My kids are currently living their best life and my days of publicly documenting it are over. I deleted all of the followers from our family photo archive on instagram on New Years Day because the time has come. I can scroll privately through our memories, but their stories are now theirs to tell. My blogging about their life was archived long ago.
I spend most of my days (chillin’ out maxin’ relaxin’ all cool) as I take them to and from school practices every. single. day. multiple. trips. a. day.
I write/blog to help myself remember that my life is more than teaching, taxiing, tide detergent pouring, tidying dishes, timing dinner so we can all eat together, and groundhog day again. It’s a wonderful season, but if I’m not careful, I can get lost in it as a person one day running into the next.
Once upon a time I documented their lives, told in photographs, and the lives of many members of Gen Z and Gen Alpha in my community. Each photo was a pause to reflect on a moment or something good that I noticed that day.
If a photograph is a piece of the story and a family album is the book, I’ve spent my adult life as a constant observer, my camera the pen, my shutter the scribe, capturing the fleeing moments of my family and many others, a visual narrative that they lived, that we lived.
I’ve spent my time creating images that speak volumes without saying a word and blogging has told the rest of the story through my keyboard, a good fit for someone who thrives behind the scenes.
I’m the type that likes to blend in and I usually let others fill in the voids when conversation lulls. I don’t use my voice as often as I should, because I’ve always been more comfortable expressing my ideas with half my face behind a camera or a pen in my hand. Communicating with images and written words has come more natural to me.
I started blogging in 2008 and as with everything as technology has evolved we have evolved with it. There were no best practices back then or strategies for blogging. We made it up as we went along. My blog was a mixed bag. I knew nothing of niche.
I got up every morning and wrote what I felt like writing mostly about my sessions, a lot about my faith, and figured out really quickly commenting on our culture was not a good fit for me.
My writing connected me with people. In those days before social media evolved into what it is now, we had longer attention spans, less content to view, and there wasn’t so much vying for our attention and eyeballs.
Long form content ruled the day and you really felt like you connected with the authors of blogs because they wrote more than just sound bytes. Engagement was up because blogs were where we connected, sort of like a virtual water cooler.
When blogs started operating like businesses and the 2012 election ruined the social media landscape we once knew (my opinion), that’s when I noticed the death rattle of writing online.
It got really frustrating. Where before it was easy to reach my readers, it began to be more challenging to compete with so many voices. That’s also the year the iphone was being adopted by everyone so content increased overwhelming us with information.
One thing I’ll always take away from blogging from the old days was the practice I got from writing long form and having an outlet to share my point of view which was respected back then, even if not always agreed upon. I wrote some stuff I’m not proud of but more often than not, I kept my dad’s advice to “keep it positive” and that is the lane I’ve tried to remain.
You learn from what works, you learn from what doesn’t, you get back up, and you’re hopefully better with each post. That’s life. Through it all I’ve never tired of writing. If you’re still here reading, I thank you.
Here are some tips for blogging in the modern age:
- Showcase Expertise: By regularly blogging about topics related to portrait photography such as posing tips, lighting techniques, or editing tricks, you demonstrate your expertise in the field. This builds trust with potential clients who are seeking a skilled photographer for their portraits.
- Boost SEO: Blogging provides opportunities to incorporate relevant keywords and phrases related to portrait photography, helping to improve your website’s search engine ranking. This can make your business more visible to potential clients searching for photography services online.
- Build a Connection with Your Audience: Share behind-the-scenes stories, client testimonials, or personal insights on your blog to connect with your audience on a deeper level. This humanizes your brand and makes potential clients more likely to choose you over competitors.
- Drive Traffic to Your Website: Each new blog post is an opportunity to attract visitors to your website. By sharing your blog posts on social media platforms and utilizing email marketing, you can drive traffic to your site and increase awareness of your photography services.
- Generate Leads: Include calls-to-action within your blog posts, such as inviting readers to schedule a phone call or sign up for a photo session. By guiding visitors towards taking action, you can convert blog readers into potential clients.
Action Step: Start by creating a content calendar outlining topics relevant to portrait photography that you can blog about regularly. Aim to publish at least one high-quality blog post per week to maintain consistency and engage your audience. I created one for you here.
In the long run, blogging is not just about creating content; it’s about building relationships, establishing authority, and growing professionally. By consistently providing valuable information through your blog, you will find the clients who are a right fit for what you have to offer.
Create Everyday 