You’ve probably heard this one before: if you’re a photographer, then you need to have a blog. The blog practically serves as your virtual portfolio, but it also gives you the opportunity to present short stories along the photos you showcase. The text will give depth to your work, and the audience will understand it better.

A blog also gives you a chance to share your insights and attract many readers that will wait for your tips. These types of posts get tons of love on social media platforms, and that can mean only one thing: greater popularity and authority for you in the photography niche.

The only problem is: how do you make your blog as stunning as it gets? Clearly, you have to pay attention to the visual aspect, since that’s what the visitors will expect to see. Does that mean you can develop a beautiful design and simply feature your photos on the page? Unfortunately, there’s a bit more work into creating and maintaining a great blog. These are the 5 essential elements to pay attention to.

1. Uniqueness

How will you attract your audience to visit and follow the blog? You can’t achieve that goal solely by presenting your photographs. Just hit Google for “photographer’s blog” and you’ll get over 10 million results. It’s a very competitive niche to get into.

That’s why it’s a good idea to focus on a particular niche, so you’ll improve your focus and you’ll be able to express your uniqueness through a particular style. If, for example, you love aerial photography, you can develop an entire blog out of that idea. The important thing is to stay focused and always deliver unique topics, photographs, and tips for your readers.

When you get blogging tips about uniqueness, they are mostly focused on the content. That’s because the content has to represent who you are in the world of photography. Before following a link to your blog, the potential visitor will wonder: “Do I really want to spend time on this? Is it something I’ve never read before? What makes this post different?”

If you have trouble developing high-quality content that’s unique and easy to read, you can outsource the task of writing to professional content writers who will work under your instructions.

2. Harmony

Your photographs have a voice, so the visual appeal of the blog has to convey that overall vibe. If, for example, you love using Contrastly’s Duotone presets to achieve that retro romantic feel in your photographs, the design of your blog should follow that lead. Your photographs will dictate the direction of the blog’s design.

When you first visit Joe McNally’s blog, you immediately see it’s all about adventure, dynamics, sports, and colors. He kept the design simple, so the main focus is on the photographs. With each collection of photos you check out on the blog, you get a nice story that blends into the harmonious feel of the blog. That’s a great example of achieving the perfect balance between text and image on a photography blog.

3. Social Media Presence

When you publish a new blog post, make sure to tweet about it. Don’t forget the audience on other social networks: Google+, Facebook, and Instagram in particular. These tools are an important support for your blog, since they bring the target audience on the site.

If you present a series of photos on your blog, you don’t need to share every single one of the shots to Instagram. You don’t want to spam the feeds of your followers, do you? You can, however, share one photo with an invitation to the followers to see the rest on your blog.

Don’t forget to communicate with the followers on social media. That’s a great opportunity to contact with potential clients and close deals for new shoots.

4. Value

Blogging is all about giving value to the visitors. Your content needs to solve people’s problems, and it should give them useful tips they can immediately implement into practice. Think about it: why do you visit blogs that are outside your niche? You want to learn something, right? You need information and you expect the blogger to provide it to you.

Some of the visitors will mainly expect to see images if they are interested in hiring you. These will be visitors from your area. They will want to compare your photos to the offer of other photographers, so they will make a choice based on personal preference. That’s okay, but what happens with the visitors who are not interested in hiring you as a photographer? They may come from a different continent. If they don’t pay for your work, it doesn’t mean you don’t want them at your site. In fact, you want to attract as many of these visitors as possible, since they make your blog authoritative by commenting and sharing.

Thus, you have to work for every kind of visitor at your website and produce value. There are few forms of content that will provide great value to the readers:

• Beginner photography tips and eBooks
• Video tutorials
• Camera reviews and comparisons
• Tips on buying the first camera

Whatever type of content you opt for, it has to provide a valuable experience for the readers. You can achieve that through inspiration, education, or entertainment.

5. Consistency

Being a busy photographer means you don’t have much time on your hands. You’re constantly busy with projects and you’re afraid that blogging would consume too much of the time you should spend in work, practice, or rest. Well, blogging is a commitment. It does take time and effort, but it gives lots in return.

Consistency is a critical aspect for the success of a visually stunning blog. If your subscribers visit your blog hoping to see new content and they notice you haven’t updated the site for months, their next instinct would be to remove your site from the bookmarks. If the blog hasn’t been updated for years, they will assume you’re no longer active as a photographer. That sends a very bad message to potential clients.

A consistent blog shows the readers that you’re active and committed. Do your best to work through your schedule and find at least an hour per week to compose and publish a post.

Now that you’ve gone through the most important tips, you’re ready to start your own blog. Keep it focused and regularly updated, and it will help you earn greater respect as a photographer.