My Blogging Essentials

I love blogging. It's where I can transform my need to create into something productive and visual. Of course, any blogger would say that blogging is hard work mainly because it involves a lot of different components and editing, but honestly, it's precisely because of these reasons that I love it so much. Over time, anything anyone does improves as you learn what works best for you and your aesthetic and style. It hasn't even been a year that I've avidly pursued blogging, but I have already established a blogging routine that is part of my essential groundwork with every post that I make. 

1. Photography

Obviously, photos are part of the definition of blogging. Without it, a blog is not complete. My blog is tattooed with flat-lays and other related photos which create a great accompanying visual representation of what my posts are about. For taking these sorts of pictures, I honestly feel that your phone is enough especially for beginners. For now, I use the iPhone 5s which is perfect, but I don't just leave it at that which is probably no surprise thanks to the plethora of apps and website that are at of our fingerprints nowadays which is what I'll be talking about later on in this post.

2. Props

Sometimes, you need a little bit more than the product you're talking about. Yes, just for show. I believe that it's the props that kind of gives off your own style and aesthetic. Personally, I always opt for dainty, pink, or pretty trinkets to sprinkle at the corners of the actual product. I do try to keep in mind, however, that props should not be center stage! The most important prop is the surface since that provides the base and groundwork for all your photos; for me, it almost always has to be white since that is just the look I like. I also use white backgrounds for almost all of my Instagram photos too. Now, I personally do not even own a pure white table top surface, so I actually use a whiteboard which is so easy to get a hold of and it is very efficient since its flat, solid, and easy to store. When it comes to the mini props and trinkets, I usually opt for fake flowers, little pieces of decor, and other dainty items like keychains or jewellery.

3. Photo Editing Apps & Websites
Of course, taking the photo is the easiest part. Editing is vital to photos and can completely bring the photo to life, no matter how good quality your original photo is. When it comes to blogging specifically, I always go straight to my trusty VSCO app and sometimes to the Fotolr app if the background isn't white enough. Then, I send the finish to my laptop where I then upload it onto PicMonkey which is great for sharpness, clarity, and highlighting. I also use PicMonkey sometimes for adding fonts and styles, but it's actually Canva where I almost aways go to for creating thumbnails and cover photos.

4. Good Lighting
On top of taking the right photo with good quality and editing, the lighting needs to also be good in the first place. I definitely don't have a studio, so instead I depend on the good old sun to provide my lighting. And yes, because of the lack of control of the sun's lighting, I do sometimes have to postpone when I have to take photos, but it's tolerable nonetheless.

5. Cheeky Promos
Finally, when it comes to wrapping up blog posts, you need your posts to get noticed and that's obviously going to be through social media. The more the better, so that includes Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr, Pinterest, Bloglovin', and possibly more that I am not even aware of. These promos do work and can expand awareness and audience.

So, these are my blogging essentials that I incorporate in my "blogging routine" every time. I hope this helps and please let me know if you have any other blogging tips and essentials!