Nov 28, 2013 / Beginner

Exploring the Reader: Photography Topics

Image by <i><a href="http://routinerecords.wordpress.com/2013/11/10/brugge/">Routine Records</a></i>

I browse the Reader each day to discover new posts and blogs — and to see what’s trending. Like my fellow editors, I also follow subjects that interest me, from popular tags like “culture” to specific tags and phrases that feed my obsessions, like “digital dualism” and “narrative design.” Adding custom tags to your Reader is a quick way to personalize it and organize the content that matters to you.

Many of you are interested in photography: the popularity of our Photography 101 series proves this. For even more inspiration, you can follow specific photography-related tags in your Reader — in addition to the broad “photography” tag — to find the type of photography you’re looking for.

Not sure where to start? Here’s a sampling of what I follow in my Reader:

Double exposure

I love the multi-layered (and often trippy) photographs created by double exposure, a process in which an image is produced by exposing film (or another photo-sensitive surface) to light twice — generally by opening and closing a camera shutter two times. I stumble upon fantastic double exposure images in the Reader: ethereal shots, eerie self-portraits, and other superimposed creations, like this picture on Routine Records:

Quick tip: Explore beyond general tags like “photography.” Use focused tags like “double exposure” to make it easier to find the type of images that interest you. Once you get the hang of adding custom tags to your Reader, you’ll realize there’s new content out there for pretty much anything (see also “multiple exposure” and “over-exposure”).

iPhoneography

Some people are active cameraphone users, and I’ve found cool Instagram photo essays and mobile photography blogs in the iPhoneography tag. (I like Trevor Saylor’s recent images from a John Mayer concert — they have a spontaneous, intimate quality, typical of good cameraphone shots.) Mobile photography has become its own niche, and the iPhoneography tag is particularly active.

Quick tip: Users also tag their posts with an alternate spelling (iPhonography) which shows how tags are created and populated by our users. So, content you’re looking for might be found in variations of topic names (for example, “travel” versus “traveling,” “writing” versus “blogging,” or “food” versus “foodie”).

Photo essay

Earlier this year, I discovered Photography 101 contributor Merilee Mitchell’s blog, The Gravel Ghost, in the “photo essay” tag, and I’ve followed the tag ever since — photographers use it for carefully curated photo galleries, photo-heavy storytelling, photojournalism, and other text-and-image projects.

Quick tip: Use tags properly. If you create a post with a single photo, for example, you wouldn’t tag it with “photo essay.” People use tags to sift through others’ content — and to promote their own. Adding irrelevant tags to your posts is bad practice, and doing so may flag your blog and exclude you from tag pages altogether.

Wedding photography

I’m not currently planning a wedding, nor is wedding photography a hobby, but I’ll admit I comb through the “wedding photography” tag from time to time. I enjoy seeing how photographers bring couples — and these festivities — to life, and find inspiration for other things, like home decoration and even website design.

I’ve also found resourceful posts offering portrait and event photography tips, which are helpful no matter your photography niche.

Quick tip: Dig into tags you might not normally consider — you never know what you’ll find, especially among subjects you know little about.

Fisheye

I love fisheye lens cameras, like my Lomo one. The fisheye effect transforms “normal” pictures, and enhances already interesting, dynamic snapshots. I browse the “fisheye” tag for fleeting street shots and cityscapes, like these by Ivan Uriarte:

Quick tip: Start slowly — if you’re new and aren’t following any tags in your Reader, add three to five custom tags. Check out the Tags section on this support page to get started.

Do you have any favorite tags or other tips and tricks for personalizing your Reader?

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  2. You should consider following “worldview.” It lays the foundation for how we understand everything else. If you want to set up your relationships for success, you must seek to understand the other’s worldview.

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    2. I use both my digital SLR and my iPhone, as there are times I find I either don’t want to carry the larger camera or can get the iPhone out quicker.

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  6. Thank you for these tips! Very informative indeed. I’ve gone back and tagged some of my posts “iphoneography” as I tend to take a lot of pictures with my iPhone when I travel.

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  7. Thanks for this! I didn’t know we could use custom tags in the reader and I certainly didn’t expect to be able to be so specific with them (I.e. “fisheye” instead of just “photography”). Excited to try out this feature now!

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  8. Cheers for the tips – Love that you included analog photography in this as well!

    PS: I’m a passionate “double-exposer” myself – there are lots and lots on my lomo-blog…hopefully I included the tag 😉

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  9. I have only just discovered these series of posts. I have so much more to learn. My photos look so amateur compared to ones here and on other blogs. I’m hoping Santa gets me a nice shiny new camera and books me on a photography course. Can anyone please recommend good cameras for a beginner?

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    2. I agree with what Cheri, also Fuji produces great bridge cameras. The camrea is only a tool, just like a hammer, a drill and a computer if you dont learn how to use it you will not get all that is possible from it. Just because you think someones image looks better then your doesnt mean they knew how they got that image or they used some app on a camera phone which did all the work. If you are using a point and shoot just now, move to a bridge camera, this does a lot of things a more expensive body with detachable lens can do and is a brilliant learning tool. Don’t get pulled into the pixal amount. “My camera has more pixals then you :-p” For the hobbyist I believe 12mp is ample. From this moment learn learn learn.
      I have written a small guide on the front of my blog and enjoy the images also, what I have written is my opinion from years using film and digital as a professional, but photography like language is a living, breath, evolving entity and remember there will always be someone better than you and always listen to advice, you dont have to take it but, you can always give it a try.
      Life from behind the lens is exciting, emotional, stylish, fun, dangerous and you will always remember when you took that cracking shot.

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  11. I used to use the reader, but I don’t like the changes. It makes it a worse tool 😦 I know there is a workaround to avoid the ridiculous pop-up (click the number of words in the post or the time stamp for those who don’t know it) but I wish you’d just get rid of it. Why are you ignoring all the complaints in the forums?

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  15. This is great…I used to always lug around my big clunky Nikon but after I discovered the convenience of shooting with an iPhone I don’t think I’d ever want to travel with a DSLR again. Was a pleasure to read this article, great tips and info!

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