Setting up a blog site is very easy to do. All you will need is an internet connection and a blog hosting service like the one provided by Google. Just type in “google blogger” into your browser and follow the on screen instructions to set up your own personal blog site in four simple stages.

For those who are unfamiliar with blog sites, you can take the tour that Google provides. To start, all you have to do is to create a Google account (if you don’t already have one) which is free and you will be on your way to creating your blog site in just a few minutes – it really is simple.

Once you have created your blog site, you can start to upload your pictures and add your comments or invite other people to comment on them. You can either restrict viewing of the site to your friends and family or allow anyone to view it. You decide who can see your comments and pictures and who can write to it.

You may want to restrict viewing of your blog site as a means of showing your shots to your friends and relatives in other parts of the country or the world. Alternatively, you may want to post your shots online to find people with similar interests to you, like landscapes, nature, portraits or unusual lighting effects and so on.

It can be fascinating to see the feedback that your images get but you must be brave. Some people will love your shots and others may not be so impressed – you have to take the rough with the smooth.

If you choose a theme, say, weird or unusual subjects for example, you will soon start to attract others who are interested in this topic. The challenge will then be to keep finding images in keeping with your theme so that you can post them on your blog site – so keep your camera with you at all times.

With the Google site, the latest posting appears at the top of the page where your viewers can see you newest work and comment on it.

Whether you choose to use the blog for private viewing only , or you are happy to show your work to the world at large, you will create a new outlet for your style of photography that will stimulate you to take and post more pictures.

Remember the old expression, “a picture speaks a thousand words”? Photo blogging is the embodiment of this concept. Instead of people voicing the stories that they want to share by writing them out, they do so using photographs. These pictures can often convey sentiments that are hard to express in words and invoke the emotions of those who view them. Not all of them are dramatic portraits that required years of skill to take. They can be as simple as a mother smiling with tears in her eyes, as she holds a new baby in her arms. A picture like this sends a lot of messages, from the appreciation of new life, to the huge responsibilities that parents hold, as symbolized by the child in the mother’s arms.

Many photo bloggers are expert photographers and share their art with the world through their blogs. Many of these photographers have received acclaim for their skills and have been recognized as the true artists that they are. They post pictures that they have taken all over the world, from serene mountain scenes, to violent confrontations. All of their pictures convey certain messages by the images that they contain.

Amateur photographers also use photo blogging as a way to establish themselves as artists. They may not be able to travel the world over to obtain their pictures, but can still take them locally to convey their messages. A picture taken of children at play in a schoolyard can carry invoke all kinds of emotions if taken at the right angle and with varying light. Even a picture as simple as a person deep in thought while walking a dog can convey the message of a how an animal can be happy while attached to a leash, while also showing how humans can suffer although they are free to do what they want.

Web logs or blogs have quickly become one of the most common forms of self expression. They allow people to post their thoughts on the Internet, to be viewed by the world at large. Photo blogging has become so popular that forums have been created for them. Here people can talk about blogging, get advice on techniques or share their pictures. So much for the old photo albums that you used to pull out when you had a visitor. Now you can share all of your favorite photographs with the millions of people that surf the web just to view them.