{"id":24091,"date":"2015-06-11T23:01:29","date_gmt":"2015-06-11T15:01:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hongkiat.com\/blog\/?p=24091"},"modified":"2022-08-29T18:33:20","modified_gmt":"2022-08-29T10:33:20","slug":"using-images-for-photoblog","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hongkiat.com\/blog\/using-images-for-photoblog\/","title":{"rendered":"7 Tips to Manage Images In Your Photoblog"},"content":{"rendered":"

Note:<\/strong> This post was first published on the 11th June, 2015.<\/p>\n

You love photography, and you have a blog, so why not put both together? Blogging is one of the best ways to build a great image and reputation for your business and to display your latest and greatest work online. Of course you could make use of stock images<\/a> and Creative Commons<\/a> materials instead of using your own images.<\/p>\n

However, at the end of the day, images create an atmosphere around your post and influence your readers\u2019 perception, so don\u2019t underestimate the value of well-placed images<\/strong> on your blog. Here are some tips on how to use photos on your blog post more effectively in order to provide a pleasant reading experience for visitors<\/strong> and to drive more traffic to your site<\/a>.<\/p>\n

1. Text-Image Balance<\/h2>\n

You\u2019re probably aware that people tend to scan through articles online, looking for something that catches their attention. This is reason enough for one to carefully select photos to add to a post.<\/p>\n

If you run a photography blog, don\u2019t<\/em> treat it as your portfolio<\/strong>. A portfolio is aimed at showcasing your best photos to impress clients. Your blog, on the other hand, is intended to tell a story.<\/p>\n

Display only as many photographs as necessary to complete your story<\/strong>. Illustrate your thoughts with these images. In my opinion, four or five photos per 1000 words are ideal, although in most cases, the final number of images you need depends on the topic you are blogging about.<\/p>\n

2. Optimize Images For Speed<\/h2>\n

Photos can cause a usability issue if they\u2019re too large. To improve your website performance, you need to optimize your image file sizes<\/a> and make them easy to download as fast as possible.<\/p>\n

Google uses page loading time as a factor in search ranking results. So when posting photos online, make sure to compress them as much as possible without a loss in quality<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

You can do this with Photoshop. First of all, change your resolution to 72 dpi. Desktop and mobile devices don\u2019t need as many dots per inch as printed products do to look good. After that, Save<\/strong> for Web & Devices<\/strong> in Photoshop. Use the JPEG \u2013 Very High<\/strong> preset setting, as it does not lower the quality of the image significantly.<\/p>\n

There are also a few other tools that can compress your photos, for example, Smash.it<\/a> from Yahoo or specific plugins for WordPress, like WP Smush It<\/a>. If you need more tools, check out the plugins in this post<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The optimal size for your blog post images is 600px to 800px wide. In this range, you\u2019ll have a high enough resolution for sharing across all social media sites without slowing down loading times.<\/p>\n

3. Include SEO for Your Images<\/h2>\n

Search engine optimization of your site should extend to your images. Very often, visitors use Google Image Search to search for specific images. So try to rename your images with SEO-friendly names or keywords that are specific and relevant to your site.<\/p>\n

For instance, if someone is looking for \u201chow to take wedding photos,\u201d it\u2019s more likely they will find a photo with a filename like tips-how-to-take-wedding-photos.jpg<\/em> instead of one named DCS678954.jpg<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Make sure each image you use carry a descriptive caption<\/strong>, a keyword-rich file name<\/strong> and relevant text<\/strong> in the \u201ctitle\u201d and \u201calt\u201d attributes. The \u201ctitle\u201d should include your headline, while the \u201calt\u201d attribute specifies an alternate text for an image if your image cannot be displayed to the user (because of a slow connection, an error in the \u201csrc\u201d attribute or if the user uses a screen reader).<\/p>\n

Of course, a graphical browser will only display the image and will only display the alt text if the user asks it to show the image properties or has configured the browser not to display the image. Your visitors won\u2019t necessarily see alternative text, but search engines like Google will pick up on it, which will help your search engine ranking.<\/p>\n

4. Protect Your Photos<\/h2>\n

No matter how hard you fight to prevent it, people will find a way to use your photos without your permission and consent<\/strong>. Here are a few ways to apply some protection to the photos on your blog:<\/p>\n