How to stay motivated as a creative | 6 Ways to Stay Motivated

How to stay motivated as a creative

6 Ways to Stay Motivated

I am in a slump

I am just not feeling it

I don’t have the time

My creative juices are gone

I am in a creative lul

I’m just not motivated…….

Yes, we have all had those feelings. Those feelings of doubt, those feelings of not wanting to, those feelings of not good enough, those feelings that our motivation is just completely out the window. Even the best of the best of the best have those feelings. Those feelings of just not wanting to, not being able to, or even really just not liking to. So how do we fix that? How do we get out of our creative slump? How do we stay motivated as a creative?

Just recently I was watching a Youtube video from Sorelle Amore. In her video she referenced a conference and a presentation being put on by Cody Wanner. Someone asked how Cody is able to create so much dang content (Cody posts daily Youtube videos. Yes…. DAILY).

Cody’s response really hit home, and I just had to share it with you guys. He said:

“You are not creating enough… you are getting out of the heads pace… and procrastinating”

Now obviously those are not his exact words because I wasn’t at the conference; however, they are somewhat close, but really think about that for a minute. YOU ARE NOT CREATING ENOUGH.

This is so dang true!!! The more we create the more we crave to create. When we begin to slow down, when we begin to lag, when we begin to procrastinate we then begin this downward spiral. Our motivation goes out the window. We start this negative self talk, we procrastinate because we are feeling bad about ourselves, which then continues to demotivate us. It is a vicious cycle that we have to break!

How do we break this cycle? According to Cody, create more!

Now if that doesn’t work here are a few additional ways to stay motivated:

How to stay motivated as a creative:

Increase the challenge

What I mean by this is make it harder. Step outside of the box. Do something that you aren’t used to doing. Stop doing the same ole same ole. When we get in a rut, that is when our creativeness starts do go away. That is when our motivation declines. That is when we get in this terrible cycle.

Change your creative method

Try shooting with a different gear set up. Talk about a motivation killer when you are bored with what you are doing right? Well, switch it up!

Create from a different point of view (MIX IT UP)

Change your angle! Shoot from above, from below, sideways, at an angle. Stop doing the same thing over and over again.

Make time for it

Lets face it. Adulting Sucks. Like for realz. Life is so dang busy. Sometimes, we just need to schedule our craftie time. So whether you are a photographer, crafter, baker, or candlestick maker it doesn’t matter. Life gets a hold of us, we get caught up in the day to day life, and next second we realize we haven’t been able to be creative for weeks. No wonder our mood sucks! We aren’t taking the time to do the things that we love! So, if you are finding that you are having a hard time being able to do your craft, schedule it. Actually put it on your calendar. Write it down. Block out the time.

Forget about the goal and just have fun

We get pretty caught up trying to reach our goals that we forget to have fun. After all, we are doing this for fun right? We are doing it because we love it right? We create a goal, we start grinding, and we take away all the fun. We get frustrated, and then we want to give up. Stop it!

I’m not saying stop setting goals here. Do not get me wrong. I am just saying sometimes we need to do the things we love to do just to have fun. To enjoy ourself and to actually do what we love.

Create more and create it more often

This goes back to Mr. Cody Wanner’s quote. Create more and more often. This will have you wanting to create more.

So, I do 100% believe this. I know if you are in a rut, if you are unmotivated it sounds rediculious, but just hear me out. If you start creating, your creativeness begins to start flowing. When you create, you begin to be more creative. Ideas come to you so much easier than they do when you aren’t in your creative mind.

Once you stop creating you begin to get in this “rut” or you begin to have this “block” where you just can’t seem to find any motivation to create. Nothing sounds fun, everything sounds hard, and you are just uninspired.

When you create, you start getting ideas all the time…. in your sleep, before you go to bed, in the shower, while you are cooking. This is because you are actually doing it! You have turned on that part of your brain. It is something that you just can’t stop from happening. Awesome ideas come into your head when you are in your creative mindset.

So create more. Start creating which will then put you in that creative mindset. Yes, it is hard to get started because DUH your not inspired or your not motivated or your not in the creative mindset, but once you get started the ideas will slowly start to come. Then eventually you will be so overwhelmed with ideas that you won’t even know what to do :)

Stop comparing yourself to others!

This is huge you guys! Seriously, this is probably the #1 motivation killer in today’s world. we have the world at our fingertips and social media is blasting us everyday. It is human nature to compare, yet with so much information coming to us on a daily basis, we have every opportunity to compare ourselves to other people. This is so important that I even created an entire video on it. Please please please go watch it, read the post, listen to the words and try to stop the comparison game.

P.s. Make sure you check out my list of Must Read Girl Boss Books to keep you extra motivated!

I hope this helps you a little bit to get out of that slump the next time you find yourself lacking motivation or in that vicious cycle of: not creating - negative self talk - procrastination - not creating…..

Wishing you nothing but the very best!

Bessie

How to Create an Epic Blog Post in 5 Steps

Blogging, blogging, blogging….

I have been talking about blogging all year. Why? Because I set out on a mission to blog once a week for the entire year. Yep, I wanted to see if all the stories are true. Does it really help? Is this whole, you have to blog once a week thing real?

Well, in all my blog posts, I have found that the most epic, repinnable, most viewed, most liked, most commented, most shared blog posts had 5 things in common. That is what we are going to talk about today.

Now, if you haven’t done so already, please make sure to check these out to help you in your blogging journey.

How to start a blog and make money in 2019

Things You Need To Know Before Starting A Blog

How to Create an Epic Blog Post in 5 Steps

There are 5 things that every blog post needs, and these 5 thinks are really going to help you stand out of the crowd. They are the things that will help you create those epic blog posts.

So…. here we go:

1.  Content is King

So this one is my dust statement. Obviously you need to have good content. Your content has to be quality. It should be relatable and it should offer something of value to your readers. You need to be serving your audience, providing them good information, if you do this it will actually be received as a good blog. You will keep people on your website and they will actually read your blog.

I know it's super easy, and super tempting to just create a blog for the sake of blogging. Please do not do this and completely fight this temptation. If you do this it will become known that your blogs do not provide good content and people won't want to read them. Plus you won't get people to actually subscribe to your email list or your freebies if your blog post does not have good content.

2. Create a Compelling Title

Think Click bate.

Basically a great title is going to capture your readers attention and it will make them want to visit your blog . The title is the key. If you do not have a good title no one will be interested . If you have an interesting title people will click it . You need to think long and hard about every title that you create . There's multiple ways to go about doing this but I suggest using Google or using Pinterest .  Start typing in what you're thinking about blogging and you'll come up with ideas for the title .  

3. Create Pinnable Images

Pinnable images are so incredibly important. First of all they're going to make your blog look pretty. You want your blog to look nice. Second they're going to create an image that people can pain and promote your blog for you. Pinterest is such an incredibly important piece of blocking and for websites. It's really going to help bring people to your site.

  what I'm trying to say here is Pinterest is your best friend. You need to use Pinterest to ensure your content is shared over and over and over again. The way you do that is with a pretty Pinnable picture.

4. Be SEO Friendly

I have a love-hate relationship with SEO. SEO is going to be able to allow people to find you when they actually search for you. If you don't know what it stands for it stands for search engine optimization. You need your posts and your entire website to be seo-friendly in order for people to find you.

There are 10 different ways to make sure that you have seo-friendly blog posts. One would be Google Analytics . Another, if you're on WordPress, would be plugins like yoast.

5. Find Your Tribe

 Once you post a blog your work is not done my friend. You actually have a lot more work to do, and that's all about promoting your blog post. You're going to want to promote it on your social media account, all of them.

A great way to promote your blog posts is Facebook or Pinterest groups. This way you can collaborate with other people in your niche. On Pinterest you can also use group boards or things called tribe

Alright, now that was alot of information…

Blogging is pretty darn awesome and can be incredibly easy once you get the hang of it.

If you haven’t done so, make sure to check out my blog on 7 Tips on How to Make Blogging Easy. Seriously, this one is a game changer.

I hope you all enjoyed this blog! If you did, leave me a comment below, or even better, share it with your friends!

Wishing you the absolute best!

Bessie

P.s. Did you love this post? Check out these similar ones:

Starving Artist? 7 Ways to Make Money with Photography

So typically when you see people posting about ways to make money with photography all you get is a list of different types of photography. Today I want to share with you ACTUAL ways that you can make money with photography. So let’s just get to the point…

Photo by Daniel Korpai

7 Ways to Make Money with Photography

1. Start selling your prints

   • Sell online

   • Craft fairs / art festivals

   • In person

   • Local stores

2. Product Photography

   • Local businesses need pretty pictures of their products. Think food based businesses, local coffee shops, handmade shops, small businesses, etc.

3. Portrait Photography

   • Portrait photography is huge whether it comes to Family, Newborns, Seniors and so forth.

4. Wedding Photography

   • Wedding photography is probably one of the quickest way to get into making money with photography. Where do you start? Well you need a website, social media, and begin advertising. There are so many local wedding fairs so make sure to get a booth and get your name out there.

5. Workshops

   • HUGE HUGE HUGE!!!!!! Workshops are awesome! This is where you actually get paid to teach what you love! Ugh, I am so excited and amped up about workshops lately! If you haven’t done so make sure to head on over and sign up for my Email list specifically for workshops I will be holding in the future!

6. Blogging and/or Youtube

   • Ok, so blogging and Youtube take a ton of time, effort, and persistence, but it is well worth it in the end. With blogging you can create a passive income through affiliate marketing and so much more. If you haven’t done so, make sure to check out my post on How to make Money Blogging.

   • Youtube, is an amazing place for creatives. You can actually get paid by Youtube via their ads. You can also use things like affiliate links in your comments, or you can refer your audience back to your blog!!

7. Stock Photography

   • I haven’t ever dabbled in stock photography as I sell my own prints right here on this website ; however, I wanted to bring up the idea because so many people do this and it is definitely another way to make money with photography.

I hope you enjoyed this blog and hopefully it got your creative juices going on how you can make money with photography. You don’t have to be a starving artist, you just have to be a little creative, think outside the box, and really start opening your eyes to all the potential.

How do you make money with your photography? Do you have any other fun ideas? If so, leave a comment below. I would love to make this list longer as suggestions come up.

Wishing you the very best!

Bessie

How to Start a Blog and Make Money in 2019

Today I want to show you how to start a blog and make money online. This is going to be a guide to start your own blogging journey.

If you haven’t already, make sure you check out this blog first:

Things You Need To Know Before Starting A Blog

As a creative and entrepreneur, a blog is essential to our work, it is easy to create, will not cost you hardly anything to start up, and it can make you money! How cool is that?!

So what is a blog anyways?

The best way to describe it is it is like a digital journal. A place where you can talk about your passions, your interests, your life, and so much more. It is a place where you can share ideas, and help others with your expertise.

For your blog you are going to need to choose your niche or your area of interest (what you are actually going to blog about). My blog “Bessie Young Photography” is all about helping others along their creative entrepreneur journey with a emphasis on photography.

Can anyone blog?

Heck yes! Anyone can blog! Blogging is a side hustle where you really don’t need any expertise. You just need to get started! How cool is that?

Blogging doesn’t require any special skills, but it does really require alot of hard work, passion, dedication, and determination.

What Can You Write About in a Blog?

Seriously, that is the beauty of blogging! You can write about anything you want, but you have to decide what that is going to be. Like I said above, you really gotta pick your niche first.

Think about what you love, and what you are truly passionate about. Brainstorm what you are good at.

• Are you good at cooking?

• Are you a stay at home mom?

• Do you love fashion?

• Do you love to craft and show other people how?

• How about a fashionista?

There are millions of blogs out there on every topic imaginable. Here is an awesome website with 50 successful blogs in each topic.

Is it expensive?

Not at all! Hosting your blog is going to be the most expensive thing that you do, unless you start advertising. Now a Squarespace blog (which is what I use) costs only $12 a month. That is about .40 cents a day. I am going to say that is pretty dang affordable :)

“Ok friends, so lets get started.”

How to Start a Blog and Make Money:

• Brainstorm a good domain name:

  So this is pretty huge right? What are you going to actually call your blog?! This is your website domain. For example, mine is bessieyoungphotography.com

  You need to think about this long and hard. The domain name should relate to your niche. This also might take quite a bit of time as not all domain names are available. As you know, the internet is endless so…. with that being the case alot of domains are taken.

  You can register your domain name with any registrar. If you are using wordpress you will want to find a host, or you can register your domain name directly with squarespace. The domain name will come with the squarespace yearly subscription for the first year. It is then $20 after that.

• Get Started:

  After you choose where you want your blog hosted you will need to go over that way and set up a plan. Let’s take Squarespace for example (and no squarespace is not sponsoring this blog)

  You will head over to their page home page and click get started. It will look something like:

Now you need to pick a plan that is best for you. I would recommend going with the 12 month plan so you save money. You can also find a bunch of Youtubers that Sponsor squarespace and you can then get an additional 10% off. If you want a code I can recommend a few people, just leave a comment below.

• Connect your Domain name:

  You will need to register a domain name. If the one you want is not available it will let you know. It will also give you related suggestions which can be helpful.

• Pick your template

  Now comes the fun part. You get to pick your template!!! How cool is that? Squarespace makes it super easy to adjust the design with beautiful templates already installed for you, you just have to pick one.

“Your Blog is Now Ready!!!”

• Start Writing, it’s GO TIME!

  One thing that I have found to be important is to have a list of posts drafted before you launch your website. You do not want to launch your website with no information on it. Squarespace will mark your website as private until you decide it is the right time to share your goodness with the world!

  So what do I mean? You need to have content ready. Content that you can work on and promote when the launch actually happens. This is where word of mouth really comes into play. Start talking about your blog! Tell everyone, all the people. This way when it launches there is excitement to it. Also, this way when it launches people will have things to read, to look at, and to promote themselves via sharing on social media.

  Writing is easy, but getting people interested is hard. You should definitely try to solve peoples problems. Help people. Serve people. Give them value. That is what a blog is really all about!

Getting Traffic - Tips:

1. Word of mouth! Tell everyone! Let friends and family know. This way from day 1 you can have some good traffic.

2. Set up your social media first! Think Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, etc.

   Once you blog, you will share the news on all your channels. Don’t try to be on every social media site. Pick a few and focus your efforts on that.

3. You can join relevant Facebook groups or instagram pods.

4. Use Pinterest ALOT. You need Pinterest in your life! For realz though. It is crazy helpful and brings alot of traffic. Right now I get 156K+ monthly views over on Pinterest.

   • Now Pinning all day every day sucks. I’m not going to lie. I have found that Tailwind has been a game changer for me. Tailwind will help you automate your Pinterest rather than doing everything manual.

5. Work on your SEO and get it on point! This is going to be huge for you. Google traffic is free.

Ways to make money with your blog:

There are so many ways to monetize your blog. Ideas:

• sponsorships

• product sales

• advertising

• affiliate marketing, etc.

How much you make from these sources will 100% depend on your blogs traffic. This is where all your hard work, and all the foot work comes into play. Make sure to check out my post on 5 Easy Ways to Make Money Blogging

I personally love affiliate marketing and most of my blog income either comes from it or my own product sales. With all affiliate marketing you are going to have to apply to be an affiliate. Just keep that in mind as it does take time for approvals.

“So Stop Waiting! Start Your Blog Today. Tag me in your social or comment below so I can see your new blog!”

Blogging is pretty darn awesome. It gives you huge flexibility with your lifestyle. It can be a full time job, a side hustle, and really whatever you want to make it!

I hope you all enjoyed this blog! If you did, leave me a comment below, or even better, share it with your friends!

Wishing you the absolute best!

Bessie

130+ Blog Post Ideas for Photographers

Coming up with ideas on what to blog about can be crazy hard. I get it. Been there. It is super discouraging when you can’t think of anything. Ultimately, you just want to give up, or you end up creating blogs that don’t really get any traffic, or do any good. Which then makes you even more discouraged. It’s a bad cycle to get into.

So, as you know, this year I have been putting all the effort into blogging. My goal is to blog once a week! Once I accomplish that goal, I will move to blogging twice a week.

Now, that is a crap ton of content. How in the literal heck do you come up with all those ideas? So, I have been on a mission to come up with blog post ideas.

I figured, if I am having a hard time coming up with ideas, then you might be too. So, I wanted to help. Ultimately blogging is so important for photographers, I just don’t want you to give up and get discouraged.

Here are a few thoughts, plus at the bottom of my thoughts you will find the ultimate guide to blogging and 130+ blog post ideas! If you have any additional ideas make sure to comment below. Let’s create a community and help eachother out!

Why Blogging is Important For Photographers

So, I pretty much created an entire post on this topic. It is called ‘Do Photographers Need To Blog’. If you haven’t done so already make sure to head on over and read that post. It has a ton of information in there for you.

In short, blogging is crazy important for photographers. Here are a few reasons on why it is so dang important:

1. It will help with SEO which will help your clients find you

2. It will deem you as the expert in your field

3. It will bring you clients

4. It will help with marketing

5. It allows your clients to get to know you

6. It allows your clients to see your artistic style

Mistakes to avoid when you blog

1. Your writing is too stiff.

   • You need to be personable. Be yourself and be authentic.

2. Your topic is too broad.

   • You really need to pick one topic to write about and stick to that per blog post.

3. You think you are done once the writing is done.

   • This is sooooooo wrong. You have to share your content and then share it again!

4. You don’t blog consistently

   • The killer of all blogs. You seriously need to blog consistently. I am learning this to be fact this year. I started blogging consistently and man has my everything increased. My website is getting more views, I am getting more comments and shares, and my business is bringing in more money!

5. Not writing long form

   • We always hear that each blog needs to be 300 words. Well guess what, that is just a minimum. It has been proven that blogs with over 1000 words do so much better. It is best to strive for blogs reaching 3000 words! I know, it is like a small essay, but believe me it is worth it.

Things to keep in mind when you start blogging

1. Figure out your style

2. Decide why you are blogging in the first place

3. Determine how often you want to blog

4. Make sure to have a strategy/organization/schedule

5. Know your target audience

6. Realize that it will take a long time to get the hang of it, so don’t be so hard on yourself.

Think about what your clients might want to know

This is one of the most important things. You need to serve your people and really think about what it is that they want and need. If you aren’t writing blog posts that are going to help people, ultimately your blog will not do very well in terms of subscribers.

You need to decide who your target audience is and how you can help them. Figure out their age, their gender, their style, their likes, where they would shop, do they love coffee? Once you nail down who your target audience is, then you will be able to create blog posts around it.

Blog Post Ideas For Photographers:

For All Photographers

1. Blog every session / adventure

2. Share you’re go-to hairstyle for a photo shoot

3. How you do your makeup for a photo shoot

4. What do you wear for a photo shoot?

5. Share your must have items when you have little time to get ready

6. Why did you start your photography business?

7. Who has inspired you throughout your life?

8. Share your plans (short term and long term)

9. What you are looking forward to this year

10. Share how you take/edit photos for your blog or social media

11. Share any photography tips that you have

12. What’s your favorite social media and why?

13. Talk about something you’re afraid of and how you overcome it

14. Share a “Do’s and Don’t s…” post about something you’ve got experienced

15. Create something free to give away to your readers, like printable worksheets

16. Share products that you swear by

17. Share what apps you are currently obsessed with?

18. How do you stay motivated?

19. Tips to stay productive

20. Write a “Top 20” or “Top 10” post

21. Share your to do list for the day/week/weekend/month

22. Do guest posts with another photographer or blogger

23. A review of a product/service

24. How do you plan your content?

25. How do you pack for a trip or photoshoot?

26. Your favorite photography quotes

27. Your favorite books

28. Favorite Youtubers you watch everyday

29. Photographers that inspire you

30. How do you manage your time

31. Your desk or office space essentials

32. How you ended up deciding to be a photographer

33. Favorite photoshoot day snacks to keep you moving

34. Equipment comparison

35. Why you want to do _____ on your bucket list

36. Facts about yourself

37. A letter to your younger self

38. A letter to your older self

39. Mantras for success

40. Mantras for stress

41. Monthly Favorites

42. Biggest purchase regrets

43. Monthly goals

44. Favorite Instagram accounts

45. My favorite calendar, journal, etc.

46. The one thing I can’t live without

47. How I stay organized

48. All about one of your pets

49. A picture for every hour in the day

50. List of things to be happy about

51. A brand review

52. Your 5 year plan

53. 3 books you don’t like and why

54. Take part in someone else’s 30 day challenge…document

55. Host your own 30 day challenge

56. Travel bucket list

57. Have someone do a guest post for you!

58. Share your creative process

59. A behind-the-scenes look at your work studio

60. Your photography advice

61. Photography tips and tricks

62. What are the difficulties you’ve overcome in your business?

63. What’s in your camera bag?

64. What is in your wedding photography bag?

65. What’s in your office bag?

66. What’s in your travel bag?

67. Interview famous people in your niche

68. Share a recent project that fire you up (styled shoots, workshops, etc.)

69. What are your goals that you’d like to achieve for the season

70. Your most favorite blog posts

71. Share your strategy on how you make money from your blog

72. Share your favorite affiliate partner/sponsor

73. Share your not-so favorite affiliate partner and why you regret working with them

74. Share your best marketing tips

75. Create a massive list of blog post ideas!

76. 10 Things you didn’t know about me

77. Why you became a photographer? – Tell your personal story!

78. What is your expertise and your best work to prove it!

79. What inspires you to photograph

80. Equipment & Gear you use for Post-Production

81. Your favorite lens and why you love it so much?

82. Why you chose the camera you shoot with?

83. A year in review

84. Next years goals

85. How you stay healthy while running a photography business

86. Your daily routine

87. Your editing routine

88. Your goals, dreams and ambitions as a Photographer

89. How to blog posts

90. List blog posts

91. Review posts

92. My top 5 posts

    Specifically, Blogs For Clients:

93. Blog each photo session

94. Provide tips on how to get ready for a photo session

95. What to wear guides

96. PDF freebies

97. Sample Timelines

98. What to expect

99. FAQ’s

100. Have an on-going series

101. Give your clients advice

102. Local Vendors, you recommend and work with?

103. How best your clients can prepare for the shoot

     • Before the shoot

     • During the shoot

     • After the shoot

104. How you help your clients choose the best images

105. A Behind The Scenes look at one of your shoots! (BTS) – This will give them an idea of what it’s like to work with you as a Photographer and also what can they expect!

106. Who your ideal client is  – This will help them know whether they are a good fit to work with you!

107. Great shoot locations, themes and ideas

108. Showcase all the end products you can avail as a client

109. How you edit your photos. Your before and after images – How you transform your images to a whole new level during your post-production & editing workflow.

110. Best practices you use before, during and after the photo shoot

111. How you make your clients comfortable during the shoot.

112. What type of photographer you are and why you chose that direction (weddings, families, fashion, etc)

113. How you plan a Photo Session

114. All the various services you offer

115. How to shoot selfies & self-portraits

116. Talk about your photography style / how you developed it

117. What’s your advice for brides & grooms to be?

118. How you stay inspired and remain creative

119. How you try to maintain a work-life balance?

120. Do a Vlog! – A Video Blog. Get personal!

121. Create an SAQ (Should Ask Questions) listicle!

122. Blog about your offers, discounts, special events, etc.

123. How you deliver images – How many images do you provide?

124. List of Questions to ask your vendor

125. Best places to take engagement photos in your city

126. Best alternatives to a guest book that your guests will love!

127. A blog series on “how he asked”

128. Best places to buy engagement rings in your city

129. How to hire a photographer for a proposal without your fiance knowing what is going on.

130. The best wedding inspiration websites you’ve never heard of. (Good opportunity to get backlinks, find the smaller sites who appreciate the attention).

131. How to share your photos with all of your guests, friends, and family.

132. Top ways to encourage guests to put down their phones on your wedding day.

133. After you’ve done a large number of weddings or photo sessions, do roundup posts of some of the best moments you’ve captured.

134. Link to your Press and Media Coverage

135. A ‘Tutorial On’ Blog Post

136. Create “How To” Blog Posts

137. Create a “Pros & Cons” Post

138. Create a “Bust A Myth” Post

Holy Crap! Ok, that is alot of information. Have you tried any of these? Leave a link in the comments below so I can read your blogs!

Also, if you have any additional ideas comment below with your ideas and I will add them to the list :)

Wishing you the best,

Bessie

P.S. Did you love this post? Check these out:

How To Take Flower Photos - Joshua Tree National Park Wildflowers

Images For Sale in the BYP Shop-

Click the image to purchase or click the buy me button below.

About 2 weeks ago I came down with a cold and it was something fierce. It sucked. It lasted an entire week! I woke up on Wednesday and I felt like I had been hit by a truck! I thought that it was going to be just a day thing, but man did it last longer.

The ultimate bummer part is that I had plans to go to Death Valley that weekend! I was super hopeful that I was going to get better; however, it just didn’t happen. So… my Death Valley trip got cancelled. It sucked!

Then, after about a week of this not feeling good and having a temperature over 100, I started to feel slightly better, but really not 100%. So another weekend went by of me just being lazy, laying on my couch, and trying to get better.

Finally, after 2 weeks, I was feeling quite a bit better. I started to get the itch. All I could think about was Death Valley and the wildflowers. After deciding I was going to make a trip no matter what, I started to do my research for Death Valley (checking weather and road conditions). To my surprise it was supposed to be in the upper 90’s! Yep, I really wasn’t ready for camping with a low of 65 and a high of 98.

With all that being said, I thought I was going to miss out. I figured it just wasn’t in my cards this year, but then I remembered Joshua tree! I have never been to Joshua Tree and I knew it was supposed to have quite a bit of wildflowers. I checked the weather… High of 75…. Yep Joshua Tree it is!

The Adventure

Joshua Tree National Park is about 5.5 hours from my place. I left around 11am thinking that this would give me enough time to get to the park, roam around for a minute, and then get a sunset shot… Boy was I wrong lol.

I headed down the freeway and everything was going smoothly until I hit the dreaded LA traffic. I got to San Bernidino and the traffic was terrible. It basically cost me 1.5 hours. So my 5.5 hour trip turned into more of a 7 hour trip which put me in a bit of a time crunch.

Joshua Tree National Park Wildflowers

There are two entrances to Joshua Tree, the North and South. I chose to stay in Indio along Hwy 10 in order to start at the South entrance. Then, my plan was to stay in Yucca Valley for the second night which is near the North side entrance.

When I finally reached Indio, I checked into my hotel, and then I was off to the South side entrance of Joshua Tree National Park.

When I arrived, I had about a half hour until sunset so, I ended up barely making it into the park, pulled over at the first trail I could and walked around.

It was awesome! There were so many flowers blooming and the trail was just what I needed to stretch my legs and get some neat shots of the flowers.

While I was there, I figured it would be the perfect time to talk about how to take flower photos. So, I created the video above for my Youtube Channel, and wanted to put these tips into writing. So, lets get to it!

Tips on How to Take Flower Photos

Ultimately I have 2 types of photos that you may want to get, and the tips to get those photos. I wanted to get you started with taking flower photos because Spring is here!!!

1. How to get that creamy background

• You need to get at their level. Yep, you have to move your bootay and get down to the ground. Don’t try to stay standing up. This is where most people go wrong.

• Use a low F stop/ wide aperature. Basically, the lower the number the better in my opinion. Now most lenses will go to F4. This is ok, but ultimately you want to be around F2.8 or lower. If you are just starting out, just make sure that you are at the widest aperature possible for your lense. As I was saying F2.8 or lower is so much better. This is where you are really going to see that creamy background, also known as bokeh. This means that yes, you are going to have to spend a bit of money to get that type of lens; however, it is totally worth it!

See the images below for example. All of these images were taken from ground level at F2.8.

All Images For Sale in the BYP Shop-

Click the image to purchase

2. How to get that amazing landscape shot with the flowers in the foreground

Ok, so do you ever see those images, of the amazing flowers in the foreground, yet some how there is still that awesome landscape in the background? These are some of my favorite images! So how do you get them?

• You need to again, get down to their level. Get up close and personal with those beauties. This is going to allow you to have the flower in the foreground and then the gorgeous landscape in the background.

• Use a moderate F value. What do I mean? Basically you will want a good ‘landscape’ F value. I prefer F8 - F11.

• Focus on the mountains in the background. Whalah! You get your beautiful landscape wildflower image!

3. Other Tips

• Type of Lens to use: Really, anything that will allow you to focus manually and to shoot at a wide aperature. For me, I use my Sony 24-70mm G master F2.8

• Type of camera to use: You really need a camera that will allow you to shoot manual mode. If you don’t have this, then you are going to be hard pressed to try to use these tips. I use the Sony A7riii and the Sony A7rii

• Time of year to take flower photos: Pretty much any time of year that there are flowers! Now, if you want wildflowers you will need to shoot in the spring time.

  • For desert wildflowers you will want March and April, but these little flowers die quickly so you really need to keep an eye out on how the flowers are doing. There are awesome websites that you can check. The National Park Service website even has cool wildflower ratings :)

  • For foothill wildflowers you will want to go out during March and April.

  • For high mountain wildflowers you will want sometime in late July and early August.

  • Note: This all depends on the weather and the rain accumulation. You will need to check. These months are all a rough estimate.

• Time of day to take flower photos: Sunrise or sunset. These are the ultimate best because you are going to get that soft gorgeous light. If you happen to be shooting during the middle of the day, you can always block the flower with your shadow to help mellow out the light.

Do you have any tips on how to take flower photos? If so, comment below. I would love to add them to the list :)

This blog is all about community over competition. Let’s help each other, be friends with each other, learn together, and grown together.

Wishing you the very best!

Bessie

P.s. Love this post? Check out these similar ones:

Do Photographers Need a Blog | 6 Reasons Photographers Need to Blog

“You need to blog at least once a week”

Ok so we have all heard it. Blogging is important.

Is it really though? Do you really need to blog as a photographer? Why? What is so awesome about it? Is this just one of those things that everyone says because… well… everyone else is saying it?

Today, I really want to talk about this subject. It has been something on my mind ever since I started by photography business. I started off my business with a blogging bang! I blogged once a week. It got me no where (or so I thought). So I stopped blogging. Then I started. Then I stopped. Then I just decided to do it whenever I wanted to do it.

This year, I have decided that I am going to blog at least once a week consistently all freaking year long. Yep, that is what I am doing. Now, why I am sure you are asking. Why would I do that with my blogging history? Well, that is why we are here to chat.

I have learned a freaking lot since starting my business 4 years ago. The struggle has been real and I really really really want to save you all that time. I want to just help you, and get you the answers you need, so you can start off with a huge BANG!

Alright, so here it is…

Do Photographers Really Need a Blog?

The answer is short and sweet. So if you don’t want to read all my reasons my short answer is:

YES!

Now that the cat is out of the bag, lets chat about why it is important, why it isn’t a waste of time, and why you need to be consistent with your blogging.

Why do Photographers need a blog?

Ok, hear me out here. Please just read and really soak this in. DO NOT JUST READ THE HEADLINES (I am guilty of this, like all the time when reading a blog. I only read the highlights. You really need to see the reason behind why this is important).

1 First and foremost, it will help with SEO

This is one of the BIGGEST things eva! What you need to ask yourself is “how are my clients going to find me?” If the answer is the internet then there you go.

So, basically SEO is this big scary thing that you never knew was going to be part of owning a photography business. I mean you’re a photographer, not a SEO expert, but unfortunately you are going to need to become at least versed in SEO.

For blogging purposes and to be relevant in a google search google wants to see that your website is providing new ideas/things on a regular basis. So the rule of thumb is 1 blog post a week. This way google knows that you are still ‘alive’ if you will.

2. It will deem you as an expert in your field

There is this article I was reading on the Huffington Post about the 1% rule. Only 1% of people are actually adding content to the internet on a regular basis. This means that if you just post a blog post on a regular basis you will be in that top 1%. How crazy is that? And yet, here we are being scared that the market is over saturated, that blogging is dead… pssschhhhttttt. Ya right!

Along with that, you will establish yourself as an expert in your field by posting what you know. It will show people that you actually practice what you preach. That you actually do what you say you do. Let’s face it, Instagram can be tricky. There are so many people… well.. how do I say this….. there are so many people freaking faking it. Photos aren’t always real. When you start blogging about what you know, BOOM you have become an expert in your field. This will validate the photos that you share.

3. It will bring you clients

Now this is the biggie! We started this business to stay in business right? So, we obviously need clients. If you blog, you become more relevant. You start showing up in google searches, on Pinterest, and pretty much all over the place. Then when your ideal client searches for a photographer, they find you rather than the people not putting out the time and effort to blog. Then your client checks your website. They see that you are active and posting all the time compared to other photographers in your area. They see your gallery, your work, they freaking love it, they contact you, and the rest is history.

4. It will help with marketing

So there are two things here, Google and Pinterest.

Blogging can be a form of marketing depending on how you use it. Blogging will also allow you to have ample content for Pinterest. Friends, if you aren’t on Pinterest what are you even doing? Do not walk, RUN! Go sign up right freaking now and get your bootay moving!

P.s. if you want to follow me on pinterest you can find me here.

5. It allows your clients to get to know you

For me, this is one of the most important. I want people to see who I am and decide if they like what I am all about. I do not want people contacting me just to find out that we aren’t compatible. Basically, this helps weed people out. Now, something that I have had to really freaking get to understand is that you can’t please everyone and that is ok. Seriously THAT IS OK. You want to attract your people, your tribe, your ideal clients. You also want to push away the people that you will not get along with. Maybe this sounds harsh, but you don’t want to work with someone who doesn’t value you, and they shouldn’t want to work with you either. They should want to work with someone who they can relate to. It will make the entire experience so much better!

6. It allows your clients to see your artistic style

This last one really relates to the one above. Your blogs will show who you are, your style, and pretty much everything about you as long as you are authentic. You want your clients to view your blogs prior to making any decisions. The last thing you want is to book a client only to find out later that they didn’t like your editing style, your teaching style, or just your style in general. This again will weed out the people that aren’t for you and will attract the people that are for you! It’s a good thing and it will make your life so much easier and funner :)

WOW THAT WAS ALOT OF INFORMATION!!!

Now with all that being said, how do you know if you are doing it right? How do you know how often to blog?

Answer: The rule of thumb is to blog once a week. You need to be consistent with your blogging. This is what will keep you relevant and help with your SEO. Now, that isn’t the only amount to blog. Do not be afraid to blog more often if you can. The key is to just blog, and blog consistently.

Ok, ok I can already hear people… “but I don’t have enough content to blog”. Dude, I freaking get it! I really do. I was in the same boat, and totally felt the same way, hence my super ugly blogging history. Now, the key is to stay consistent. If you don’t have enough to blog about, then just make sure you blog consistently. Blog once a month if that is all you can do, but be consistent about it. Now, I am going to be real and brutally honest, because that is just who I am and what I do.

“You are making excuses. You are standing in your own way. You are letting fear run your business, and your life. STOP IT!”

You have enough to blog about, you are just having a block. Maybe you are scared that people won’t read your blog. Maybe you are letting fear run your decisions. Maybe you are shy or self conscious. Maybe… maybe… maybe…

Whatever the reason is, I am here to be your honest friend. You are making an excuse. You do have enough content, you just need to take the time to write it down. Get yourself a little book to carry with you always. When you come up with an idea, jot it down in your book. Then when the time comes to blog, you have a plethora of ideas to choose from. Also, once you start blogging, once you start getting into the groove of things, it actually does become easier. Seriously though, it really does. I’m not just saying that.

Make sure to check out my blog on Tips + Tricks to Make Blogging Easier and Faster.

Have you started your blog yet? If not, check out my post:

How to start a blog and make money in 2019

Things You Need To Know Before Starting A Blog

If you need some blogging inspiration make sure to head on over to my “For Entrepreneurs” page. I provide a ton of information on how to blog, what to blog, how to make money blogging, and so forth :)

“So Stop Waiting! Start Your Blog Today. Tag me in your social or comment below so I can see your new blog!”

Seriously though, blogging is pretty darn awesome and has so much dang potential. It really depends on how much effort you put into it!

I hope you all enjoyed this blog! If you did, leave me a comment below, or even better, share it with your friends!

Wishing you the absolute best!

Bessie