Starting a photography blog was one of the best decisions I have ever made. I never would’ve guessed when I pulled the trigger on my first blog post how much good would come from it.
I talked briefly about starting a blog in this article, 10 Photography Lessons I’ve Learned Over 10 Years, and I decided it would be worth going deeper. The benefits of sharing your photos on your own blog are many, and I’m going to talk about 12 of them here.
This is by no means an exhaustive list, but hopefully, it will inspire you to start a photography blog of your own.
1. Having a photography blog will help you grow
It’s easy to get stale in your photography sometimes. You tend to shoot the same things the same way and post-process using the same presets.
A blog can help inspire you to get out of that stale rut and grow as a photographer because you will naturally want to share something new and exciting. Knowing that people are viewing your photography blog is a great motivator to post a better photo today than you did last week.
2. You’ll build your own platform
Your blog is yours to do what you want with, and that means you’re building something that is 100% your own. If you only ever post your photos to social media then you’re dependent on those services, and your photography is not their priority.
Building a photography blog that is all about you and your photos will be there as long as you want it to, and it can become a platform that grows over time.
3. Display your photos your way
All blogging services will come with some form of customization, which means you can show off your photography however you want. You can use anything from simple, free themes that look great right out of the box to paid premium themes that give you more features and options.
If you really want full control over how it looks and feels, get a self-hosted blog on your own domain. They’re cheap and easy to set up, and you will own your blog forever. You can even have it double as your photography portfolio website.
4. Share more of your photography
Your photography blog can be a great place to share your images that might not be your best work. There are a number of reasons you might want to do this.
You might want to share a collection of photos of a location or subject. You could share your before-and-after photos to illustrate a new post-processing technique. There are many reasons why you might want to share some photos that aren’t good enough for your main photography portfolio, and a blog is a great place to do that.
5. You’ll become a better storyteller
Learning to tell stories with your photos is one of the best ways to improve your photography. A good storyteller will capture people’s interest and emotions. Blogging will help you to become a better storyteller because the images you share come with a story.
The great part about a photography blog is that you can write as much as you want, and it adds to the story of the photo. The process of telling the story about the photo will develop your creative muscles and you will naturally get better at storytelling with your photography.
6. People will get to know you better
I like to think of my own blog as not only somewhere to teach travel photography, but where people can get to know me as a real human. I love to write travel stories on my blog, sharing not just my photos, but the stories and experiences that go along with them.
People who find and read your photography blog will see more of who you are than they will on Instagram or Facebook. It can be a place to let people get to know the person behind the camera.
7. You’ll see your growth over time
There’s nothing quite as confronting as looking back through old photos and reading old posts on your blog. It can make you cringe sometimes, but that’s a good thing.
Your blog can be a place where you document your photography journey. You will be able to see your growth over time, which can be incredibly encouraging, especially on those days when you feel like your photography sucks (we all have those days).
8. It helps you critically analyze your photos
As you grow as a photographer you get better at looking at your photos more critically and curating them. A photography blog can help a lot with this as well. The process of writing a post about a photo will help you to analyze it better because you spend more time thinking about the whys, hows, whats, and ifs of the photo.
Why did I take that photo? How could I have improved it? What story does it tell? If I used a different lens, how would it have changed it? You’ll be surprised how many more questions you’ll find yourself asking as you write.
9. It can open up new opportunities
Sharing your photos is really putting yourself out there, which can be scary. One of the advantages of that is that it makes it easier for people to find you. Google loves blogs, so you’re far more likely to show up if somebody searches for something you’ve shared on your blog than if you’d just shared it on social media.
Over time, the more you share on your photography blog, the more likely you are to show up in searches. More visibility means greater potential to be discovered by photo buyers or other sites.
10. Writing exercises your creativity
You may not think of it this way, but writing can be an incredibly creative outlet. Your previous classroom experiences may be contrary to this, but it’s true.
Creative writing exercises similar parts of the brain as photography, so it makes sense that they strengthen each other. You may not think that sitting down and tapping away at a computer can help your photography, but it can. A blog is a great place to exercise your creative muscles regularly.
11. You will inspire others
I’ve lost count of how many emails or comments I’ve had from people who have read my blog and felt encouraged or inspired. This relates to my previous point about people getting to know you better.
When people read your blog and begin to get to know you it shows them that you’re just another human with a camera who’s on a journey too. A photo blog makes you more relatable, and people are more likely to be inspired by you if they feel they can relate to you.
12. Blogging itself can become another hobby
If you’re anything like me, you probably don’t need another hobby, but hear me out. Blogging just may not be for you. That’s fine.
On the other hand, you might absolutely love it and it may grow from an outlet for sharing your photography, into something that you do for pleasure. You won’t know unless you try.
What are you waiting for?
These are only 12 of dozens of reasons to start a photography blog. I strongly encourage you to give it a go. If you’re one of the many photographers who has a blog but has let it slip, why don’t you to pick it up again? Maybe you’ve been on the fence about it and this article will give you a push.
There are countless blogging platforms to choose from, but I strongly recommend WordPress. I also recommend the free Start a Blog course over at Problogger (another site by dPS creator Darren Rowse).
Do you have a photography blog already? What benefits have come from it? Still on the fence? I would love to hear your experiences or questions in the comments area below.
