Does your Christian blog really reflect the message you are trying to convey in your content? Are your images and color palettes reflecting darkness or light? As Christian bloggers, we have the ability to share Jesus with others through our content. But if the packaging isn’t welcoming, they won’t be stopping by to read about how great He really is! Here are some tips for branding your Christian blog so that it truly reflects the light of Jesus.
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Branding Colors Matter
When I first got started on my path of teaching Christian bloggers and started connecting with more of them and visiting their websites, the one thing that stood out the most to me was how dark and “religious” their colors and images were. While the words of their blog posts were so full of love and encouragement, the colors somewhat contradicted those concepts. It is so important to brand your Christian blog in a way that really reflects the light that is Jesus!
To me, being a Christian means living in the light that is Jesus. It means reflecting His love to everyone around me. It means hope for things to come. Traditional Biblical imagery doesn’t at all reflect those things. While it is important that we remember the price that was paid for our sins, it is also important that we now live in an Instagram-crazy world. People want to see bright, beautiful things. Why would they want to read more about darkness?
- Branding images do matter for Christian bloggers. Unfortunately, more and more people are turning away from the traditional style of church. Traditional “religious” imagery such as the darker images from inside a church, Jesus on the Cross, etc don’t truly reflect the love that we want others to associate with knowing Jesus. The word “religion” often brings to mind the idea of rules and criticism. Nothing about them really conveys the words “love” or “living joyfully” which is what we want others to understand is the meaning of being a Christian.
- Branding colors also matter. Aside from the image darkness, the colors used for the text overlays or even just the general colors used throughout your blog all help to back up the concept of Jesus being the light.
Light VS Darkness
As I began looking for images for my own Christian blog, I realized that there are extremely limited options for images to use on Christian blogs. The majority of them are very “religious” in nature or were lifestyle images that were very dark in color. Even with the darker images, you can apply some simple photo editing hacks (seriously, super easy even for the non-photographer!) Look at the images below. The first is the original, followed by various edits of the same image. Which one more reflects the promises of God?
Simple Hack for Editing Images for Your Christian Blog
Contrary to popular belief, you don’t need a bunch of fancy expensive equipment to take great photos to use for branding your Christian blog. With these simple tricks, you can take great photos on your iPhone or simply edit the photos you get from places like UnSplash and Pixabay.
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Take Pictures Yourself
One way to make your Christian blog really stand out from the rest is to have images that others don’t have. Instead of only using the ones everyone else uses from free image sites, consider taking your own! This way, you can create images that really reflect your audience.
If you didn’t know, you can edit the settings for taking pictures on your iPhone (or Android). Simply changing the filter for when you take the picture will make it brighter. I always take pictures using the “vivid” filter setting because it adds a brightness to all of my pictures.
If you tap the screen before taking the picture, a yellow square with a little “sun” will pop up in the location of where your finger tapped the screen. You can use your finger to scroll the little sun icon and it will add light to the image or make it darker depending on which way you scroll. This is great if the lighting isn’t that great when you are trying to take a picture.
Use Editing Apps and Software
There are several really great (free) photo-editing apps that you can use on your phone. I use SnapSeed and am able to edit out shadows, lighten or darken areas of the image (while leaving the rest of the image untouched) and add additional filters to make the image pop. The images below were taken with my iPhone and edited with SnapSeed.
If you use Canva to edit your images, you can add a filter, adjust the transparency of the image to make it lighter, or edit the color settings. The images above (Promises of God) were edited in Canva.
Brand Your Christian Blog With Bright Images!
In order for us to really spread the gospel and truly bring others to “Team Jesus” we must show them the beauty that awaits them! We can do this by reflecting His message in the colors and imagery that we use on our Christian blogs. Instead of the traditional dark images and color palettes, opt for brighter, lighter colors. Add filters. lessen the transparency, take your own pics. I hope the tips for branding your Christian blog will help you in creating better, brighter images. All of these things will not only help in growing your blog following, but will truly show others the light that is Jesus.
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