Mar 10, 2013 / Community Pool

Community Pool: Photography

The Community Pool is for those of you looking for input, whether on post ideas, writing, blog design and layout, or anything else. If you have a post, page, or idea you want to bounce off someone, leave a comment. Your fellow bloggers can then click through and offer input either on your site, or in the comments here (feel free to indicate which you’d prefer).

In honor of phoneography month, this week’s Community Pool is for the shutterbugs. Get feedback on your composition, use of galleries, or anything else photo-related (non-photo posts are welcome as well). Read on for the guidelines and to leave a comment . . .

  • You’ll get the best feedback if you can be as specific as possible about what you’d like people to respond to or where you’re struggling.
  • Please keep all comments civil and constructive. We’re here to help and support one another, not to beat anyone down.
  • If you haven’t looked at our Commenting Guidelines in a while, now might be a good time.
  • To keep from losing your place in the comment thread while you visit others’ blogs, right-click on a link to open it in a new tab or window.
  • No running on the deck.

Photo by t_a_i_s.

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  1. First time here in the community pool. Take a look at my blog: http://ninstravelog.wordpress.com Not really a photography blog, but it has lots of pictures, and started this year I try to post a gallery post that contain only photos
    Comments and other feedback are welcome.
    Thanks

    Like

  2. This is my photography blog, http://aperture64.wordpress.com/ it is a mix of images I am producing weekly, with articles discussing workflow and current issues in photography. I try to post daily except weekends.

    I would love to have more comments on posts.

    I also would like to know, why is it when i post a youtube clip it sometimes in the reader becomes the featured image but yet on the post the featured image is as I set it.

    I have only been blogging for 7 months so still quite new.

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    1. You have some really lovely photos, and I like the descriptions. I think having a little text can enhance a photo post, and your comments seem just right. I don’t think your header photo is necessarily your strongest to be the first thing you see on the site, but it is still great and that is just a personal preference. Keep it up!

      Like

  4. I’m jumping into the community pool. My blog has just turned two weeks old and would love input. User friendly? How can I get more viewers? I don’t quite understand the ping thing, and how I can connect. I feel like I’m there with you all, but then I feel like I’m totally lost.
    I’m not and don’t have a mobile phone that does it all. I use an iPod Touch 5 and have been using the WordPress App for a while, but more as a reader until this week’s challenge.

    Weekly Photo Challenge ~ the Phoneography Challenge: My Neighborhood

    Please check me out and shed some light.
    by the way, I live the mobility of using the iPod to post. Email is my fav and will email a panorama for the “my neighborhood challenge” this week, so watch for it.
    Happy shooting!

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  5. I decided to participate in the ‘Phoneography Challenge: My Neighborhood’ this past Friday. However, given that I don’t have a photography blog per se, I stuck with my usual subject matter and incorporated the photos that I had taken into my writing. A few of the photos, I thought came out well, others not so much but, I seek advise more so on the layout of the post than the pictures themselves. I’m not a huge fan of inserting a picture into the center with text above and below. It seems boring to me. I’m proud of what I accomplished with the tools available but, it was rather daunting and still doesn’t look exactly what I had pictured in my mind’s eye.Love to have some feedback please.
    http://tummy-troubles.com
    “Chronic Stress Management” is the post in question. Thanks in advance!

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    1. I just went to your blog to see what it looked like and I got so caught up with your story (holy crow!) that I almost forgot to look at the layout of your blog. I actually like to see photos incorporated into the writing. I think it adds interest to the story and can punctuate a point that you are making. Personally, I think that one photo at a time provides better emphasis so I would have split up the photo of the fountain and the fence. Otherwise, I think your blog is very effective.

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      1. Thank you. I actually had thought of not using the photo of the fountain but at the last minute decided I needed to because it played such a vital role (… the tranquility given by the sound of the water…) That was one of the things that didn’t look right but I couldn’t really figure out another way without doing the boring centering thing.
        Oh and thank you for the kind words both here and on my blog 😉

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  6. I am a re-neophyted photographer. (Excuse my liberties with the English language!). I have been taking pictures all my life – I was born to photographer parents – but it has only been in the last few months that I thought I might actually put together a show. I’ve been collecting my photos and I’ve been trying them out on my blog. Any comments would be appreciated!
    http://dianegallagherphotos.wordpress.com/

    Like

  7. Help requested! I’m just starting out, and would welcome suggestions on formatting my pages, how to start getting viewers, how many photos on a page are too many, and any comments on improving my composition, lighting, etc. When blogging, how many words are ‘just right’ for the length of my submissions? Are there any guidelines?

    Sample blog: http://wp.me/p1nwWR-1x

    Portfolio: http://piaffephotography.wordpress.com/

    Thanks in advance for helping out a newbie!

    Piaffe Photography

    Like

    1. Hi,
      your photos are just great. As you have a photoblog, keep it simple an let your photos speak for themselves.
      After a day at work, wanting having fun and looking at nice photos, I get tired if I have to read a long text. Sometimes you even don’t need any word for a good photo or just a very short information. But some pictures need some more information.
      You will find your own way.
      To get more readers, visit other photoblogs and participate on challenges 😉 it takes time to have regular visitors 🙂
      Cheers Angela 🙂

      Like

    1. I like your blog design, the green background is a tad on the bright side for me personally but better than many other options i have seen 🙂 I like how you have one large photo per post that you focus on and give us some text – some story or explanation as context. I gather from some of your posts that you are doing some kind of course? Not a fan of a lot of the textures you have used in processing your images but thats personal preference, the images have clearly had considerable thought put into their composition and processing and I think you are doing really well 🙂

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      1. Thanks very much for your feedback. It is interesting to hear how your blog comes across to a fellow photographer. I appreciate that you don’t enjoy textures but I like the painterly effect they can produce. That said, I also keep a lot of my shots texture-free. I will be interested to follow your blog and learn from you.

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      2. I will be posting some of my thoughts about post processing techniques in the weekend. I am slowly changing my mind about how much processing I am prepared to do, but I am still a bit of a purist. Thats one of the great things about photography, it allows room for all sorts of artistic expression, and if what you do makes you happy then thats the right place to be in 🙂

        Like

  9. Hi,

    Ok, just gonna take a step into the deep end of the pool here! My blog can be found here, for reference: http://www.seeloveremember.wordpress.com. I combine a single photo with a story related to the photo, as the main concept of my blog.

    I am happy with the number of ‘likes’, but, like many before me already pointed out, some more constructive comments regarding the photography would be nice – though I understand now that that falls mainly to the readers discretion. I do notice though that a lot of the likes come without actual ‘visits’ – probably liked from Reader – and I was wondering if perhaps the posts are too long (or not interesting enough?).

    Also, the design is currently a year old. Time for a fresh-up? Or should I leave it as my current design, keeping it easily recognisable.

    Thanks in advance for any feedback! Suze

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    1. personally not a fan of the arty out of focus shots like your water images but I love what you did with the pebbles. You clearly have an artistic interest and eye, and like to experiment. Perhaps a bit more text for some context for the readers? Nice clean layout and lines tho, your images instead of blog links was something i hadnt seen before

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  12. Wouldn’t it simply be fair, that WordPress informs the users about intending to do some improvements? So if hundreds or thousands worldwide suddly lose parts of their sites, they would know what’s going on. Or wouldn’t it simply be nice, if WordPress informs us, that the “Weekly Photo Challenge” is no longer offered? Instead we get a growing number of junk-mails like this: „Using only five photos, document a day in your life. Be choosy!”

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  13. Hi. Would appreciated any feedback on my blog. http://leapinlizardz.wordpress.com/ It started as a place to post my daily photos for my 365 Photo a Day Project but then I started adding some galleries of my photo jaunts and my fitness stuff and some daily prompt writings. Wndering if its just to much “stuff” and taking away from my photos. I go back and forth between just wanting to write a bit about the photos as well. Rough for the 365 (as its hard enough to take the daily pic some days) but maybe a story and captions for the galleries?

    Like

    1. Nice. liked the layout and images are lovely (your sheep shots are a little over exposed) but the disney shots have loads of colour (use a tripod for your long exp night shots btw). Instagram makes your shots look like everyone elses, do you want that?

      Like

    1. Love the landing Mallard. My personal preference is for something less bold, less busy, When I have your skill I will feel better qualified to comment 🙂

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      1. Thanks for your input. I completely understand your comment about “busy and bold”. Another blogger left a similar message. Luckily I think that is something I can easily fix. Thanks again!

        Also, so glad you liked the Mallards…I got lucky for sure.

        Like

    2. A quick look at the blog, the biggest thing that jumps out is the ORANGE background, its really distracting from the posts and text. Love the mallard landing series BTW

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      1. Thank you for checking it out. Given you are the second to comment on “busy/distracting” I think that is a good thing for me to look into. And, a very easy thing to fix. I appreciate you taking the time to comment. And, I’m glad you liked the Mallards…lucky shot…right place; right time.

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      2. I am a big fan of the neutral backgound myself, let the images be the highlight. Also having one photo that scrolls like yours means that its not seamless tiling either. If you have the option, make the background image static, so the blog scrolls on top of it (not with it) . Hopefully that makes sense! And its the *being there with your camera* that counts!

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  17. Hi, I have been blogging on WordPress for a while showing my photography to family, friends and whoever was interested. I also made it onto ‘freshly pressed’ once, which I am quite proud of. I have been a bit slack lately but will return. Comments and critique are always welcome: http://christophrm.wordpress.com.

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    2. Many of the photos are lovely but there isnt a lot of text to tell us where you are, what you are taking photos of, why that subject caught your eye etc.

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      2. Hi Angela, Thanks for your comment. I just looked at your pictures from Quedlinburg. What an interesting town. I visited there last October and will put pictures onto my blog soon.. Cheers Christoph

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      1. Thank you so much for taking the time to look and critique. My intent is exactly as you say–clean and uncluttered. I have received those awards and though very honored, have kept them off to keep it from getting cluttered. What are your thoughts on that? The people who have awarded them are on my blogroll, which I also keep brief to stay “clean”.
        Thanks for the follow, by the way. Glad to have you. I will check yours out later this week when time off from day job.

        Like

    2. I have to say that I love the way that you divulge into the philosophical with some of your posts. It’s pretty interesting. I really enjoyed reading it. I think it’s great that you open up so much of yourself to the reader – I think that vulnerability is essential. I also like how other times you will post a photo with simply a quote. I think that’s smart as it would be overwhelming to continually have lengthy posts. Hope this helps! 🙂

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      1. Thanks for your detailed critique. When I started writing I followed WordPress’ guidelines for blog writing. Follow the Daily Post and learned some tricks from them. It was different than usual writing I’ve been taught. I recently took a formal writing class and my teacher thought the blog writing style atrocious at first. She now seems to understand. I can get real wordy so I cut, cut, cut when I write. The vulnerability? I share what’s on my mind and open my heart. It’s cathartic for me and I think resonates with some readers. My issues are pretty much what common people deal with in life. Other writers inspire me. I hope I can do the same.
        Thanks again.

        Like

  19. Hi everybody,
    here is our food photography blog “Le CuGine d’America – The American cousins”, would love to hear from you. The blog is in English and also in Italian, as we are both Italians living in the U.S. What do you think about the look and feel? We have used a WP premium theme “Just desserts.

    https://lecuginedamerica.wordpress.com/

    Thank you for any feedback you may provide
    Linda and Nicoletta

    Like

    1. I think the layout works pretty well considering the content. All of the photos are well-done (good lighting, color, composition, etc). I like how you post in both Italian and English – it does make each post pretty lengthy. Have you considered having two blogs on one account: one English and one Italian? Then you can link them to each other. It might make it easier for speakers of either language to read and enjoy your posts! I hope this helps! 🙂

      Like

      1. Thank you very much for your feedback. We will definitely consider the two blog option to manage the dual language. Grazie!

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      2. Thank you for your feedback! Very much appreciated. Nicoletta and I will definitely consider to have two separate blogs in two languages. The problem for now is TIME…the scarcest resource, but we will get there, with patience!
        Grazie
        Linda

        Like

  20. Last Friday for the ‘Neighborhood’ theme I tried for the first time posting photos from my iPhone from the WordPress app – it was fun! I posted my pix in small because it was faster upload, but then found that later I could not enlarge them from my home computer, short from reposting them all again. Also, there was no way to post them side by side – am I missing something?
    My post is at:http://elkemurphy.wordpress.com/2013/03/08/photos-of-my-neighborhood

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    1. Elke, when uploading pictures, you may want to make them as large as possible – even if the upload takes longer. I actually do not know if it is or is not possible to enlarge them afterwards but I am almost sure that enlarging a small photo online will increase noise.

      Aboput the alignment: If I ionterpreted the source code correctly, your alignment is “none”. Switch it to “left” (I described the steps in a comment further up) and see if that’s better for you.

      By the way: I have a private blog where I try things out. So there is less risk of ruining things that are supposed to go public.

      Hope this helps.

      Like

    1. Wow, your blog is really beautiful created! It’s a smooth theme and everything seems alright. I like your design and your photos too!

      Like

  24. looking for the right words to build a good blog and create a more interesting blog specially in describing places and locations, that’s where i struggle the most.

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    1. Having a quick look at your blog, I dont really know what its about, there are photos yes, but the posts are about music and movies and celebs and stuff. Maybe thats what its supposed to be about?

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      1. Hey 🙂 If you scroll down on the left, you’ll see that most of my posts used to be in the personal/relationships category. But I’m also a working journalist and my editor wanted my blog to move away from that stuff and into the arts & entertainment section (which is where I work), so I’ve been trying to shift my focus. It’s quite hard because I’m so set in my ways.

        Like

      2. sounds like you need a personal blog and a work one 🙂 I couldnt see any category listing, only a category cloud

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    1. I like the layout, and the pics are very sharp and quite stunning.
      As an english speaker, some of your english is a little hard to follow – but keep on practicsing! Now, I just need to learn German…

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      1. I know, my English is akward 🙂 I’ve never been the best student at school. But I try to learn it carefully 🙂

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    2. Wirklich gelungene Fotos. Ich persönlich ziehe allerdings einen dunklen Hintergrund für die Präsentation von Fotos vor. Aber das ist natürlich Geschmacksache.
      Liebe Grüße us dem südlichen Texas ins kalte Deutschland,
      Pit

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      1. Vielen Dank für deine Antwort 🙂
        Ich werde dies sicherlich berücksichtigen, wenn ich den Blog überarbeite.

        Und Grüsse aus der lieben Schweiz 🙂

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      2. Gern geschehen. Ich möchte aber noch einmal betonen, dass es eine ganz persönliche Ansicht ist, welchen Hintergrund man wählt.
        Liebe Grüße aus dem südlichen Texas in die schöne Schweiz, und weiterhin viel Spaß beim Fotografieren und Bloggen,
        Pit

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    4. Hallo Frischekick,
      einen schönen Blog mit sehr guten Ftos hast du da.
      Bezgl. deutsch/englisch, du musst ja nicht alles noch in englisch schreiben.
      Einfach kurz halten.
      Bei längeren Texten, z.B. mehr als ca. 4 Zeilen, bleibe ich auch nur bei deutsch. Wenn dann Fragen kommen, kann ich immer noch in englisch antworten 😉
      Lass einfach deine Fotos für sich sprechen 🙂
      LG Angela 🙂

      Like

    1. The blog layout is nice and simple – which is good for a photography blog. How many pages you have all depends on you – if it’s something you are passionate about and are going to update, then go for it. I always LOVE an about page though – it’s nice to have one place to go to find out more about YOU. I love hearing about people’s stories – who they are, what they do, and why they are writing a blog. The only thing I would say to do differently is the photos – I would love for them to be bigger! I don’t know if that’s a layout problem or what – one thing that I do is merge two vertical photos together in Photoshop and then add them to the blog post – that way the photos aren’t huge but you can also see them a bit better. Hope this helps! I enjoyed your blog! 🙂

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      1. Thank you! I took a peak at yours and liked what I saw! Nice pics – loving the ones of the snow (in Australia, where I live snow is rare unless its in the mountains)

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      2. Of course! I’m happy to help! I appreciate the follow and the browsing!! 🙂 Thanks! The pictures of snow always seem to be the most popular (as in 10 views instead of 0 – haha). Thanks again!

        Like

  30. Hi there……I have a food blog http://www.onesmallpot.com with a heavy emphasis on images. I am still finding my photography style and I’ve only been blogging for 6 weeks but I would love any feedback on how to improve my skills – composition, styling etc.
    Any other feedback on layout, writing etc would also be most appreciated.
    Thanks so much for this opportunity and for your time.

    Like

    1. I think your blog is very pleasing to the eye; the overall impression is professional. I love the pictures in spite of the fact that I am not much into food photography. So. Just keep it up!

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      1. Thank you for the feedback. You have some gorgeous, haunting photos on your blog. I really liked your ‘about’ page as well.

        Like