Life Update Part 3 – Food blogging and Photography

Want to know what makes blogging so interesting to me? It is something really personal on one hand, and on the other hand pretty open in a sense that it connects you with like-minded people and opens up your own little world to a big audience.

 

When I started my blog, I called it Food and Design (don’t ask me why!) and posted mainly homemade recipes with really REALLY bad quality pictures, which I of course thought at this moment to be professional. They would easily make it into the next Martha Steward magazine or at least into Foodgawker or Tastespotting. {See wonderful examples below.}

They did not make it into one single Online Food webpage and I was asking myself why. ☺ (Although I can hardly look at them now,  this is actually quite cool to see from where I’ve come)

Besides recipes, I posted more random things from the art and design scene, which I thought to be inspirational. Later I changed my name to vanillacrunnch.com, bought a domain and web host and created a WordPress-based page with the most beautiful theme FOODIE PRO. To own a self-hosted blog is necessary if you want to monetize your blog since a WordPress hosted account without a domain or host won’t let you place ads. (Note: If you are a starter, always start with a free page such as WordPress or blogger as you can still upgrade or change once you are more serious about it)

Concerning blogging there is so much to learn and whenever I am feeling like. Ok, now I know exactly what to do. I have done my homework, implemented plugins, analyzed and placed ads in the right spot so I can leave my page the way it is for the next weeks. Ehm NOPE. Just as the internet, the blogging world is changing daily and it is hard to keep up with all these new plugins popping up every day or people trying to talk to you into the next big thing. Especially when you are a beginner, I recommend going with the mantra: Less is more. Too many plugins, ads and basically too many of anything will slow your page down and overload it.

Less is more

To give you a little insight and hopefully also a guide I listed tips that helped me and things I used (or still use) during the last year in order to get better quality pictures.

Food blogger Equipment for starters

Canon EOS 70D
This was the camera I started with and I guess it will always be my first love. Great for beginners with all the important tools and settings.

Light Tent
I got this tent for Christmas and it works great for frontshoots and I also love the different background it comes with. Not useable for overhead pictures. Inexpensive!

Photo Card
An inexpensive Photo Card that will do it’s work when you are just starting out

Polaroid Pro Studio 106,7 cm 5-In-1 Reflector If you want to step up the game get yourself a reflector. You’ll love the result.

Upgraded Equipment I currently use

Canon EOS 6D  I recently upgraded to the Canon 6D after using a Canon EOS 70D for 3 years (and before that my iPhone 4S). The 6D is perfect for Food photography as it shoots incredible pictures and also shoots really good quality HD video. It’s an expensive camera, so if you’re just getting started look first at purchasing something like the Canon EOS 70D or even using the camera on your phone.

 

Canon EF 50mm/1:1,2 L This is my best friend. It’s an amazing lens that has stood the test of time for me. It isn’t cheap, but you get what you pay for with a lens and it is a lifetime investment.

 

Lowel EGO Digital Imaging, Tabletop Fluorescent Light Unit
The best light solution I found so far. With no prior experience, you can quickly & easily create professional results. No wonder it is sold out at the moment…

Tripod A must-have for great overhead pictures or „pouring“ pictures. (Food bloggers know what I mean ;))

 

Lexar 32 GB Professional 1066 x CompactFlash When you belong to those people making tons of pictures just from one stack of pancakes, then this Campact Flash is a great thing to have to work properly as a food photographer.

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Rock your Food Blog with these Plugins

Following you find some of the Plugins I currently use and love. Of course there are so many more great plugins but for now I like to present my at the moment top 5.

Mailchimp – Lists and Pop-Up
Mailchimp is the best provider when it comes to building up a follower base and helping you manage your followers. Next to the fact that they have great customizable lists, where you can send your followers Email-Updates about your blog, they also Let you create Pop-ups for your page. The creation tool is amazing and let you create the most individualizes Pop-ups ever! I think by now you know and trust me well enough that I can say that I have a love-hate relationship with Pop Ups. I think it is a great way to gain new readers for your blog as they actually getting aware of the “Subscribing” thing when something pops-up right in front of their faces. Many people see it and think: “Oh sure thing, I want to be informed about new recipes!” and then you have others, who just want to have a glance at this chocolate brownie recipe without first have to close a pop up anytime they are coming to your page.
When I started vanillacrunnch.com, I implemented the pop-up and then deleted it 2 weeks afterward. I decided to go with a fixed subscribe image on the right side bar, so users, who would subscribe are more “really interested” users in your page and chances are higher that they will not unfollow you in the first month because they want to follow you for your content.

Vs.

 

Imsanity – Speed up your page
When you are a food blogger you want your pictures to speak for themselves. Picture size of pictures made with a DSRL camera is usually pretty big if you are not resizing them with an editing tool such ad Photoshop before. I never really cared about image size and just uploaded pictures in the size they naturally came. After months of blogging, I realized that my page has slowed down like crazy and it took readers almost 20 seconds to wait for the front page to load on their mobile phones.
Imsanity is a new plugin, which resizes huge image uploads automatically. It is easy too use and costs you nothing. In contrary, your readers will thank you.

If you want to check out how fast your page loads you can check it out on Google Speed Insights

SEO YOAST – Get found by Google 
I have no idea what this plugin (technically speaking) does. It is a very pre-structured plugin, where you just have to fill in information such as your blog posts name, a short meta description (That is the sentence, that will be visible under the title when someone is searching for your post in Google.) This might be crucial attracting readers attention. Make it smart, short and catchy. Big food bloggers such as the peeps from Minimalistbaker are using it, so I assume it is GREAT! 😉

Special Tip for Food bloggers: Install the EASY RECIPE PLUGIN. It allows you to format your recipes for your site as well as Google. This shouldn’t be overlooked, as it helps your recipes become more searchable on the internet.

Pinterest – Pin it button
Allows readers to pin your pictures easily to Pinterest. Since months, Pinterest is my number 1 traffic provider and the numbers are still increasing. Get your pictures on Pinterest!

Disclaimer: Please note that some of the links below are affiliate links and I will earn a commission if you purchase through those links. I use all of the products listed below and recommend them because they are companies that I have found helpful and trustworthy. Please let me know if you have any questions about anything listed below!