By guest contributor by Lexy Ward. Photography by Saipua.
I can’t stress enough the importance of the photography on your site. Along with beautiful graphics, beautiful photos are what make your readers want to come back for more. These last few months I’ve become more aware of the need to not only have great content on your site, but also for that content to be aesthetically pleasing.
We’ve discussed Elements, and how any blogger can benefit from it’s photo editing tools. This post will discuss one of your best and easiest free options: PicMonkey! PicMonkey is a wonderful option simply because it is easy to navigate and has a variety of effects available.
Here are the tools that I use each time I edit.
Play with exposure
Bright photos are happy photos. If my photos seem a little dark when viewing them on my camera, they will definitely be dark when viewing on my computer. I usually tweak the exposure anywhere from 5-12 points brighter. You can also tone the exposure down by reducing it a few points. This is helpful if your image is a little too bright. Be careful – if you change the exposure too much, your photo will appear clouded and unclear.
Tweak the saturation
Radiant colors are eye-catching. Brighten those red tomatoes by tweaking the saturation 5 points or so. You can also cool it down by dialing back the saturation a few points. When editing a series of photos, make sure they all match. Keep track of the amount of saturation in each picture. You want the photos to pop, but you don’t want them to look unnatural.
Dabble with filters
There are so many filters to choose from that I didn’t know where to start in the beginning. You can choose a funky vignette. You can tint and fade your photo to give it a washed-out/polaroid look. There are even a few black and whites to choose from. Anything you choose here will take your photo to the next level.
Use overlays and text
One of the best ways to make your photos your own is to add some graphics. Choose from hundreds of shapes that can be customized to your heart’s content. PicMonkey has a large selection of cool fonts, and they’re constantly adding to their selection. Slap a shape and some words on your photo and pat yourself on the back.
PicMonkey has so many features for beginners and advanced bloggers alike. It can take a little time to find the features you fancy, but it’s a great asset to have when it comes to the success of your blog.
