Creating a blog on smugmug

kgphotos

Hi! I am interested in creating a blog on smugmug. Basically I want to do a photo blog. For example, if I take a picture of a flower, I want to write about that flower and then have the visitor click on that flower and it will take them to my flower gallery. The set-up that I would like to have is what http://denisegoldberg.blogspot.com has. I know she is using blogger. Is this something I could do in smugmug? I am new to blogging. I used to blog using Apple's iWeb but since it's gone, I have to find something else. I have tried playing around with blogger but I am thinking smugmug might be easier for me. I have read the posts about getting my blogger site to match my smugmug site, but I don't know enough CSS or HTML to do it.

Thanks for your help!
-Karen

my website… http://www.karengrantphotography.com

Hikin' Mike

You can read this: http://school.smugmug.com/SmugMug-Tips/How-to-Make-a-Photo-Blog

My opinion is I would use a tool created for blogging. Denise uses Blogger, I use Wordpress. Even if you can't match your Blogger/Wordpress to your Smugmug, I just think there is a better tool for blogging other than Smugmug.

EDIT: If you don't have the skills to match Blogger/Wordpress blog to your SM, you can still use one of the blogs (Blogger/WP) and use a Feed box. It would wouldn't have the same functions as a normal blog tool, but it will look just like your SM because it will be: http://www.dgrin.com/showpost.php?p=1941946&postcount=6.

kgphotos

Hikin' Mike wrote: »

You can read this: http://school.smugmug.com/SmugMug-Tips/How-to-Make-a-Photo-Blog

My opinion is I would use a tool created for blogging. Denise uses Blogger, I use Wordpress. Even if you can't match your Blogger/Wordpress to your Smugmug, I just think there is a better tool for blogging other than Smugmug.

EDIT: If you don't have the skills to match Blogger/Wordpress blog to your SM, you can still use one of the blogs (Blogger/WP) and use a Feed box. It would wouldn't have the same functions as a normal blog tool, but it will look just like your SM because it will be: http://www.dgrin.com/showpost.php?p=1941946&postcount=6.

Thanks Mike for your reply. I've been on these forums reading about blogging and how to incorporate it into my site. I am going to keep playing around with blogger. I think I need help in setting up my template in blogger to look like Denise. Once I get the template set up, then I should be good to go. When you say "it wouldn't have the same functions as a normal blog", what do you mean? Do you know of any smug sites that use a feed box so I could see what you are talking about?

Also, on another note, in my blogger blog, I embedded a photo from my smug site into blogger. How do I make the photo clickable so that when someone clicks on a photo, it brings them to the gallery it is located in on smugmug?

Thanks Mike!
-Karen

my website…http://www.karengrantphotography.com

Hikin' Mike

Using an RSS Feed will only show the content, not the format (making it pretty). You can see an example here: http://www.dgrin.com/showpost.php?p=1944540&postcount=4

Can't help you on the other question. I don't use my SM site to post photos on my blog.

denisegoldberg

kgphotos wrote: »

...When you say "it wouldn't have the same functions as a normal blog", what do you mean? Do you know of any smug sites that use a feed box so I could see what you are talking about?

Also, on another note, in my blogger blog, I embedded a photo from my smug site into blogger. How do I make the photo clickable so that when someone clicks on a photo, it brings them to the gallery it is located in on smugmug?

If you use a feed box you get a simple feed from your blog. Formatting is not preserved.

To place photos in your blog (assuming you move ahead with blogger or another blogging platform), use Share... Get a link from your smug site. Click on the Embeddable Links tab and grab one of the links from the blogs section.

On your initial question, I'm with Mike here. SmugMug is a good photo sharing platform but in my opinion it is not a good blogging platform. If you really want to create pages to mimic a blog there is a tutorial about it here. tomoscott is using that method for his blog and he listed the 16 (!) steps he uses to post a new blog entry here. To contrast that with using blogger, I write my text, jump to my smug site to grab embed links for my photos and plunk them in my blog entry. As part of writing the blog entry I give it a title and I might also add a tag or two to group posts together. The only piece that requires leaving the blog edit page is when I need to grab my photo links.

While it's nice if your blog and your smug site match I think it's more important that the two sites play well together. Jumping between the two should be easy for the folks who are viewing your photos and reading your blog.

--- Denise

kgphotos

denisegoldberg wrote: »

If you use a feed box you get a simple feed from your blog. Formatting is not preserved.

To place photos in your blog (assuming you move ahead with blogger or another blogging platform), use Share... Get a link from your smug site. Click on the Embeddable Links tab and grab one of the links from the blogs section.

On your initial question, I'm with Mike here. SmugMug is a good photo sharing platform but in my opinion it is not a good blogging platform. If you really want to create pages to mimic a blog there is a tutorial about it here. tomoscott is using that method for his blog and he listed the 16 (!) steps he uses to post a new blog entry here. To contrast that with using blogger, I write my text, jump to my smug site to grab embed links for my photos and plunk them in my blog entry. As part of writing the blog entry I give it a title and I might also add a tag or two to group posts together. The only piece that requires leaving the blog edit page is when I need to grab my photo links.

While it's nice if your blog and your smug site match I think it's more important that the two sites play well together. Jumping between the two should be easy for the folks who are viewing your photos and reading your blog.

--- Denise

Thanks Denise for your suggestions. I am going to stick with blogger and just add the feed after everyone's thoughts. I just signed up for it a week ago, so I am still playing around with it. If you don't mind me asking, how is your blogger page set up? I would like to set up my blog site like yours. What theme should I use? I am currently using the theme Simple, but thinking of changing to the theme dynamic. Thank you very much for your help!

-Karen

my website… http://www.karengrantphotography.com

ko04

I just wanted to share with you my blog that I have matched my blogger with what my Smugmug looks like http://k-ophotography.blogspot.com/. A lot of what I have learned is through here and the web I general. If you have the time and patients to do it you can really make it work. I don't know much about coding but I just read a lot and searched a over the web to make my blogger look like the way I wanted. So things like the date I use, my comment box, the background color, the slight drop shadow those were all things I learned how to do through this site and the web. I do know that from what I understand it is a lot harder to match the blog to what your smugmug site looks like now since the switch over but Denise could correct me if I'm wrong on this. Both Mike and Denise's advice is great and they are both extermly knowledgable so I'd listen to any advice they give you over mine. I just wanted to one show your what another blogger site that is matched looks like and two just give you my two cents for what it's worth. Hope it helps

denisegoldberg

kgphotos wrote: »

If you don't mind me asking, how is your blogger page set up? I would like to set up my blog site like yours. What theme should I use? I am currently using the theme Simple, but thinking of changing to the theme dynamic.

I started using blogger back in the dark ages of the tool so I am using a customized version of the minima stretch theme. I believe it is still there but you would have to jump through hoops to find it. I did attach a copy to the blogger thread, linked from the first post in that thread (if I remember correctly) - but you would probably be better off using one of the more current themes.

--- Denise

kgphotos

ko04 wrote: »

I just wanted to share with you my blog that I have matched my blogger with what my Smugmug looks like http://k-ophotography.blogspot.com/. A lot of what I have learned is through here and the web I general. If you have the time and patients to do it you can really make it work. I don't know much about coding but I just read a lot and searched a over the web to make my blogger look like the way I wanted. So things like the date I use, my comment box, the background color, the slight drop shadow those were all things I learned how to do through this site and the web. I do know that from what I understand it is a lot harder to match the blog to what your smugmug site looks like now since the switch over but Denise could correct me if I'm wrong on this. Both Mike and Denise's advice is great and they are both extermly knowledgable so I'd listen to any advice they give you over mine. I just wanted to one show your what another blogger site that is matched looks like and two just give you my two cents for what it's worth. Hope it helps

Thanks for your words of encouragement. I will keep at it!

kgphotos

Hikin' Mike wrote: »

You can read this: http://school.smugmug.com/SmugMug-Tips/How-to-Make-a-Photo-Blog

My opinion is I would use a tool created for blogging. Denise uses Blogger, I use Wordpress. Even if you can't match your Blogger/Wordpress to your Smugmug, I just think there is a better tool for blogging other than Smugmug.

EDIT: If you don't have the skills to match Blogger/Wordpress blog to your SM, you can still use one of the blogs (Blogger/WP) and use a Feed box. It would wouldn't have the same functions as a normal blog tool, but it will look just like your SM because it will be: http://www.dgrin.com/showpost.php?p=1941946&postcount=6.

Thanks Mike!