My Favorite Tools & Resources: How to grow your blog and improve your photos

Over the past few years of having a blog I have found some great resources that have helped aid in growing my blog and improving my photos. All of these resources I have personally purchased and use. This post is not sponsored, I just want to share these resources with you and help answer the questions I get asked about photography. So here’s a list of the most helpful resources I have found:

1. Adobe Lightroom

Photography is a big part of having a blog and selling items. While cameras, settings, and lighting are not things I’m great at, the one thing I would say makes a huge difference is a good editing program. I use and love Adobe Lightroom. It has been a year since I purchased it and I keep discovering new features that I love. Being able to adjust the white balance and the exposure and the 2 most beneficial tools that will instantly change and improve your images. You can get Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop for just $10 a month and with updates when they are available at no additional cost. Defintely give it a try. I will write a post on the features I use most often soon! It’s worth it just for how easy it is to watermark you photos by creating presets… seriously, that part is such a time saver!

2. Building A Framework Ebook

If you want helpful and informative information on how to grow your blog, you need to read this book. Abby of Just a Girl and Her Blog wrote it and it is a great resource for new and seasoned bloggers. I purchased it and read the whole thing in just a few hours on a plane ride this past summer. I’ve read it again since then and implemented some of the things I learned. Abby covers things like hosting sites, blog policies, growing social media, working with companies, networking with other bloggers, and making money. If you don’t know or want to learn more about any of those, check out her ebook.

3. Invest in a Good Camera

There are a lot of camera options out there and most of them take good pictures. I originally started out using a regular point and shoot camera, I used the Nikon Cooplix S6300. It took and still takes great photos, it’s the camera I carry around and use to take photos when I’m out since it’s compact. A year ago I did upgrade to using a DSLR camera. I bough a used Nikon D60 camera body from my neighbor and then purchased the standard 18-55mm kit lens off of amazon. Hopefully I will be upgrading soon to a newer and better Nikon camera body and will purchase more lenses, but this works for now. I only ended up spending $150 for the d60 body and lens (after a $50 gift card) since my neighbor gave me a great deal. One recommendation is look for refurbished products from the manufacturer. They are a great way to save money and usually come with the same warranty as brand new ones.

4. Kristen Duke Photography Ebooks and Videos