#socialbloggers 20 – How to Edit Blog Photos

The 20th #socialbloggers! This means we’ve now had 20 hours of fantastic chatter all about how to better our blogs, sharing tips and asking questions. Each chat has really shown me how to improve my own blog and many others have also found the twitter chat helpful. Don’t forget to check the #socialbloggers tag to see the rest of the posts in this series – I post round-ups every monday.

This weeks was a little complicated for me, as we were having a baby shower at our house for my friend. I am the photographer for all things Flip (Flip = the baby) so I was trying to take photos while keeping up with the Twitter chat – I’m an extreme multi-tasker, see. 

Last week we spoke about photography and shared some tips with each other, so thought it would be a fantastic idea to talk about how we edit blog photos and the tools we use to do so. I did lose most of the comments, as it when I was moving over from Blogger to WordPress and had to reinstall everything again on Monday evening, so lost the comments that were left before that! Boo. So pop over to last week’s post and add your opinion! 

I was quite surprised how many different programs there are to edit blog photos. I use Picmonkey and iPhoto for mine, but after this Saturdays chat, there are so many more programs that I would like to try out! If there are any that you use and aren’t mentioned, then please tell me about them below. I’d love to know what everyone else uses!

I personally don’t edit photos that much. I may change the brightness or contract on some if they are a little dark, then I’ll edit any text or add filters in Picmonkey – mainly for the intro picture. I don’t like my photos to look over edited, although I did go through a phase where I loved the look of over edited photos – but tastes and trends change with time! I think people need to remember that it’s okay to be different with photos! As long as they are not out of focus and you can see what you are meant to see, don’t be afraid to add your personality into them too.

If you have any questions, then please feel free to ask them below! I have some ideas for some posts I would like to write about blog photos, so would love any questions to sink my teeth into!

My top tips for editing blog photos.

• Ensure to resize in a photo editor, rather than uploading the full size and resizing inside Blogger/Wordpress,this will help your page load time.
• Don’t distort the colour if it’s a review of a product.
• Play around with levels and saturation to get the photos you want.
• Look at your favourite blogs and see what makes you like their photos so much.
• Crop out anything that may be a distraction from the focal point.

With that said, let’s move onto the chat!

Q1 – How do you edit your photos? #socialbloggers

I use lightroom just to touch up and photoshop if I need to do more @bloggerforums #socialbloggers

— Jemma l (@dreamsofnyorkx)

@bloggerforums A-1 I use google picasa to crop and add frames etc then i use pic monkey to create a collage if i need one #socialbloggers

— Adele (@AceSparklestar) July 5, 2014

@bloggerforums I love PicMonkey. It’s easy and quick to use. I use it for basic editing and adjusting. #socialbloggers — Somdyuti Datta Ray (@hellodyuti) July 5, 2014

A1. @bloggerforums I use Lightroom and usually just touch up the exposure #socialbloggers — PeacockBeauty (@Gwenayfer) July 5, 2014

@Wheelingalong24 @bloggerforums Lightroom has been one of the best investments I’ve made #socialbloggers

— PeacockBeauty (@Gwenayfer) July 5, 2014

@AceSparklestar @bloggerforums I find Ribbet best when it comes to collage. I use Picmonkey for everything else. #socialbloggers — Somdyuti Datta Ray (@hellodyuti) July 5, 2014

@aspiring_london @bloggerforums i find lightroom the most simple too use just for basic retouching xx #socialbloggers

— Jemma l (@dreamsofnyorkx) July 5, 2014

@bloggerforums on my iPhone I use PicTapGo/A Beautiful Mess/Afterlight, on the laptop I have Photoshop CS5! #socialbloggers — Tilly (@papercrowned) July 5, 2014

@aspiring_london @YazzysCorner @bloggerforums there’s GIMP which has pretty much all the same elements as Photoshop but it’s free!

— Rachel (@boundbychaos) July 5, 2014

@Frontiere_Girl @WhimsicalMrsW @bloggerforums I’ve created all my headers and everything using Picmonkey. Haha! #socialbloggers — Somdyuti Datta Ray (@hellodyuti) July 5, 2014

Q2 – What software do you use to edit your photos? #socialbloggers

@bloggerforums adobe Lightroom & pixlr/abeautifulmess app if I want to make a collage ^^ #socialbloggers — Sally (@Wheelingalong24) July 5, 2014

@bloggerforums I use Photoshop to edit most of my photos, or Camera+ if the photos are from my iPhone! #socialbloggers

— Jenny (@healthjenblog) July 5, 2014

@bloggerforums serif (for a long time), windows editor, paint (best ever). On the phone: moldiv & photo editor+ #socialbloggers — Ludo / Animation (@aminae14) July 5, 2014

@aminae14 @bloggerforums have you tried the Lightroom phone app? It’s no-where near as good but it’s a start…x

— Sally (@Wheelingalong24) July 5, 2014

@Gwenayfer @healthjenblog no, I didn’t even know that existed! #socialbloggers — Corinne (@bloggerforums) July 5, 2014

@Gwenayfer @bloggerforums @healthjenblog if you are a student you can get a student discount or sometimes get Photoshop for free 🙂

— Tanja Mortensen (@TanjaMortensenn) July 5, 2014

@bloggerforums i just upload pics to google+ and use the online picasa to crop, add frames and brighten if i need to #socialbloggers — Adele (@AceSparklestar) July 5, 2014

@bloggerforums Photoshop for all the photographs. Occassionally Studio Design and IG filters for my Iphone photos #socialbloggers

— Sarmistha Goswami (@sarmistha_LBF) July 5, 2014

Q3 – Do you prefer photos that look edited, or natural? #socialbloggers

@bloggerforums Edited but not to the extent where they change the very meaning of it. #socialbloggers — Somdyuti Datta Ray (@hellodyuti) July 5, 2014

@bloggerforums Edited but not too much, It still needs to look realistic! #socialbloggers — Ella (@EllaWasHereblog) July 5, 2014

@bloggerforums natural with a touch of editing! #socialbloggers

— Melissa Zia ? (@madam_vegan) July 5, 2014

@bloggerforums Natural, always natural. I don’t mind editing sharpness and resizing. #socialbloggers — Erin Louise Hunt (@erinlouisehunt) July 5, 2014

@bloggerforums Me too. And maybe sharpen the photo a bit. #socialbloggers

— Somdyuti Datta Ray (@hellodyuti) July 5, 2014

@Gwenayfer @bloggerforums Agree.I make a point of not editing applied makeup pics as people obv want to see the real thing! #socialbloggers — Danielle (@Frontiere_Girl) July 5, 2014

@bloggerforums definitely natural, I don’t think editing is needed with clear, well lit photos. I used to edit far too much #socialbloggers

— The Clumsy Beauty (@theclumsybeauty) July 5, 2014

@AceSparklestar @bloggerforums Paha me too! #socialbloggers — Lazy Days Beauty (@LazyDaysBeauty) July 5, 2014

@bloggerforums A mix of both. Sometimes you need to make a colour pop when the original image doesn’t truly reflect it well #socialbloggers

— Becky Beloved (@beckybeloved) July 5, 2014

Q4 – What’s your top tip for editing photos? #socialbloggers

@bloggerforums a4. Just don’t go overboard!! Try to take a better original image if you can as it makes life a lot easier  #socialbloggers

— Becky Beloved (@beckybeloved) July 5, 2014

@bloggerforums less is definitely more – something I’ve learned the hard way! Also patience is key to getting a good photo! #socialbloggers

— Rachel (@boundbychaos) July 5, 2014

@bloggerforums Don’t overdo it & do your best! it doesn’t have to be perfect it has to be you 🙂 #socialbloggers

— Emily Louise Golding (@beautybyemilyuk) July 5, 2014

@bloggerforums Trying to keep it natural ! #socialblogger

— Mathilde Mgi (@MathildeMgi) July 5, 2014

@bloggerforums when all else fails make it black & white – it’ll work 8/10 times #socialbloggers even makes it more dramatic #socialbloggers

— Ludo / Animation (@aminae14) July 5, 2014

@bloggerforums The trick is to make your photographs look nice and professional and not over-edited! #socialbloggers

— Sarmistha Goswami (@sarmistha_LBF) July 5, 2014

@bloggerforums Cropping and brightness are your best photo editing friends! #socialbloggers

— Sarah (@saloca) July 5, 2014

@bloggerforums Don’t overdo it! A bit of decent lighting and taking your time means editing can be a short and easy process #socialbloggers

— Holly (@FaceLdnBlog) July 5, 2014

@bloggerforums find something you like and then stick with it for consistency on your blog! #socialbloggers

— Jenny (@healthjenblog) July 5, 2014

@bloggerforums … but equally, don’t be afraid to explore new methods of editing photos! #socialbloggers

— Jenny (@healthjenblog) July 5, 2014

@bloggerforums #socialbloggers don’t over edit! Keep it as natural as possible, just enhance its beauty 🙂

— Caroline Rogers (@carolinejrogers) July 5, 2014

@AceSparklestar @bloggerforums yes natural light is the best, avoids the amount of editing that needs to be done. #socialbloggers

— Ludo / Animation (@aminae14) July 5, 2014

@saloca@bloggerforums before cropping (avoid noise) increase the size of the image then crop, allowing original image not to be destroyed

— Ludo / Animation (@aminae14) July 5, 2014

What are your top tips for photo editing?