Have you noticed that your blog posts have all started sounding a little too similar? You share a tidbit or two about the bride and groom’s love story, gush over her gown, and then applaud a few notable vendors…but even though you know in your heart that every event is unique, somehow your blog posts don’t show it.
The quickest way to bring your storytelling alive and add a little spice back into your blog posts is to focus your attention on adding descriptive language. “But I’m not a writer!” you protest, and a protest your protest by saying “That’s okay!” It doesn’t take a master’s in creative writing to give readers the feeling that they are standing right next to you during a photo session. After incorporating these four tips into your blog, you will watch as the stories you tell come alive.
1. USE YOUR SENSES
How did the gently rolling ocean smell? What did the intricate detailing on the bride’s gown look like up close? What early morning sounds accompanied the rising sun?
Through your images, blog readers have a narrow window into an event, session or moment that you experienced, but by including sensory details, they feel less like an outside observer and more as though they are there, too. Just as in photography, even the smallest details can have the biggest impact.
Don’t: “the floral arrangements were huge and gorgeous”
Do: “the sweet, romantic scent of white roses floated through the chapel”
From your images, I can see that the floral arrangements were beautiful, but only through your description can I close my eyes and imagine the smell of wedding white.
Don’t: “it was a hot, breezy afternoon”
Do: “just as the sun began to press uncomfortably warm on my bare arms, a welcome breeze carried it swiftly away.”
Share what you experienced using your senses, and your reader will be drawn even deeper into the images you share.
2. BE SPECIFIC
Specificity is a wonderful way to give readers the experience of becoming a part of your photos. The more specific you can be about details like the fabric of the wedding gown, the flowers in the centerpieces or the music that plays on the dance floor, the more that element will come alive for the reader.
Don’t: “the music during the reception was awesome”
Do: “the mix of late-90s jams and early-2000s pop classics, feat. “I Want It That Way,” kept the guests on their feet and the imaginary microphones in use”
The combination of your photos and the music from the reception playing in the minds of readers makes them feel as though they were there. However, it is vital to use this tip wisely. Over-saturating your readers with too much specificity can be overwhelming and feel less like a story and more like a litany of Things.
3. SHARE YOUR FEELINGS
Make yourself a character in the story! You were there, after all. Share more of yourself with your readers, especially potential clients, by incorporating your viewpoint into your blog posts. If you had to keep a venti triple shot cappuccino on hand during a sunrise engagement session to ward off the sleeps, share that. If you had to wipe away tears while photographing the groom gazing at his bride for the first time, share that.
Our feelings humanize us and can offer more insight into the truth of a session than even the most descriptive details. Your readers want to spend more time with you, so find ways to share little pieces of your heart and personality in every blog post you write.
4. ADD SOMETHING UNIQUE
A reader, especially an editor sorting through submissions at a publication, may have read about or attended dozens of weddings, so how was this one different? Why should a blog visitor read on? Why should they return next week for your newest post?
Every photo session or event has some unique aspect to it, even though sometimes it may take a lot of thinking to land on what it was. Differentiate your experience from all others by telling readers about how both the mother of the bride and the stepmother of the bride helped her into her gown. Share with us about how, at the end of a beach engagement session, the couple ran hand-in-hand into the surf, bursting with laughter and love. Help readers see what you see and why you love going through life with a camera in hand: that every moment is beautifully unrepeatable and glows with a unique energy.
By infusing more descriptive language into your writing, your blog posts will begin to glow with a life they’ve never had before. Through using your senses, being specific, sharing your feelings, and adding a dash of the unique to each post, that humdrum same-same feeling will vanish from your blog never to be seen again, and your images will be framed in the language they deserve!
