Since we started the Grain Mill Wagon project in early 2012, we have experimented with many different avenues to bring traffic to the wonderful posts that our Authors create. We have found that the web has become a very visually engaged, good content just isn’t enough anymore. With most of our traffic coming from Pinterest, Facebook, and FoodGawker like sites which are very visual in there experience, it is obvious that the posts with great photos do the best.
We have just recently started submitting our posts to FoodGawker, and similar food photo websites (listed below), and they have proven to be the most effective way to get traffic to our posts. With just 6 posts accepted in FoodGawker in one month we received more traffic from FoodGawker than from FaceBook and Pinterest combined in that month; That is impressive, especially since we were getting quite a bit of traffic from FaceBook and Pinterest. We also noticed that being on FoodGawker, and similar websites, also gave our social media a big boost.
FoodGawker like websites have high standards for the food photography they accept on there website, so we can’t just submit all of the recipe posts to them. We have only had a few photos accepted with them, they even deny many of the photos we thought were good. Learning to create great food photos will not just help get you big traffic from FoodGawker but you will find it will highly boost your web traffic and following from other sources.
Everyone is at a different level of photography skills and quality of cameras but there are simple things you can do to change your food photos from being OK, or even great, to AWESOME. Check out the two photos below to see an example of how a person can improve their food photography with some simple changes.
(photographed by the same person)
So how do you learn these simple tricks? Well, many people browse through the Google Search results for ‘food photography tips‘ and find many great ideas. I think it is far better to find someone who has wadded through all the research and learned the skills that make a difference. I highly recommend an eBook by Pinch of Yum (about $19) that can teach a beginner or a decent photographer the basics to getting the awesome food photos that will help boost your blog’s following and get you into sites like FoodGawker on a regular basis.
I purchased Pinch of Yum’s Tasty Food Photography eBook a while back and its very good. I love that she breaks it down into simple detailed things you can do to improve your food photography. Even if you just used 2 or 3 of her tips it could change your food photography significantly; I like this because it allows me to improve one step at a time.
I also like the fact that she started out as a beginner and using the tips she shares has become a sought after food photographer. She understands how to help beginners and those in the middle somewhere because she has been there. If you are interested in her eBook, click here for more info. (Disclaimer: We liked her eBook so much that we became an affiliate but our opinions shared above are not influenced by that)
There are other eBooks out there that are probably great too, feel free to share them in the comments below if you have read one that significantly helped you.
If you do food blogging, I highly recommend taking the time and effort to boost your food photography skills. Your food photography can be the difference of whether your blog does OK or BOOMS with new visitors and attention.
Here is a list of FoodGawker like websites:
- http://foodgawker.com/ (Great traffic)
- http://www.tastespotting.com/ (Great traffic)
- http://foodspreading.com/ (Great traffic)
- http://www.foodepix.com/ (Great traffic)
- http://tasteologie.notcot.org/
- http://dessertstalking.com/
- http://www.kitchenartistry.com/
- http://www.dishfolio.com/
- http://www.refrigeratorsoup.com/
- http://www.savorysights.com/
- http://www.tastefix.com/
- http://thehotplate.com/
- http://recipenewz.com/gallery/
- http://www.healthyaperture.com/
- http://photograzing.seriouseats.com/
Feel free to tell us of other places to submit food photography, that you use, in the comments below.
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