Take Quality Tumblr Pictures

You can take and upload quality Tumblr pictures using any kind of camera with the ability to connect to the internet, such as a phone or a digital camera. Aspects of quality photography include lighting, subject matter, angles, and simple editing.

Steps

Preparing Your Tools

  1. Make sure you have a steady internet connection. You'll need to be able to get online to access Tumblr and upload your picture.
  2. Acquire a camera. This can be a phone, a tablet, a point-and-shoot digital camera, or a professional-grade DSLR camera with advanced settings. You should pick whatever falls within your comfort zone and stick to it.
    • If you want a dedicated camera, Choose-a-Camera your options before choosing one.
  3. Make sure you have a way to upload photos. You'll need to transfer them to your computer for the editing and uploading process.
    • If you have a phone or tablet, you can connect to the internet and upload your photos either to the Tumblr app directly, or to the cloud (iCloud or Google Drive).
    • If you have a dedicated camera, you'll need a USB cable. These normally come with new cameras. You can also buy one at any store that sells cameras or their accessories, or you can buy one online.
      • You can also remove a camera's memory card and plug it into your computer if your computer has an SD slot.
  4. Find editing software that fits your needs. All Windows and Apple computers come with basic editing capabilities in their respective photo applications, while you can purchase more advanced programs like Photoshop from online.
    • Instagram is a great free alternative available for iOS, Android, and Windows phones and tablets. It includes some basic editing features such as filters and lighting adjustments. After editing, you can save Instagram photos to your phone or computer.
    • Photoshop is as cheap as $9.99/month, and it provides more than enough tools to extensively edit your photos.[1]

Photographing Your Subject

  1. Decide on your subject. To ensure the greatest possible quality, should focus on one specific subject.
    • Tumblr pictures tend to focus on a single subject in a simple setting, such as a solitary chess piece on a board or a single tree against a backdrop of grass.
  2. If you’re using a phone, avoid the zoom feature. Digital zoom only enlarges the picture on your screen, which leads to pixelation. [2]
    • If you need a close-up shot, simply move closer to your subject.
  3. Make sure your light is always behind you and in front of your subject. Unless you’re shooting a sunrise/sunset or a similar scene, your subject should always be illuminated, not backlit.
    • When shooting indoors, experiment with your subject placement. Repositioning your subject to be frontlit—illuminated by light from behind you—rather than backlit will increase your photo’s quality immensely. [2]
  4. Hold your camera or phone steady. You should be as still as possible; motion will blur your picture.
  5. Use the rule of thirds. The rule of thirds is a photography technique where you mentally separate your picture into a three-by-three grid, then position important elements of the picture to intersect the grid lines. This technique is deemed more pleasing to the eye than placing a subject in the middle of the screen.[3]
    • For example, if you were shooting a picture of a coast line, the bottom third of the photo would probably be the sand, the middle third would be the ocean, and the top third would be the sky.
    • You can enable a three-by-three grid for most phones' screens in the “Camera” section of the “Settings” menu.[4]
  6. Make sure your subject is in focus. A blurry or darkened subject is very difficult to fix while editing.
  7. Emphasize the important aspects of your picture. Your subject and any areas you deem important should be the main focus of your picture, keeping in mind the rule of thirds.
  8. Don’t discount negative space. The areas surrounding your subject are also important, since they emphasize the scale and setting of your subject. Though your subject should be the most in focus, it shouldn’t be the only thing in the frame.
  9. Take your picture with your camera of choice. You should take several shots from the same angle, then switch to a different angle and take more. This will ensure that at least one of your photos achieves your desired result.
    • If you're using a phone, try holding it in one hand while taking the picture with the other. This will increase your stability, which impacts the quality of the photo.
  10. Look at your photos after you've taken them to see if you like them. Almost all digital cameras have an LCD screen on the back that will allow you to view your picture immediately after taking it.
  11. If needed, take more pictures. It's better to take too many pictures than too few. After you're satisfied with your pictures, you can move on to editing and uploading them!

Editing and Uploading Your Picture

  1. Upload your pictures to a computer. If you shot on a phone, you can upload the pictures to iCloud or Google Drive, or you can email them to yourself. You can then download from your cloud service.
    • If you shot on a camera, connect the small end of your camera’s USB cable to the camera and the large end to your computer. Follow the on-screen instructions to download your photos.
  2. Go through your pictures to find your favorite. Some criteria to keep in mind are stability of the image, the rule of thirds, and the overall aesthetic appeal. Once you've found your photo, you may proceed to edit it.
    • You should make a copy of this picture to act as a backup.
  3. Edit your picture as you please. How you do this will vary depending on your picture’s composition and your editing software choice, but you should adjust features such as:
    • Contrast, which determines the amount of difference between light colors and dark colors. A photo with low contrast will appear dull, while high contrast will have bright colors and black shadows.
    • Saturation, which is the amount of color in your picture (black-and-white photos have zero saturation).
    • Highlights, which dictate how bright the light sections in your photo are.
  4. Experiment with other features. Brightness, sharpness, and the green/blue/red settings are all standard in photo editing software--explore the different settings to see what effects they have on your picture. You can always start over if you make a mistake.
  5. Add a filter if you want a quick edit. Filters are common on sites and apps such as Instagram. They add a specific color theme to your photo without adjusting any composition settings.
    • For example, some filters wash out all of the bright colors, while others emphasize them.
  6. Review your edits before saving your picture. Once you save it, your picture is ready for Tumblr!
  7. Open Tumblr in a browser of your choice.
  8. Sign into Tumblr if you aren’t already signed in. Make sure you log into the account to which you’d like to upload your picture.
  9. From your dashboard, click the icon that says “Photo”. This should be located at the top of the page.[5]
  10. Click the “Upload Photos” option.
  11. Select your edited photo for upload, then press “Post”. You have successfully created and posted a quality Tumblr picture!
    • You can also add text or a description to your photo from this step.

Things You'll Need

  • A camera (phone or otherwise)
  • A way to upload your photos to your computer
  • Editing software
  • An internet connection
  • A Tumblr account

Tips

  • If you’re taking photos with a mobile platform, you can download the Tumblr app to upload the photos directly. Tumblr is available for iOS, Android, and Windows platforms.[6][7]

Warnings

  • If you don’t want other people potentially taking credit for your Tumblr photos, sign them digitally before uploading. You can do this in any photo editing suite.
  • Keep your photos on your computer even after uploading them in case you lose access to your account.
  • Always ask permission before photographing somebody or their property.

Related Articles

Sources and Citations

  1. ↑ https://creative.adobe.com/plans?single_app=photoshop&promoid=5JRH8K43&mv=other
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 http://pogueman.tumblr.com/post/128862465317/2-ways-to-turn-your-phone-into-a-pro-quality
  3. ↑ http://www.photographymad.com/pages/view/rule-of-thirds
  4. ↑ http://www.imore.com/how-to-set-flash-hdr-timer-grid-camera-iphone-and-ipad#grid
  5. ↑ https://www.tumblr.com/dashboard
  6. ↑ https://www.tumblr.com/apps
  7. ↑ https://staff.tumblr.com/post/48695731826/tumblr-for-windows-phone-has-arrived-find-and

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