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The SITS Girls

The Secret to Success is Support

Join the SITS Spring into Action Photo Challenge!

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I am deeply in love. We knew each other throughout my childhood and as I was growing up, but it wasn’t until 2001 that things started getting serious.

In 2001, I bought my first digital camera to enhance my blog with photographs from my every day life. I quickly realized blogging and photographs are a match made in heaven.

Kizzy and Marty Sky Wet Berries Chain Chain Chain Looking Up

Some of the first photos I used in blogging. I knew nothing about photography, but approached it creatively.

There was a time when a blog without images was acceptable if the writing was good enough. Even if you did take photos, you’d need to manually upload, then insert the HTML snippet into your entry and style it. It was a time consuming pain.

A decade later, there are no excuses. Virtually every blogging platform makes it easy to upload and share photos on your site without knowing a lick of HTML. The advances and low price of digital camera technology means nearly everyone is carrying a camera around in their pocket.

I love blogs with photos. More than that, I love blogs with creative photos creatively applied. You don’t need a great camera or a lot of technical skill to take interesting, awe-inspiring photographs for your blog.

That’s exactly why you should join us from Monday, April 4 through Friday, April 15 for a two week inspirational photo challenge. Get inspired to try new things, or blog about your own photo tips and techniques in applying our discussion topics!

Take Better Photos for a Better Blog.

We’ll post a new article on SITS every weekday through Friday, April 15. (10 in all!) There will be a few challenges throughout the event prompting you to try a technique discussed by taking a photo and incorporating it into your blog. If you just want to focus on improving your photography, that’s fine too as you can share your photos on our forums, Flickr, Twitter or Facebook.

We’ll cover these topics:

Photography

Basic photography techniques which rely more on you holding any device that can capture images than knowing what aperture, ISO, RAW, SLR, f-stop, shutter speed or any other number of photography terms. (This post might just be the only place in the series where those words appear at all!) Instead, we’ll focus on:

  • Composition
  • Perspective
  • Lighting
  • Lines
  • Repetition
  • Color and Black & White

Blogging with Photos

Tools and photo tips to help you better incorporate original photographs into your blog and social networking presence, such as:

  • Free Online Photo Editing Tools
  • Making a Collage
  • Photo Sharing via Social Networking
  • Styling Your Photos in Your Articles
  • Image SEO
  • Protecting Your Photos

Why You Need to Participate!

  • You do not need a fancy camera. This series will feature photos taken on cell phones and archaic pen cams. No special equipment is needed other than any device that can take pictures!
  • You do not need to know anything about photography. We’re not going to get too technical.
  • Professional and Amateur photographers are welcome to participate! If you do know a thing or two about photography, your knowledge and feedback will be invaluable. We hope you’ll participate, join in the discussion and refer us to articles you’ve written.
  • Taking pictures is fun and creative!
  • Social networking is enhanced and expanded with the addition of photography.
  • Readers are more engaged by original photography on a blog.

How to Get Involved!

There are a number of ways to get involved, promote your site and find some new, great reads! This is not a time sensitive challenge and you may join in at any time!

  • Sign up on the SITS Forums! If you plan on participating, visit this thread to sign-up so we can follow along together! There will be daily discussions, additional questions, prompts and exercises in our discussion forums. You can also upload pictures there and post links to your blog entries related to the topic!
  • Twitter. Use the hashtag #SITSPics on Twitter! You can join in the conversation and follow along using our hashtag! If you need help getting set up on Twitter, check out this post on SITS, Don’t Be Afraid! A Twitter How To.
  • Flickr. Join the SITS Spring into Action Photo Challenge Group to share photos or screenshots of your blog entries related to the topics! (If you’re not sure what Flickr is or how to use it, we’ll be covering that in-depth on Day 4!)

Who is Here to Help

Some amazingly talented ladies have stepped up and volunteered to help take the lead during this event, so you’ll likely see their faces around a lot!

photo tipMy name is Jenna. I am a twenty something native Arkansan who is fairly new to blogging. I am a wife to Bryan, my JR high sweet heart and mother to Hudson, a sweet 6 month old baby boy, and I can’t forget my lab puppy, Sadie. I am an RN and work on a seniors unit in our local hospital two days a week. My blog follows the adventures of me, an ordinary woman who sometimes gets put in very awkward and extraordinary situations, the boys who rule my world and the God that controls my universe. You can find Jenna on her blog at You and Me and plus Hudson is Three and on Twitter @jmkbuett.

photography tipsKelly is a wife, mom of 2 teenagers, and has recently re-entered the full-time work force. When not running here or there for after-school activities, she can be found running or cycling the roads, speed skating on the ice or working on finishing her latest book. Kelly is the author of Mom Got Blog, a unique place on the web, sharing her passion for writing, family, and the quirky-ins-and-outs of daily life. You will also find she has a passion for food, which she shares in her Mom Got Food section, and writes about the latest on sports and fitness in her Mom Got Game section. Connect with Kelly on Twitter @Kpugs.

photo tipI’m Lindsay, a twenty-something city girl through the week and a back-to-her-roots country girl on the weekends, who blogs at Designer Wife. I have no idea how to cook, but I enjoy fine food & eating well. I once got in to {and lost} a fight with my vacuum cleaner on the stairs, but I adore a spotless house. I seem to always shrink my husband’s work clothes in the laundry and I still don’t know how to properly iron, but my wardrobe must always be hung in seasonal order and by color. Come talk to me on Twitter @DesignerWife.

best photographyMy name is Rachel and I blog at And Then She Snapped. I am a mother, a wife, and a bargain shopper extraordinaire. I love taking pictures. I believe it is impossible to have too many shoes or handbags. If there was an olympic event for bargain shopping, I would take home the gold. I like things tidy, but HATE to clean. I can be hilarious, and only sometimes offensive. I’m not sarcastic AT ALL. (Get it?) You can find me on Twitter @racheldrechsel.

photo tipsMy name is Shelley. I am a creative person by nature and ready to jump into things with both feet, sometimes not really sure what I am getting myself into, but always with an open heart. In 1996, I had the dream to create the first fully inclusive playground in the state of Maryland. Only having my design background, my love for children, and passion to bring this project to fruition, I jumped in full force. Ultimately, we (I formed a nonprofit organization) raised the one million dollars needed to create this playground, which is known throughout the region as “Hadley’s Park.” You can find me on my blog at I’m Still Standing and on Twitter @shelleyellen.

Spread the Word!

Invite your friends and followers to join! You can grab our button below to share on your blog!


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About Tracie Nall

Tracie lives in Arizona with her husband, teen daughter, and more books than her shelves will hold. She spends her days writing and editing. Many of her words end up on her blog, From Tracie. Find Tracie on Twitter @FromTracie and on Instagram where she takes pictures of things that are yellow.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  2. Mary @ Redo101.blogspot.com says

    Really looking forward to this, so much I need to learn!