On Your Blog: How Many Images is Enough?

Recently, a question was asked in a Facebook group ; how many images should someone put on a single blog post?

This is one of those areas where I think many people go overboard. Some blog posts have so many images and so much repetition, I'm clicking out before they even load. Really . . they don't need to be so big, and there certainly don't need to be 15-20.

If you feel the need to show more than a few, my suggestion is to build a collage that has multiple images, then upload it as a single file. It's more efficient use of your time and your blog space.

You have to think of it from the perspective of the viewer; if you were to interview them after having read your blog, would they remember a specific image, or did the impact get watered down by overwhelming them with tons of images?

You want them to remember you for something awesome. Show them 3 awesome images, and they'll remember. Show them 20 average images and they won't remember anything.

The problem is that we as photographers and artists fall in love with our own images. We had the experience of the session and become attached to these images. Our clients do the same.

However, random viewers on our blog look at this proliferation of images to which they have no emotional attachment and think "yeah, they're nice . . . <yawn> . . . this is the same one, only in black and white . . . <yawn> . . . why are there 5 of almost the same pose? . . . <CLICK!> . . . I'm outta here."

Pare it down to a number that's reasonable. You don't have to show 20 and you definitely don't have to show an image in both BW and color. You're the artist; you make that call.

That's why the collage idea works well . . . you can put a half-dozen images together and display them; boom.

It's about keeping the viewer engaged, not trying to show them every image from the session.

- David Grupa

More articles on this subject - Are Your Blogging and Facebook Habits Sabotaging Your Efforts?