I don't often do photography "lesson" posts, because, I am not the greatest photographer by any stretch, I am not good technically, nor am I fantastic with editing software, but -
here we are still.
I use Adobe Lightroom mobile (there are plenty out there) for a lot of my edits and I don't know the last time I posted an unedited image to Hive - or if I ever have - because I see the imagery as a support for the writing. I am not the only one of course to care about which images they use, Satan cares too, which is why @meesterboom puts so much effort into pleasing our master, Beelzebub.
Satan loves this strawberry image, because red is his favorite color to decorate with and he has decked out his mancave in all kinds of hues of blood and fire colors. The rest of the house is decorated by his wife, Lilith.
She likes natural colors and shades of beige.
Anyway - back to the photography stuff.
Scroll through trending and you will see all kinds of images, but there are a lot of the clickbaity type and a lot of people love to use the "free" ones from the pros, because you know, they come from the pros and are good. There are several places people use like Pixabay and Unsplash which are fine, but still...
Isn't it nicer to use all your own work?
I might be old fashioned.
But, I do think that using our own images adds value to the posts, because it shows something about ourselves too and not just where we might visit. There is also a style component to it, a taste and of course, the little things we might get up to. The other thing with using our own photos is, it means that when we go out into the world, we are looking for images to support our work or, work to support our images.
Looking for content topics from our lives is far more personal and probably becomes a lot more authentic than when we trawl the internet and use other people's images to portray our thoughts. I hear many people struggle for regular content, but in my experience, what this means is that they are consuming too much, creating too little. Shift the ratio and suddenly, the consumption takes on a new form, where it becomes source material for content, not content to fill time.
Am I wasting your time?
Back to the photography stuff again.
Right. There are some basics to consider like firstly, if there is a clear horizon line, make sure it is straight or, so far crooked that it becomes a style choice.
I seem to have one leg shorter than the other, or one leg longer than the other, depending on which way you want to consider it, as a lot of my photos are at a slant. I have got far better at thinking about this for the shot though over the last 20 years and I don't normally make the mistake, but I see a lot of this:
When it should be this:
It makes a difference, doesn't it?
Note: I had to fake the first one because I actually took it pretty straight.
It is a tiny little edit to straighten an image and even without specialized software, a phone with a camera will have some basic editing tools. Use them.
The next "trick" I will mention that is related to horizon lines, is squaring up leading lines where possible. Yesterday in a post I used an image taken on my phone, of a sign at a wings restaurant. I was standing on stairs and it was elevated on the wall, so it gets distorted in the angle. Nothing wrong with distortion, but at least in this case, it didn't make for a very nice leading image.
Does it?
The same image after a quick straighten:
Which feels more like it should be a supporting image for an article?
For the straightening edits, I use guidelines in Lightroom Geometry, which are set up easily like this:
So now it looks like I was standing straight onto it and there is minimal warping due to the angle taken and even after the edit, as all lines were squared up. The bricks too.
Then, I added a couple masks to drop away and fade to black the background I didn't want to see in order to make the signage stand out more. As well as a crop down from 4:3 to 16:10, which is the size I generally use as it feels cleaner for the post and aligns things more nicely on Peakd - normally. If the title is too long and enters into a second line, or I use an older image (I used to crop at 16:9), it all gets out of whack again.
While all of this might seem useless, not seem overly value adding and it deifinitely isn't going to win any prizes for quality - for me, it makes a difference to the way I feel about the content I produce. And I hope that obvious or not, it adds to the audience experience also.
Here are a couple other recent examples, with the first being quite extreme on the editing scale, the second more of a "touchup" kind of job, to make it look less flat and a little more editorial. But remember, I do this on a mobile phone using my finger to draw, so it isn't exactly Pixar Studios here.
A little effort goes a long way and while most people focus on what I write because the images are generally support material, it doesn't mean I don't put effort into them. I believe it does make a difference to the end result and I think that most people appreciate it when it is there and would notice if it wasn't.
And, for those who do take the time and make the effort to improve the presentation of their work, they generally tend to find value in what they do because of the additional effort they have put into it. And, using one's own images and content from local surroundings also means, getting more engaged with our home, our garden, suburb, city and country. It doesn't all have to be glamorous in order to get comments and votes, but if we want attention on our work, we have to pay attention to what we create.
Content is plentiful, content is cheap.
The question is,
what value do you bring to the table?
There is only one you.
Use what you've got.
Taraz
[ Gen1: Hive ]
Satan and his wife Lilith
🤣🤣
You are spot on here. A bit of effort into the imagery of a post does wonders for your own brand and image.
Squinty horizon lines are one of my pet peeves and things like that can be so easy to fix. Every phone has some basic editing built in. Some of the Android ones auto correct the horizon even. I hope people read and heed!
Meanwhile I'm like just like [print screen] x_x
Yeah but the absolute volume and effort that goes into your feathered and furred creations that you are taking the screen shot of is incredible! I am in awe of your patience!
:D
Yeah, it isn't hard and I think a couple minor adjustments makes a world of difference to a post and shows that at least they were thinking about improving what they produce - win or fail - effort matters.
Totally man. I love seeing images that have a bit of beef to them. A bit of thought or editing. I will vote a post based on the cover image alone is it's good!
I would do the same, but I have to make sure it is theirs! It annoys me a bit when an image grabs my attention and then it isn't from the author.
Yeah, I hate that. Quite a lot of the good ones are from the free sites so you get to recognise a lot of them from the likes of pixabay etc. It's then that you realise it's literally the first image they have come across. I always think at least bang some text on it!
Yeah - at least they could scroll to the second page or something :D
I hate it when people post more than one stock image into posts...I tend to scroll away, or vote far less on the post. I prefer people to use their own photos. Satan and Lilith do too.
That's true. Fair enough choosing a stock image for your thumbnail but to them let the post with them almost seems that you are implying they are yours or something!
Yeah, they should be referenced.
There are some great photogs here though - if you scroll through the community this is posted in.
To my shame I have cottoned onto this community before. You are right, I am now subscribed!
They think it enhances the post I believe...But (for me at least) it's a turn off.
There is a lot of bad thinking out there!
Yes, and unfortunately it's often rewarded.
Yeah. There are some who tell a story through them, but I still find it pretty lame.
Lol.
I used to use Pixabay when I was even more broke than I am now. Recently made the move to Canva, and enjoy creating an image that matches the theme of the post.
My ultimate goal is to get a decent DSLR and take all of my own images, but right now I have an old moto g power phone. It's not a flagship, but I've shared some photos taken in good light. And while I don't have the income for Lightroom anything, this post has inspired me to see what I can do with my moto phone, Gimp, and Canva.
I have noticed your images along with the text for awhile now, and agree that improving the presentation of our blogs, can help us become better content creators and attract even more people to Hive. This is why I center my images and justify my text as you've done in this post. These are all little no-cost ways of sprucing the place up.
It offers a cleaner, look and is more pleasing to the eye. I love what you did with that watch for instance. I just wish I had the funds to do what I really want to do. But for now, will make use with what I have. Thanks for sharing these tips and being a real asset to Hive.
I haven't used Canva yet - is it good? I hear about it because it is an Australian company - worth a lot!
Yep - Lightroom is expensive. With the DSLR, unless very interested, be careful what you buy, as it can be a rabbit hole and a money sink for lenses etc :)
Formatting a post in general is something that should be done, but not so it looks like it was created on a template. All of my posts have various elements involved that I add here and there, depending on my mood. In peakd, it is possible to save snippets, which I use for formatting elements I can't remember the code for - like align left and right (the two images together).
I might give Canva a go to see what it can do :)
I enjoy it because it's clean, simple and easy to use. While it doesn't have the power of LR, it has all of the assets you need in one place for quick edits, and you can upload pieces to work with in the cloud.
They offer their own images along with Pixabay of course right in the app. There's a free version, but I signed up for a year of Canva Pro for more features. I blended the text for my last post on email privacy using Canva, and am embedding my Hive blog link while adding relevant keywords to the completed image name, so that people are exposed to Hive through Google image searches.
I played around with Gimp last night and spent like an hour tweaking one pic! :)
A few simple edits like the ones you mention go a long way when consistently applied.
It definitely make a difference to touch up a little. It doesn't have to take long!
Not to mention the fact that if you take up the habit of doing those edits, you'll soon want to avoid having to do that by taking better shots in the first place! :D
Exactly. It all feeds back in to some kind of improvement mechanism - it is like building keystone habits that compound across other factors.
Totally agree quality makes the difference, thanks for sharing your photographic knowledge.
It does in deed - like food made with care :)
Although I will never be a photographer, I completely understand the concept of adding value to the writing and to the world. We are creating and bringing our ingredients to the picture, regardless of our subject or profession. Getting involved with love and initiative goes far. Apathetic slouches need not apply.
It is like the conversation of a an artist at a concert - it adds to the experience. Some bands, no matter how good, have very little interaction with the audience and it takes away from the performance.
Oh believe me, all your efforts are felt very strongly. Even if you can't see it and it's not obvious, there is still a sense of some finished product. I learn from posts like yours! And by the way, I'm on my way to creating photos like this with my own hands....
Thanks for sharing! These are important thoughts!
!CTP
Well I am glad that it doesn't go unnoticed! :D
Isn't it more fun to create something than use other's creations?
Yeah, 100%! 💪
!ALIVE
@tarazkp! You Are Alive so I just staked 0.1 $ALIVE to your account on behalf of @stdd. (1/10)
The tip has been paid for by the We Are Alive Tribe through the earnings on @alive.chat, feel free to swing by our daily chat any time you want.
If talk about HIVE, I think photos make a post more attractive on HIVE. Not simple and pure photos of course, but edited ones in a good way. However, I don't like overedited photos because they look unrealistic.
I agree. The "unrealistic" ones have a place too, but it is on a certain kind of post.
Yes! I rarely use stock - with a smart phone it's not hard to take a photo. I don't always edit because I am a genius photograph with an Android. Jokes. Hardly. I just don't have the time. But still, I do try to make sure my images are nice and not blurry.
To be honest, that neon sign photo looks good 'unstraight' - it gives the illusion of going up the stairs, idk, I like it - but I love your edit too.
I agree we have a responsiblity to present our best, and no excuse with so many apps out there that can create something cool in seconds.
@meesterboom is next level though.
Och, you are too kind!! :0D
Hopefully next level is good... 🤣
Hahah yes you wouldn't want it to be 'next LOWER level' or the 'Shit Thumbnails of Hive' game where you progress due to the woeful inadequacy of your images....Hey that could be a Hive Buzz worthy gamification aspect of this fine platform we're on!
That sounds like it might be a competition in itself! :OD
I’ve always found quite challenging coming up with content…. Thank you for this @tarazkp.
Authenticity will always pay off….
Sometimes I feel that Hive rekindles my interest in blogging. It has been 10 months and I have been enjoying the process of creating, reading, and voting content here. :)
In the beginning, i made the mistake of upvoting some posts based on the photography in their thumbnails. I was sad to find that far too often they were stock photos.
I do appreciate the sentiment in this post and wished more people had the same philosophy. Cheers browski!
😂😂😂😂this gif is crazy 🤣🤣