health, craft, etc.
THE MOST IMPORTANT THINGS FOR A FASHION BLOG
Most people would wait until the end to give you the most important answer, but I’ll just do it here because I still think the rest will be helpful to you.
The short answer is that you don’t necessarily need a professional photographer if you’re just starting out your small fashion blog. What matters most is the connection you make with your audience. What kind of look are you going for? Be consistent and create compelling content!
Especially when you’re just starting out, it’s more about your ideas and the results than how professional the photographer that took your shots is. Especially, when you have no income to show for it at the beginning. Just grab a friend and a camera and go to town! Learn your way to perfection!
CONSISTENCY & STYLE
Some would also interchange consistency with “style”. That’s because a consistent style will make your website/blog look cohesive and cohesiveness is beautiful! Here’s an example of consistency/style in our fashion gallery. If you’re still determining what your “look” is then you can take one of two simple paths:
- Inspired-by: Check out currently social media accounts you follow on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, etc. and see what you like best. Start to create your own style based on theirs. The benefits are that there is already an audience that is interested in a similar look.
- Unique: You can also choose to do something completely different. I personally like this one. Since photography has become so widespread there’s a lot of “sameness”. This doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t get inspired by others, it just means you put your own (consistent) spin on it.
KEEP IT CLEAN
If you aren’t hiring a professional photographer for your blog then you will need to make sure your photos are clean. By that I mean that they look thought out.
There are a lot of things you’ll have to look out for, including:
- distracting background and foreground elements (e.g. light poles sprouting from your head)
- image killers (e.g. tissue boxes, receipts, and random papers scattered around the scene)
- discolouration (e.g. a yellow bulb overhead is not flattering)
There are a lot more things to keep in mind, but it’s something you’ll learn over time.
LEARN TO EDIT
One of the most important things that will separate you from mediocrity (should you choose to do this alone) is to learn how to edit your images. This can be one of the hardest things to do, especially for an actual blog/website. You’re probably used to taking photos because of the camera on your phone and you’re also probably used to editing because of the filters and tools on Instagram, Snapchat, etc.
However, when you’re editing for laptop and computer screens then you’ll need to put in more effort to make sure they’re perfect. You can purchase programs like Photoshop or learn to use free programs like GIMP. Both programs have quite a steep learning curve!
TIME FOR A PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHER
So when do you actually need a professional photographer?
The chances are you probably don’t need to hire someone unless:
- Time is important to you and you have the funds to pay a photographer.
- You’re completely lost in all the technology and/or you want to just focus on creating the written content.
- You need help to just get started.
- The learning curve is your archenemy.
- You’re getting your website made professionally so you’d better go all out!
Hopefully this was helpful and you feel less overwhelmed by the decision to hire a professional photographer for your small fashion blog. As always, leave any questions or happy notes in the comments below! You can also send us a message directly!
Jonathan How is the photographer behind Made by Ten and calls Milton his home. He specializes in creating beautiful, creative portraits of real women. He uses photography (and this blog) to help them build confidence and love for themselves and creates artistic images for their homes and offices. You can see him driving around the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) in Ontario, Canada from portrait to fashion shoot and back again.