I’m guilty of posting “food porn” everywhere, from Facebook to Instagram, which is why I’m excited to pass along some great food-styling and photography tips from Toronto–based commercial photographer Kathleen Finlay.

So, can food really be sexy? You bet! If you’re a food blogger, or simply enjoy taking a good shot of the dessert you’re about to indulge in, you’ll find these tips helpful:

Set a scene for your food. It’s best to keep your food-styling simple, but you can choose plates and napkins in colours that flatter the food. I think white plates help  make the food really “pop”, and I’ve learned that choosing the reflective surface, while interesting, means you really have to watch your angles or you will see yourself (or your camera) in the photo.

The angle from which you’re shooting will also determine the success of your photo shoot. If your subject is a sandwich, take a side angle shot in order to see all the layers and delicious contents, whereas a pasta dish or salad may need to be shot from above to capture all its yummy goodness!

In order to get the best picture of your food, you need good lighting. Natural light is favoured over staged lighting, but if you must light it, make sure your camera exposure is correct.

In order to make your main course the “main event”, you may also want to play with the depth of field. If you have an SLR camera, you can make your background appear more in focus or less (depending on the effect desired). The rule of thumb is that the smaller the number (f2.8 or f4) the more shallow your depth of field. The bigger then number (f11 or f16) the sharper the background will be. And because most of us are taking pics of our food on our phones, there are also great apps like this Depth of Field Calculator App for your iPhone so you, too, can have great photos!

If you’re taking a picture of ice cream, you want it to be melting down the side of the cone, not hard and uninviting-looking. Sauces and butter should be oozing, and fruits should be ripe.  You want the food to look its absolute best.

It took some time to get this picture. I moved the plate around and repositioned my camera several times before I was happy with what I saw through the lens. I tried to highlight the bacon since we all know bacon is the star of the show.

If you have a camera where you can control the exposure, take several pictures using different exposures. Underexposed pictures will appear dark and grainy, while overexposed will lose details in the highlights.

If you are taking pictures for your blog, you may want to take horizontal pictures in order to make use of the full screen. If you are adding text, perhaps play around with vertical and horizontal images to make your presentation more dynamic.

Kathleen’s number one tip is to invest in a tripod if you often blog about food.  Hand holding your camera can result in blurry images, especially in low light. Using a tripod will help you create better images. You can purchase a tripod for as little as $20 and, if you’re serious about your iPhone pictures, you can even get one for your phone!

Finally, don’t forget the post-work. If your pictures are for a blog, or if you are really passionate about the pics that will adorn your Facebook wall, do a little editing. Crop the picture to include only what you want to see, or use a filter. If you’re looking for a quick, easy fix, use an Instagram filter.  Make sure you are happy with what you see before you post.

So, what’s for lunch?

*These tips are courtesy of Wendy’s and their new #WendysFriends Facebook Initiative

The post Photography Tips & Tricks appeared first on Mom Central Canada.

Please take 10 minutes to complete our survey. We’ll share the full report with our entire Blogger Network once complete. When you review it, you’ll understand where other bloggers are making money, how they feel about working with brands etc.  It promises to share some exciting insights! The survey is 100% anonymous; we won’t ask you to leave your name or blog info. Thanks for taking the time to provide your feedback!  

Click here to complete the survey.

Cheers, 
Kathryn

The post National Blogger Survey appeared first on Mom Central Canada.

With all this buzz and bluster we want to help you navigate the land of the hashtag.

1. What is a hashtag anyway? Hashtags help organize information and photos into searchable content.  Think of them as “tags” for the social media sphere.  They are  most popular on Twitter and Instagram but they are spreading.  Most popular subjects have a hashtag. Check out #KinderMom, #DisneyJuniorMom or #FisherPriceMoms  on twitter for a few examples.

2. When should I use it?  Short answer is ALL THE TIME.  As a blogger, getting your message out to the people who want to read it should be your prime objective.  Putting yourself out there and spreading the word can be challenging. This is a great way to get started.

You may even want to consider claiming a hashtag if you are a big Twitter user. That way your fans can simply search your # and see everything that you write. Sometimes that is easier than scrolling through all your tweets and it is a great call out to put on your site.

3. As a popularity builder… Do you have an experience worth sharing? A product insight? Hopping on a hashtag is a great way to build your credibility as a blogger and grow your fan base. Do a search on Twitter for the topic and see if you can answer some questions or participate in discussions on that #. Help solve people problems or share your expertise authentically by participating in discussions.

Whether you are #’ing your photos of kittens playing with babies or an expert on #babyledweaning, the hashtag movement will help you grow your social media community and help your spread your unique and awesome message.

#getonit

The post For the love of #’s! appeared first on Mom Central Canada.

Fit vs. Numbers

At Mom Central, numbers (reach, impressions etc.) do come into play in a many (but not all) of our campaigns.  We pride ourselves in being able to deliver results for our clients and metrics play a huge role in the service we offer.  That being said, when selecting bloggers for a campaign, finding the right “fit” is always our number one objective.  Once we’ve narrowed down the right fit, numbers can then play a role.  Fit for a campaign is so important to us because it allows a true experience and story to be hold about a bloggers experience with a brand.    We look at both the fit with the actual blogger and with their audience as well.

Storytelling

Each of the panelists couldn’t stress this point enough throughout the discussion – brands are looking for you to tell your own story.   While you may receive a press kit or other information from the brand, they’re not expecting you to (nor do they want you to!) include those details in the post unless they are a part of your story.  The best posts are those that include the brand in your post in a way that’s as natural as possible.

Be True to yourself (and your audience)

Think of your favourite brand.  There is a trust you have with that brand – when you buy it or engage with it, your experience is consistent with your expectations of that brand.  If your favourite brand did something that didn’t fit with who they were, you would likely feel betrayed and you would lose some of that trust.   As a blogger, you are a brand.  Your audience expects certain things from you when they come to your site.  You’ve built up a trust and expectation from them.  When choosing to work with brands you need to ensure that those brands align with your brand.  It’s hard not to be swayed by various offers.  But if those brand alliances aren’t a perfect fit, you’ll begin to lose credibility with your audience.  In order to stay on track, consider writing a mission statement or a simple list of what you stand for.  Bring it out when considering offers.  In the world of social media, it’s hard not to get distracted by shiny things in the corner.  Make sure you know what you stand for and the right brands will come.

Here are some quick tips that were shared during the panel that may help you get a bit more of an edge with some brands:

• Blog design – the design of your blog is important.  A professional, clean looking blog goes a long way.  Brands want to be represented in the right space.
• Get your name out there – by this I mean get published in other spaces either online or off.  When we share with our clients that you’ve been featured on the Huffington Post, you’re a regular contributor to A Mother World or you have a column in your local town paper,  it shows that your reach is beyond your existing community.
• Comments matter – you may have 10,000 UMV, but if there are no comments on your site it tells us that people aren’t responding to the content and that there’s no sense of community.

Also, a quick shout out to all of the incredible bloggers we had the opportunity of connecting with at BlogWest.  Looking forward to next year!!

Kathryn

The post BlogWest: Friendly Bloggers & Great Learning appeared first on Mom Central Canada.

Imagine yourself as a book author.  You’ve written a novel you’re proud of, and you want to share it with the world.  Simply publishing the book will not accomplish this.  You need a means to announce to the world that your book exists, so they can learn what it’s about, where to get it, etc.  That’s where being social can play a big role.

The first step of being social is engaging with your readers via comments on your blog. Acknowledging reader questions, observations, opinions.  Next, take that a step further and visit their blog, reading and commenting on posts of theirs that interest you.

Being active on social media sites is important. Picture Twitter as a cocktail party at which there are many conversations ongoing in small groups of friends, acquaintances, strangers. Just as you would at a cocktail party, the decorum on Twitter is also inviting, light, social.  Jump into a conversation, introduce yourself if that’s your style, and engage on the topic that first piqued your interest, let the conversation naturally flow.

In the same way you wouldn’t descend upon each group at a cocktail party, one-sidedly talking only about yourself and your business, it’s also not a good idea to do this on Twitter.  Let your bio do the talking about your blog for you, and use most of your time on Twitter to engage with people at a conversational level.  Follow people, re-tweet (share others’ tweets with your followers), engage in a positive, good-natured way.

When you write a new post, link to it via Twitter, including a teaser that entices readers to click the link to learn more.  To encourage re-tweets of your post, ensure the character count stays at 100-120 and does not exceed it.  Finally, give Twitter time.  Invest your time in making Twitter a fun place to hang out for you, the people you follow and your followers, and the flow of people from Twitter to your blog will occur naturally.

Facebook is also a great way to find new readers.  Create a Facebook Page for your blog, and engage with friends to your Page on Facebook while you’re there.  Facebook is a great way to encourage people to subscribe to your blog, and to let friends of your Page know when you’ve published something new.  It’s also a great sounding board for ideas, crowd sourcing, getting to know your readers.

Instagram, Pinterest and Vine are also popular sites to follow others and engage online.  Find the forum that best suits your engagement style and interests!

Through getting to know new friends, fans and followers online, the natural progression is to take those relationships to the next level, and that often occurs in real life.  Are there tweet-ups that happen in your city or area?  Attend some!  Do you see organized events being promoted online that you’d be interested in?  Inquire about them! Blogging conferences, writing workshops, business seminars are great ways to meet online friends offline.  Even set up casual meet-ups with people with whom you’ve particularly connected.  Meet a handful of women in your area for lattes or for a jog.  Attend a museum or film with people you’ve befriended.

The most important thing to remember is that your online presence is an extension of you.  Treat people online as you would like to be treated, and how you would treat people in real life.  Friends, fans & followers are the natural outcome of pleasant, funny, respectful interactions.

Enjoy!

The post Being ‘Social’ in Social Media appeared first on Mom Central Canada.

Simply put – You need a Facebook Page to interact with those loyal subscribers and to be where they are, promoting your work. An added bonus is that your Facebook interactions can also act as inspiration for your future posts and could potentially lead you to bigger opportunities!

*Use images to draw attention to your posts*

If you have an editorial calendar drawn up, you know what your posts will be for the next while. This schedule can help you plan out your Facebook timeline photos to draw further attention to your post topics. You can also encourage reader interactivity by asking questions about upcoming posts, for example “We have a post coming up this week about online safety. What measures do you take to protect yourself online?”

This gives your readers a chance to contribute and also gives them a tease/sneak peek at what is coming up.

*Use tabs to showcase your work*

The tabs are a great way to not only showcase your personality (Pinterest boards and photos, anyone?!), they can also showcase the brands that you’ve had the opportunity to work with. Create a custom app that highlights the brand logo as well as a summary of what the project/editorial consisted of. These mini-summaries could lead to future projects and succinctly showcase your “Work”.

*Get inside your reader’s head*

Having a Facebook Page also gives you the inside track to what your readers want to read about. Ask questions, polls and request feedback. There is nothing wrong with a pointed question “What do you want to read about?” – not only will this give you ideas for future posts, it also shows you are honestly interested in your readers views. If (and when) you do write about a topic that a reader suggested, credit that reader; “Maureen T. asked about Facebook Pages for bloggers, so I wrote a post about it, thanks for your contribution, Maureen!” This creates a bond between you and the reader and will make them feel appreciated and will keep them actually reading your blog.

*Share the love and gain NEW readers*

You probably already know the power of the “share” button and it may be a redundant point to mention, but when you share a post from another blog you read, it makes that blogger feel good. That blogger will most likely share YOUR posts in turn with their audience and voila! You have new readers! If you actively seek out new bloggers to read (and share!) you can grow your fan base (and reader base) pretty quickly.

If you have any questions or want advice on your Facebook page, feel free to drop by my Facebook Page (http://www.facebook.com/ArianeGriffiths.WebMediaDesign) and ask me anything, I look forward to helping you!

The post If I’m a Blogger, why do I need a Facebook Page? appeared first on Mom Central Canada.

Connecting with your community via your blog or other social media avenues enhances a reader’s experience.  No matter what your content is, your personality and story-telling abilities (even if it’s a review of a product) is what separates you from other blogs and keeps readers coming back.  No one has your voice. It’s important to remember that.

What are some ways to connect with your community?

• Set up a Facebook page for your blog.  Yes, there’s a chance people will comment on Facebook rather than your blog, but Facebook responses tend to be quicker and sometimes even more detailed.  Plus, you can engage with your Facebook fans in ways you can’t on the blog – by asking more questions, sharing new information and more.
• Think of Twitter as a watercooler.  If you work from home (building your blog) then you don’t get traditional breaks that you would if you were in an office.  Twitter becomes that water cooler where you can chat with people about the shows on tv, news headlines and children’s behaviour.  This community is sometimes not consistent (there are new people in and out all the time) but it’s still valuable. Don’t treat twitter as the place to ‘sell’ your blog.  Your community will be interested in reading it the more they connect with you.
• For many of us, a tricky (but still important way) to connect with community is offline. I say tricky because if you live in a rural area, have small children or can’t get to events because of work, it may be difficult to get off the laptop and meet people in person. But if given the chance, and you can take it, I highly recommend it.
• Read other blogs. Comment on them and share their stories.  Appreciating other bloggers and sharing their work is important in the blogging community. Plus, all of us are constantly learning so supporting one another will benefit all of us.

As your community builds, your blog readership likely will also.  The definition of ‘growing your blog’ is subjective.  Does that mean more numbers? What numbers should you look at? Does it mean greater awareness? More partnerships? More sponsored opportunities? Frankly, I’m not sure there is one right answer. That’s for each blogger to decide.  However, I do believe that no matter what, an engaged community is needed.

That community may be fellow bloggers that you work with or it could be your readers (it’s likely a combination of both).  Don’t forget that your readers are important.  Yes, my space is where I can track my personal stories that I want to remember, but I also write to share, inform and connect with other parents.

What does it mean to grow your blog?  Some points to consider:

• Influence is more than your reach by numbers.  Numbers don’t always tell the full story.  If a company or partner only sees you as numbers (or your readers as numbers) you have to ask if it’s the best fit.  They tend to be the type to swoop in, engage temporarily, and leave again.
• Why are you building an engaged audience? There is a benefit to you and your readers to have mutual engagement. This community is more likely to share your content or be your support group.  This goes two ways.  Become a cheerleader for others too.
• It takes time to grow your community online.  Your blog readership, twitter account, Facebook fan page – these things rarely grow exponentially overnight.  Do it well and your community will be the better for it.
• Provide people a reason to want to be a part of your community.  Sometimes it’s great content/information, sometimes it is humour, other times it may just be that people want to chat with you. Whatever the case, give them a reason to come back (and find a way to be unique!  Remember the whole voice thing)
• Give more than you get – give back in some way. RT more than you post.  Share on Facebook. Do more for others. It will be returned.
• Be kind.
• Collaborate – find new ways to work with other bloggers or form partnerships. Be creative.

Ultimately, there is one extra thing that I hope most bloggers embrace and that’s to have fun! If you lose the enjoyment of the ‘social’ part in social media, it will become a chore and be very difficult.

One final note that I want to share is that there’s more to influence, more to community, more to your online presence than numbers.  I’m not saying that bloggers should ignore their statistics.  I think it’s important to try and grow your reach and grow your numbers (but try to make them quality readers and followers!).

Numbers tell a story, but they won’t dictate the ending.  You are the narrator.

The post Connecting with your Community and Growing your Blog appeared first on Mom Central Canada.

We’ve all endured years of our parents telling us what to do and who we should be, waiting for the day to come when finally we’re capable of figuring it all out for ourselves. I’m not sure if that day has come for me or not yet, but I know that I would not be the person that I am today if it weren’t for my parents’ constant encouragement to “do the right thing”, to do the things I’m good at, and to find something that I love and never give up on it.

Whether it’s admitting to a mistake, separating my whites from my darks, telling the truth in hard situations, putting the milk back in the fridge or figuring out my dreams and following them, my parents have always been there for me through thick and thin, but there never seems to be a proper time to thank a parent for that. Not being a parent myself, I don’t know if parents expect their children to be thankful for these things or it’s just an understanding that teaching their children these life lessons is simply another thankless part of being a parent.

Until The Big Shout Out, that is, which gives me an excuse to thank my parents for the things that they (almost) never get thanked for.

So Mom and Dad, thank you for letting me be me, even when you hated watching me learn to make my own mistakes. Thank you for waking me up in the morning when I miss my alarm, thank you for always having dinner ready for me when I get home from a long day, thank you for being there those times when no one else has been. Thank you for letting me have my crazy freak-outs (because we all do it sometimes), and thank you for forcing me to sit alone on the couch as punishment for those total meltdowns. Thank you for always making sure that I am where I need to be at the time that I need to be there, whether it’s school, work, or anything else crazy that I decided to do. And thank you for those times when you made me do the things I don’t want to do and fight like it’s the end of the world.

I know I wasn’t the easiest kid to live with, but if it weren’t for you, I never would have grown up to become the person that I am today (and hopefully much easier to live with). So, for the many big things and the many more small things, thank you.

The post The Big Shout Out! Alison MacKinnon appeared first on Mom Central Canada.

In my eyes, a mentor is someone who provides encouragement, guidance, and support. They are a genuine role model, and a pillar of strength. For me, that person is my mother.

Growing up, I had a wonderful childhood filled with birthday parties, family dinners at the table, and Christmas holidays that only Candy Spelling could compete with. However, only when I grew older did I come to understand that my mother was battling a rare autoimmune disease. A disease without a cure that dealt a heavy-hand of symptoms. What struck me the most was how selfless my mother was; she never showed her pain, only her love. She was always at our sporting events, made us a dinner every night, and all while working a full-time job with her daily battles. It was in my early teens when I really begin to notice the struggle she was battling, with the cancelled outings and the days/nights in bed. However, she never let the disease get the best of her; always refusing to give in, and always trying to pry herself out of bed to be with the family. It was this incredible feat of endurance and strength that helped mold me to be the person I am today.

My mother faced all her challenges in life with elegance and grace, never letting it get the best of her. She is a devoted wife, and a loving mother. Her endless support (and discipline!) is what forced me to continue with sports when I couldn’t bear to compete anymore, and it is this same support that guided me through struggles abroad in university, tough career decisions, and getting married.

My mother has mentored me through every aspect of my life, even when my challenges seemed insignificant to hers. I know I wouldn’t be the career woman and wife I am today without her guidance, and I know her mentorship will only grow in the future when in enter motherhood.

- Christina George
Mom Central Account Manager

The post The Big Shout Out! Christina George appeared first on Mom Central Canada.

This person is a gentleman who put his family before anything else on the planet. He’s a guy who chose a job for its hours, flexibility and “safety” in the sense that once you start, you’re a lifer! Despite its boring atmosphere & minimal excitement. This allowed him to attend his son’s baseball games & tournaments and his daughters skating practices & competitions. He got home every night before dinner so that he, his wife, and kids could eat at the table, catch up, discuss life and then continue on to their next engagements.

He’d ask his kids endlessly to play outside and toss a ball with him, or go to the park or for a bike ride with him. He’d encourage his kids to pursue anything they wanted, and help them through the end. Always the first up for a movie, a trip to the store, or to help them apply to schools, jobs and scholarships, he just wanted to be a good dad.

This is a guy who would do anything, and I mean absolutely anything for his kids. Whether he’s inconveniencing himself just to ensure one of his kids can do something special or he’s staying up until 3am to pick up his kid from a party or a late practice, even though he needed to be up at 4am to get to work, he would do it and he would never, ever complain. In fact, he had a smile on his face.

These kids may sound spoiled, but in fact, it kept my brother and I very grounded, thankful and helped us truly understand the value and importance of family and supporting those you love.

My dad has been the most incredible dad I could have ever, possibly asked for. I could have landed in any family, quite literally (having been adopted), and I truly lucked out (I could write an entire Shout Out for both my brother & mother too!).

Though his illness may prevent him from riding bikes and running around with us these days, he’s still always asking to take the dogs for a walk or watch a movie, or go for a bite and chat about life. He’s always there for perspective, a laugh, encouragement or to just be a bud.

Beyond saying thank you every day to him for everything he has done and continues to do for us, and trying to do special things for him, it’s tough to truly convey how much he has been a mentor to me.

Dad – you’re the kind of supportive and loving person & parent I aspire to be. Thank you for everything.

The post The Big Shout Out! Sarah Holden appeared first on Mom Central Canada.