Photography Tips for Bloggers: Make Your Pictures Stand Out from the Crowd

November 12, 2018 by The Motherhood

Have you ever hopped on Instagram and stumbled upon a stunningly captivating photo that made you stop in your tracks? You know the type: it looks like it could be out of a glossy magazine, but it was posted by your next door neighbor, who is not a professional photographer. We work with so many talented storytellers and influencers who produce gorgeous photography as part of their jobs. In some cases, they are professional photographers, but in many cases, they don’t own fancy photo equipment! If you want to take better blog and social media photos, read on for some crowd-sourced photography tips for bloggers that will help you make your pics shine!

The Basics: What Camera Do You Use? Who Is Your Photographer?

We surveyed our network to uncover the most popular instrument for taking blog- and social-worthy photos. 65% reported that they use a digital single-lens reflex (DSLR) camera, but if a nice camera isn’t in your budget, your quest for gorgeous photos doesn’t need to end here. Nearly one-third of respondents relied just on their mobile phone cameras!

When it comes to the person behind the camera, an overwhelming majority (91%) of influencers in our survey said they take their own pictures or have someone in their family take them. Occasionally, they will hire a photographer, too (8% said they use a mix of their own photos and professional ones).

The Goods: Equipment to Take Pics to the Next Level

When we asked what types of equipment our influencers use to make their photos stand out, one of the most popular responses was lighting. Ensuring you have the right lighting (whether natural or artificial) – or shadow covers to block out direct light – can make a huge difference in your pictures.

Some influencers employ the help of ring lights (circle-shaped light devices). Others use deflectors, which, as their names imply, can deflect light a certain way. Another basic tool is a diffuser accessory that fits onto the flash of one’s camera to enhance the lighting by scattering the light.

And don’t forget about props and backdrops! Whether it’s a marble slab, food props (think cutting boards or beautiful dishes), rich textiles or nature-inspired props, these “extras” can make all the difference in your pictures from the moment you snap.

For those who solely use their phone to capture photos, consider investing in a lens attachment for your phone and a tripod. The GorillaPod got rave reviews from on-the-go influencers who don’t necessarily want a conventional tripod (it can even wrap around tree branches!).

The Digital: Software + Apps to Enhance Photos Post-Shoot

If you don’t want to invest in lighting hardware, consider an editing app that can enhance light, colors, brightness and a variety of other editing needs. Some of our favorite software and apps include: Adobe Lightroom (plans start at $9.99/month), Afterlight ($2.99) and Snapseed (free). These suggestions just scratch the surface; there are a multitude of software and app options out there for photo editing!

Photography Tips for Bloggers: Advice from the Pros

Finally, we asked for advice our superstar influencers may give to a blogger who is starting out and wants to hone his or her skills. Here are some of our favorite responses:

“Always use natural light.” – Cristina, Una Colombiana en California
“Take classes and don’t be afraid of the ‘manual’ setting.” – Jennifer, Double Duty Mommy
“My dad is a photographer, so I pick his brain a lot, but the best advice he’s given me is: there’s no substitution for practice…get out there and take lots of photos, read everything you can, and the best lighting is the sun at your back.” – Tabitha, Kiss My Glitter
“LOTS of trial and error! It does not happen overnight and to just take in the entire process. We all have room for growth and improvement!” – Tiffany, Breakfast at Tiffany Marie’s
“Get a macro lens! And take a class, if possible.” – Jen, My Beauty Bunny
“Take classes and don’t be afraid to ask questions. Find a mentor you trust.” – Glenda, The Mommies Reviews

Are you a seasoned photographer, a beginner or somewhere in the middle? Wherever you are in the journey, we’d love to hear your tips, too! Share your best photography tips for bloggers in the comments.

Influencer Spotlight: Cristina of Una Colombiana en California

November 5, 2018 by The Motherhood

Cristina of Una Colombiana en California is a foodie, mama of two and a top lifestyle blogger! Take one look at her Instagram feed and you’ll want to be friends with her in real life because of her fun and colorful approach to life. That’s why we selected her to be our Spotlight Influencer this November! Read our Q&A with her and learn more about her blog, thoughts on the influencer marketing industry, her proudest personal achievement and much more.

1) What do you feel is the #1 trend in influencer marketing in 2018?
Videos, definitely. Especially when we want to share a recipe. Every day there are more brands that ask me to create a short recipe video. I am also sharing videos day-to-day, especially recipes on Instagram Stories.

2) What content do you feel your readers find most valuable?
There are two kinds of topics that my readers follow with greater enthusiasm: the daily activities that I do with my children, and recipes. The number of interactions with fans is much greater when I share a little something that we are enjoying, as well as the adventures that I invent for my children to get to know California.

3) How has your blog changed since you first got started?
The changes have been made in the aesthetics: better photos and a template that is more pleasant for the reader. The content of the blog remains the same, though: I show the daily life of a Colombian woman in California, an adventure that my two children have joined.

4) What advice would you give to someone thinking of starting a blog?
Recently, a young woman who was just beginning to build her blog asked me the same question, and my answer was to write about the topic about which you are most passionate. This way, you will always be authentic and writing on your blog will not feel like an obligation, ever.

5) What trend or platform is on its way out?
It is a reality that Google + said goodbye to us, and I think the next platform in saying goodbye can be Snapchat. Instagram has taken a lot of advantage with its Instagram Stories; even teenagers are switching to this social network.

6) What’s your greatest challenge when working with brands?
I always try to promote the products that I recommend on the blog in a natural and organic way. I believe that a real-life story is the best way to sell. For that reason, I only work with brands of which I am a customer in everyday life, and that I would recommend to my friends from personal experience. I think that brands understand it perfectly and prefer a real story to “propaganda,” but some agencies do not consider it that way.

7) What’s your best blogging tip?
Always be yourself. Authenticity above all. Adjust yourself to the influencer marketing trends, but stay true to that idea that you had when you wrote the first article of your blog.

8) Favorite program you’ve done with The Motherhood?
If I had to choose only one, I would go to the Guitar Center campaign! It is as if a dream had come true with this project. I saw how my daughter’s interest in learning violin grew and one day, I received the opportunity to take private classes at Guitar Center. It came at the perfect time and with great benefits. I will always be grateful to The Motherhood for such an amazing experience! I also want to emphasize that The Motherhood has always given me total freedom in the way of expressing my ideas to the readers. Without conditions or restrictions. Working with them is a privilege.

9) What is your proudest achievement?
As a blogger, becoming an ambassador of brands to which I have been faithful all my life has been a great achievement for me. Being able to recommend your trusted products and also be paid for it is a success. As a person, my proudest achievement has been to form a great team with my family. My children enjoy so much with all these experiences, that for them it is natural to see their mother chasing them with a camera all the time. They even ask me to take photos and videos!

10) What are your three most-used emojis?
I just checked my phone and the most used emojis are:

because I’m always laughing!

because I love what people post on their social networks.

️ because I give thanks with a smile to the messages that leave me in my publications.

Thank you to Cristina of Una Colombiana en California!

More about The Motherhood’s Spotlight Blogger Series
Each month, our internal team convenes and discusses our latest programs, stellar partnerships and top influencers. It’s not about numbers, but rather, the quality, authentic content they’re delivering consistently. It’s about reliability, professionalism and partnership. We discuss our nominations for the month and ultimately decide on just one blogger to feature.

Take a look at our other featured influencers here, and stop by in December for the next Spotlight Blogger!

Instagram Updates You Need to Know (Fall 2018)

October 22, 2018 by The Motherhood

Another season, another round of Instagram updates that have been announced. Have you noticed or used any of the following changes the social media platform has recently made?

Nametags

With Instagram’s new Nametag feature, it’s now even easier to find your friends’ accounts. Users can personalize their nametag with emojis, selfies and different colors. To add accounts, simply scan a Nametag (in a QR code-like fashion from another person’s phone), or share the Nametag across other social platforms. Nametags can also be texted to friends. This feature is a unique way for users to connect with others.

Video Tagging

Instagram users can now tag people in videos. Users can tag videos the same way one would tag a person in a photo, which potentially can create more visits to video posts. Instagram’s algorithm will use these features to determine who best to show videos to by placing the post in the feed of the people who were tagged.

It's here! Now you can tag your friends in the videos you share to feed. pic.twitter.com/NdZ2hLycmz

— Instagram (@instagram) September 19, 2018

Shopping in Stories

With Instagram’s new Shopping in Stories feature, users can now not only shop through a brand’s post, but they can also shop through the brand’s story. This feature gives quick access to brands’ products and services.

Shopping in Explore

In addition to being able to shop through Stories, Instagram will be expanding its shopping capabilities on the Explore page. This feature will be rolled out over the coming weeks, according to Instagram. Shopping via Explore provides another quick way for users to find what they are looking for – and discover new favorite brands while they are at it.

What do you think of these Instagram updates?

Five Things We Learned at the Pittsburgh Influencer Summit

October 4, 2018 by The Motherhood

The Pittsburgh Influencer Summit may have been a week ago, but we can’t stop thinking about it! We were so thankful to have such a broad range of experts share their knowledge and experience of what it means to be an influencer in their space. The conversation left us feeling inspired, and we couldn’t help but share a few things that we learned.

1. People come for photos, but stay for stories.

During our Pittsburgh influencer panel, Jessica from How Sweet Eats blog talked about the things she’s learned from teaching herself photography over the years. While she stressed the importance of using high-quality and interesting photos in your content for the sake of engagement, she also noticed that once readers clicked to her content, they needed a good reason to keep them there. And that’s where quality stories come into play!

Speaking of photography, we were inspired by Erin from The Almond Eater, who said she practices photography every day. If you are a newer blogger or simply want to improve your photography skills, don’t give up! We can all get better with discipline and dedication.

So what constitutes a good photo? Content Marketing Institute recently pulled together research-driven stats to help instruct how to select the best images for engagement. Here are our favorite stats to consider:

Images earn 2.3 times more engagement on Facebook than text posts, according to BuzzSumo research.
Images that do well on Pinterest and Instagram differ from the types of images that do well on Facebook. See some of the differences here!
Images that include a face on Instagram earn more “likes” than images without faces, according to research from Georgia Tech.
Similarly, Convince and Convert found that images get the most engagement when they show a part of a person, typically a hand, interacting with an object. The explanation could be that consumers can more easily imagine themselves interacting with the product when it’s positioned in this way.

2. You can do anything, but not everything.

Such wise words from Valerie of Lily + Val! As content creators and business owners, we can easily become distracted with the many possibilities of things we could implement or could write about. But it’s important to target specific things that you want to accomplish and only go after those.

Pittsburgh Magazine editor Brian Hyslop echoed this thought during the editorial panel by saying, “You don’t have to be “the most [fill in the blank]…” in order to be good.”

A great example of someone who chose a specific goal and went after it without trying to do everything? Victoria of Burgh Brides! We loved listening to the story of how her blog and company began through simply recognizing a need for Pittsburgh-focused wedding planning tips and inspiration. While the theme of weddings could potentially be very broad, Victoria stays focused on all that Pittsburgh specifically has to offer.

Adding to this theme, Bri Conley, owner of No. 14 Boutique, shared the importance of delegating, and making sure you have trusted team members or outside help who can help carry responsibilities when needed.

3. Your blog is your home base!

While Instagram’s and Facebook’s algorithms will be forever changing, your website is the one thing you own and can control. Chaton, Pittsburgh influencer who blogs at Chaton’s World, strongly suggested to always stay focused on that piece of your brand — and let the social follow.

https://twitter.com/cherielianne/status/1042807191718244353

4. As a brand/blog owner, don’t be afraid to ask for feedback and start a dialogue with your community.

Our keynote speaker, Michelle Ford Faist, Senior Manager, Corporate Affairs at StarKist Co., encouraged brands to not shy away from asking for feedback. She gave the example of StarKist seeking out and listening to their partner influencers’ experiences with their products, but also mentioned that bloggers can do the same thing and ask for feedback about what type of content works for their followers. The lessons learned through asking for feedback are extremely valuable in creating future campaigns and goals!

5. Details, details, details… they matter!

If you’re interested in future work with an agency or brand, ensure that you are reading emails thoroughly, following guidelines, tagging the brand correctly in your social posts, etc. It sounds very elementary, but can be often be missed by influencers — but noticed by top executives of brands! Simply put: be professional and accountable.

As Michelle put it, “Everyone makes mistakes, but don’t make the obvious ones!” These mistakes could potentially hurt your chances of working with the brand again in the future.

In addition to missing out on future work and partnerships, lack attention to detail could also hurt the integrity of your content. The editors of Pittsburgh Magazine shared anecdotes on the importance of fact-checking to ensure that what they were posting was true information.

5 tips for influencers:
1. Make it personal
2. Know your product
3. Be responsive
4. Pay attention to detail
5. Be honest #PghInfluencerSummit

— The Motherhood (@theMotherhood) September 20, 2018

Did you attend the Pittsburgh Influencer Summit? What things did you learn?

Influencer Spotlight: Christie, Raising Whasians

October 1, 2018 by The Motherhood

Top Florida influencer and mom of two, Christie with Raising Whasians, is one of our favorite bloggers. On her blog and via social media, she shares personal family memories, recipes, craft ideas, travel tales and how she’s raising multicultural children in today’s society. She is candid, reliable and relatable, and that’s why we love her! Read more about Christie below in our October Influencer Spotlight!

Where do you find inspiration for new blog posts?
I get the most inspiration from my kids. They provide some really clever and creative ways for me to look at the world. I also keep a journal of ideas and always take inspiration from OFFLINE as much as possible. I also love the challenge of thinking outside of the box – and try to incorporate authentic storytelling in everything.

What is your favorite space to engage with your readers?
Right now my favorite place to engage is Instagram Stories. I can ask questions, get feedback and be totally candid. This also allows me to connect directly, try crazy new ideas and give a behind-the-scenes sneak peek of my life.

What’s the #1 question you’re asked by your readers, and what’s your answer?
My readers always ask me how I balance it all. I wish I could say that every day is a breeze. But, just like everyone else, I have good days and bad. The flexibility to work from home and be with my kids as much as possible is a blessing within itself, as well as the opportunities to explore passions and authentically connect with people. I basically just want to show readers that I’m a mom with the same problems, struggles and wins as every other mom.

What’s the #1 question you’re asked by brands, and what’s your answer?
For brands, I always get asked for creative new ways to reach target audiences with their product/services. This is really important to me to not only produce great creative content, but open up honest communication and feedback to the brand on what will and won’t work with my audience.

Influencer marketing is ________.
Always changing. I’m certainly never bored in this industry. There’s always something to learn, to grow and to adapt to.

What should brands start doing (better) when working with bloggers?
The marketing world is never easy. I get that brands have goals and milestones and ideally money strategies that they need to reach. At the end of the day, influencers know their audiences. We know how to best collaborate to bring authenticity to the campaigns. If there’s no trust, the campaign won’t succeed. Open and honest communication and making sure that it’s always a “mutually beneficial relationship” is key to a successful partnership.

What are your thoughts on blogging conferences / are you attending any blogger conferences this year?
I think blogging conferences will always be important to this industry – because of all of the learning and constant change. I go through phases personally with conferences. Some years, I take everything in like a sponge. Some years, my heart just isn’t passionate about them. I think it’s important to know when conferences are right for you in the stage of blogging that you’re in.

Favorite program you’ve done with The Motherhood?
So hard to choose! The Kimberly-Clark campaign still gives me consistent traffic to my natural toilet cleaner post to this day. The Duncan Hines Perfect Size for 1 also comes to mind, just because it was so fun to hide in my closet and eat cake! I also loved working with the JOHNSON’S products, especially when I was in “baby” mode.

What are your thoughts on affiliate marketing?
Affiliate marketing is a great way to make passive income, but strong evergreen content is key!

What is your most productive time of day?
Right now my most productive time occurs after I put my kids on the bus! With two kids in full time school this year, I have a few hours to get work done without distractions, potty breaks or whining. 🙂

More about The Motherhood’s Influencer Spotlight Series
Each month, our internal team convenes and discusses our latest programs, stellar partnerships and top influencers. It’s not about numbers, but rather, the quality, authentic content they’re delivering consistently. It’s about reliability, professionalism and partnership. We discuss our nominations for the month and ultimately decide on just one blogger to feature.

Take a look at our most recent featured influencer here, and stop by in November for the next Influencer Spotlight!

The Motherhood and Pittsburgh Magazine Host Pittsburgh Influencer Summit

September 25, 2018 by The Motherhood

The Motherhood and Pittsburgh Magazine recently partnered to create and host the first-ever Pittsburgh Influencer Summit on Thursday, September 20 at Slate Studio in the Strip District.

The event idea was born out of a conversation that happened between The Motherhood and Pittsburgh Magazine months prior about the intersection of traditional and social media. We were specifically talking about the amazing talent right here in our city of Pittsburgh and wanted to have a larger conversation about one of the most innovative topics in marketing, publishing and business right now: influencers. So, we invited a group of influencers and brand marketers to come together to exchange their knowledge, skills and experiences surrounding marketing, publishing, blogging and more.

The theme we observed throughout the day: when you assemble influencers, marketers, brands, small business owners and creatives in one space, amazing conversations happen.

The #PghInfluencerSummit opened with insightful influencer panel discussion. The six talented influencers each shared their stories of how they began their blogs and businesses, and other things they’ve learned along the way. These influencers each shared different reasons that they got started blogging, but one common thread emerged: these women work HARD. They’ve spent years cultivating loyal communities who value what they have to say, and they place a premium on genuine connection and authenticity.

Huge thank you to the following panelists for sharing your expertise with us:

Jessica Merchant, author and creator of How Sweet Eats
Erin Alvarez, food stylist and photographer at The Almond Eater
Brianne Conley, proprietor of No. 14 Boutique and author of Just a Girl Boss
Chaton Turner, author of Chaton’s World
Valerie McKeehan, proprietor of the online shop Lily & Val
Victoria Deardorff, owner and editor of Burgh Brides

https://twitter.com/melmoraes/status/1042807439177998336?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1042807439177998336&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.themotherhood.com%2Fwp-admin%2Fpost.php%3Fpost%3D24910%26action%3Dedit

No matter what you do, never stop growing, learning, moving forward! #Influencer #PghInfluencerSummit #Entrepreneur #GirlBoss pic.twitter.com/oKQYOSgrCn

— Mary Beth (@thehowtohome) September 21, 2018

The second panel was brought to us by Pittsburgh Magazine’s very own editors, Brian Hyslop, Sean Collier, Lauren Davidson and Hal B. Klein. They shed light on the elements of a good story, journalistic integrity and the importance of fact-checking. This panel was hosted by our guest emcees, Kelly Brennan and Courtney Brennan. Courtney is a reporter for WPXI and Kelly, formerly a reporter for WTAE, is a lifestyle blogger who writes about motherhood, style and health.

We were honored to have Michelle Faist, Senior Manager, Corporate Affairs at StarKist Co. as our keynote speaker for the Pittsburgh Influencer Summit. She shared key learnings from StarKist’s influencer campaigns, as well as tips for influencers on how to stand out and partner with the right brands, so it was a win-win.