Blogging tip 1: Screenshots make your blog interesting

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Disclaimer: In May, I will provide some tips for new blogs as part of Newbie Blogger Initiative. If you have recently started your blog and have any question, don't hesitate to ask!

New Blogger Initiative is directed at MMO blogs, so game screenshots will be a part of your blog for sure. I'd like to give some tips on how to use them to make your blog more attractive, along with examples of good & bad layout.

#1: Use them!
I've seen so many gaming blogs with almost no screenshots. I have to admit I almost never stay too long on them, even though the text might be interesting. Even if you're blogging about text MMO, include ASCII art! Pictures spice up the posts, keep the reader interested and in fact help the message you wanted to give the reader stand out.

Bad vs. good:

#2: Use common sense!
Use the pictures so that they help readers keep attention on the article - don't overload! This advice of course doesn't apply to posts where screenshots are the main focus.

You don't have to include a screenshot for one liner saying you will be afk from your blog for some time. You also shouldn't include too many pictures which will make the text within the post disappear. There should always be at least one paragraph (3 rows or more) between two pictures. Preview your posts before publishing and use common sense to judge if it looks good and eye catching.

Bad vs. good:

#3: Use high quality screenshots!

Try to squeeze the max out of your graphic card and tune ingame details to maximum your PC can handle when taking screenshots for your blog. My blog is heavily dependent on screenshots as it's about presenting LOTRO clothing in an attractive way. I litteraly see hundreds of views difference between posts with high quality screenshots and low quality ones.

I'm sometimes sad because of this, because I see a good outfit presented in a bad way (dark, undynamic screenshots) and it gets almost no hits. I'd bet my head the same outfit would be very popular, if presented appropriately.

Bad vs. good:

#4: Master taking the screenshots further!

Once you achieve all the above, try to master your skills when taking screenshots even further. Basically, if you enjoy it at least a bit, learn the art of ingame photography :) Some brief tips:

Background: anytime possible, try to take a screenshot against fitting background. It's not possible, of course, for specific situations such as boss fights etc., but especially for static pictures of characters, you should never take a picture against white wall. For really spectacular screenshots, some people might even want to use them as desktop wallpapers - link full-size version if you consider it appropriate.

Light: good lightning can do miracles. Use ingame sources of light to your benefit - make the main focus of your screenshot well lit. Some games (e.g. LOTRO) even offer built-in torch tools, which will lighten up your character and its small radius - use them!

Composition: always think of rule of thirds when taking a screenshot. There are many examples on the internet - rule of thirds is your best friend!

Angle: learn to rotate that ingame camera. Pictures from non-standard angles are much more interesting than standard front, back and side view.

Action: wanna show how awesome your new character is? Don't present him or her planking vertically. Do an emote, make the dude run, do a skill - whatever, just avoid being completely static.

Bad vs. good:

I hope you found at least some of this information useful - please let me know your feedback and ask questions! It's exactly the right time and place to ask :)

Newbie Blogger Initiative

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Have you been thinking of starting your own MMO blog? Perhaps about LoTRO outfitting, role-playing, PvP or anything else you can think of? Now it's the right time! Syp of Massively and BioBreak had a great idea to launch a support initiative for new MMO bloggers, helping them in the tough beginnings.

LoTRO Fashion is joining this initiative and I will post a few pieces of advice on MMO blogging this month. It will be mostly concerning my experience I've gained on how to design attractive posts, especially when pictures/screenshots are focus of the blog post. The blogging beginnings were tough for me and I see so many things I could have done better - I hope I will manage to save your time and nerves by sharing what I've learnt :)

Please, if you can think of any topic that would interest you as a newbie blogger, let me know!

I will also present new blogs related to LoTRO and outfitting if you let me know about them. You can do it via e-mail lotrofashion(at)gmail(dot)com or in comments - I will be most happy to spread the word :)

However, if you prefer to submit your outfits and not maintain your own blog, I will also be most happy to post your guest submissions. You can find out how to do it here.

For more information on Newbie Blogger Initiative, visit this forum. There are over 70 blogs participating, so a lot of good advice will be compiled there. Also, go through the newbie blogger instructions - if you follow them, a link to your blog will be published at the end of the month :)

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