internet

Humans respond best to images rather than words.  A photoblog is a blog that presents your take on the world, your hopes, the fun you have, what you think about your environment and how you want the world to see you in a visual way by using photos rather than by means of words.  Put simply, it's a blog with pictures but it can be much more than this.

A photoblog can be a collection of photos presented one after the other or it can be something that mainly uses photos but combines them with text to set the scene, comment on the photo or explain why it's there. It's a little like the difference between TV and radio: it adds a whole new dimension to help you put your view across and help the reader understand what you are saying.

OK, they sound good so where do I see them? 
The best and most obvious place to start is at Photoblogs.Org where you will find that the whole site is really a directory of photoblogs. 

At the time of our visit the Help/FAQ was unavailable and if this is still the case we suggest you scroll down to the tag cloud and just choose a subject from which you will be directed to a list of sites. 

Take your time and have a look around and be aware that photoblogging covers a big area and is still new so the boundaries are yet to be defined.  You will find many different sites and many different photos, all of which, the authors feel, fall into the realm of photoblogs.  The best way to approach this is to look at them and ask yourself what function the photos serve and how would you use this approach in your blog.

The biggest advantage of the photoblog, we think, is that it enables you, the blogger, to present your world as both an image and words leaving it to the visitor to assemble them in their mind.   Doing it this way allows the surfer to form many more opinions than would be present from just using one medium alone.

I want one - where can I get them?
You probably already have one.  Most blog hosts allow you to insert photos into your posts but, if used at all, most people simply put a photo at the top, usually just for decoration.

All you need to do is figure out how to position the photo where you want it and work out what size you need.

Of course, that's the easy part, the hard part (as we discovered when we tried it) is matching the pictures to the post.  We tried to write a post and then put in an image but it is far better, we think, to do it the other way round and choose a photo and then add some words.  It sounds easy but we found it quite challenging.

If you decide to start a photoblog then we would be very interested in seeing it so be sure to leave the link below for us all to look at.  Also, if you have any comments or advice on how to produce a photoblog or on the content of this article please share it with us. 
 

Tags: blogs, internet