Marc Alhadeff is the owner of the sonyalphablog and a great photographer and he ran the website for over 2 years. Now, his website is 200.00K Visits per month. Now, let’s know more about him.
Table of Contents
When did you start photography?
I started with my first camera when I was Teenager (film cameras) but really started to shoot more intensively (studio…) as of 2009 with a Digital SLR Camera
What kind of gear do you use?
Full frame mirrorless cameras from Sony since they exist
I was using Minolta Digital in 2005 already, then Minolta was taken over by Sony, I started to use Sony Alpha 700, then Alpha 900, A99, A7R, A7RII, A7RIII, A9, A7RIV, and now A1
Which is your favorite lens? Why?
My new favorite lens is the Sony 50mm F1.2 GMAs I am doing mostly portraits / Half Body this is a perfect lens with super creamy bokeh,super-resolution, excellent AF, lovely color rendition
What are your favorite kinds of photography?
Portraits and Art Nude
Why do you build a https://sonyalpha.blog/?
I did not find on the internet lens tests that were to the point and providing enough diversity of sample photos/videos. So I started to do my own test and have published my first test more for fun
What is your blog’s purpose?
The blog’s purpose is to cover in text + images all lenses for Sony E Mount: Full-frame and APSC (More than 300 covered !) + some accessories like filters and tripods, macro tool. Focusing on key aspects sharpness/bokeh/video behavior + comparison with lenses of same focal length. Without too much long descriptive text so going to the essentials. I do not like so much video review of lenses as you can not look at image details in a video, zoom in, compare at ease 2 images
I do like Video reviews of bodies as it is all about functioning, ergonomy, usage, efficiency.
Some are doing that very well, it is why I don’t cover so many bodies in my blog
What are your top 5 photography websites?
Flickr.com
DPReview
Christopher Frost and Gerald Undone Youtube channels
How to start a blog (list top 5 important things)？
Write on something you are passionate
Create original content, not copy/paste news, reviews from others
Have your own style
Tried to be focused, if you are too generalist then you won’t go deep enough on your
main subject
Relationships and trust with companies you work with (lenses manufacturers for me) is
the key, this takes time to build-up
Is a photography blog a good way to make money?
No
I am doing this activity more with passion and sharing my knowledge.
The blog makes you more known” by a lot of os users which brings other business activity
like training, webinars, shooting where you earn more money than with the blog
How do your photography blogs make money?
Some Ads but for that barely cover the cost of running the site and not all the material used to make the testing.
You get more money if you do Youtube reviews as ads pay more, but I am not a fan of lens reviews on youtube
Could you list the top 5 things that make a big impact on your work and life after having this photography blog website？
I became Sony Imaging Ambassador
I started to have relationships with most lenses manufacturers to get their lenses reviewed
I needed to make a lot of space in my home to store all Photos gears (more than 100 lenses at home)
I became poorer: This activity of blog cost more than what you can earn if you want to stay independent.
Could you offer some suggestions for photographers who want to build a website?
I use wordpress.com who does not require technical knowledge.
