Basic Blogging Tools / Saturday Mawnin' Chores

I receive numerous messages via social media from persons that want to start a blog and would like to know the type of camera I use , what I use to edit my photos and the name of my photographer. First of all , guys I don't have a professional photographer following me around , I would go completely broke if I did. 99.9% of the photos on my blog was taken by my uncle , sister , brother , nephew , cousins , friends, mother , father , random innocent bystanders on the street and pretty much anyone that can hold a camera. The reason my photos look so professional and photo shoot-like is because I have a good camera , that's all.  With that said , I'm sure it has become crystal clear that if you are interested in blogging you are going to need a good DSLR camera for beautiful high quality images.


Photography & Equipment

Professional DSLR cameras can get very expensive so if you are on a tight budget I would recommend a camera like mine , the Nikon D5200. I bought this camera about 3 years ago for about $1000 US but now you can get it for as low as $500 US on amazon,com or you can check out the "Photographic , Tech Sales" group on Facebook. What you will actually need to splurge a bit on are the lenses which really does the work for the camera and guarantees you clean , beautiful , professional looking images ,  I use the Nikon 35 mm 1.8 G and Nikon 50 mm 1.4 G lenses. A tripod would also be a great and handy piece of equipment to have if you don't always have someone to take your photos for you. Flashes and some of the gadgets real photographers use are good extras to have, however , they are not necessary if you always take photos when you have good natural light.

Technology

Without a doubt you are going to need a laptop / desktop to load and edit your photos on. Mac laptops are highly recommended by professional photographers , however , after ants swarmed and destroyed my Mac-book a couple years ago I decided that I wasn't going to splurge on another Mac. I currently use a HP Envy Laptop which manages to hold thousands of large photo files as well as the photo editing tools and still run quickly. Ipads and Iphones etc. are also good extras to have for you to blog on the go and keep up with your readers.

Editing Tools 

I use Abode Photoshop Light-room 5 to adjust the colour , tint and contrast of the images , Adobe Adobe Photoshop CS5 if I feel like cleaning up blemishes and my other skin flaws and occasionally Pixlr.com for the retro filters.

I am by no means a photographer , however ,  I have a creative mind and over the years photography has been one of the ways I channel my creativity (even when I had a little dibbie dibbie Sony digital camera). In fact , this blog has become a place for me to release my creative energy and believe it or not I find it kind of therapeutic given that what I do on a daily basis to pay the bills doesn't allow me to be creative at all.

One of the concepts that I always thought would make an interesting editorial magazine spread is that of a Jamaican/Cuban "country" girl doing typical Saturday morning chores while clad in semi glamorous , semi sexy attire. Well , since I'm not a famous fashion magazine editor or a famous model with famous photographer friends ; I enlisted my sister , my Nikon D5200 camera and the 50 mm 1.4 G lens , Light-room and Pixlr.com to make this imagery come to life.