Lets talk about Instagram photos

To be honest, this is one thing that I dread. The effort required to find that clear, aesthetically pleasing, doing justice to the garment, (and the face) image is tough and annoying.

If you have a partner, then I suggest getting them to take your photos is a sure-fire way to have a disagreement, because let’s face it, they rarely make us look as good as we want them too. (I appreciate I’ve generalised here a bit, I’m sure some of you have partners that are excellent photographers.)

Today I am sharing my techniques and the equipment that I use to take my own photos.

Light so important, you need a nice light without shadows.

Filtered light is probably the best way to describe this. If you can’t get outside, try standing in front of sheer curtains, or a place in your house that has nice flat surfaces (by flat I mean areas that do not have light bouncing off them, an example is shiny surfaces like tiles and glossy cupboards.)

If you are outside, which is often recommended as the best light, then I suggest you keep the following in mind. Shadows. Can you smile or is the sun shining right in your face? If you are standing in front of a wall, does the colour of the wall do justice to your outfit? A red brick wall may not look good with a rust/red outfit. My courtyard is grey, as much as I have tried, I have never taken a good photo whilst in the courtyard. The reason is my hair. Our grey is too similar, and I just blend. You don’t want to blend friends; you want to sparkle.

Of course, you can always lighten your photos on your phone/computer. I use Lightroom which is free unless you want added features. I use the lighten function just a little bit if I need to. If you have an iPhone, use the edit photo feature, as it does the same thing.

We spend so much time creating our outfits, I aim to display my outfits at their best and true to colour.

I will be honest, which means that I may offend. I have a distinct dislike of Instagram photos that have been lit up like a Christmas tree. By that I mean they are so bright and light that they are void of authenticity.

My house is modern, there is lots of glass, steel and white walls (sounds boring but I can assure you there is colour everywhere). The problem is that finding a good spot for me to take photos is challenging.

I don't rely on anyone but myself to get the shot!

I have purchased some assistance.

(The brands I am recommending are from my personal experience , this is not a sponsored blog.)

Many of you may already do this, but if you haven’t tried these gadgets then I am recommending them as they have really helped me and taken the stress out of getting a good photo. ( Well, most of the stress)

Joby Shutter. This is a little remote press button. You bluetooth the Joby to your phone. When you are ready to smile for the camera, you press the Joby. I just hold it in my hand and press, press, press away! I take lots of photos. You can buy these online. I got mine from Teds Cameras.

Google, Joby Impulse. I paid $25.00. My only warning is they are small and easily lost (which I have done), so I keep mine on a little key ring.

My next photography accessory is the camera tripod. The brand I have is Manfrotto.

My kids gave this to me for Christmas, I guess they got sick of taking my photos too.

This just holds the camera at different heights. You can really use it to your advantage. I can get my whole outfit in at reasonably close range. You don’t need a flash one, there are lots available online, so have a good look. Maybe visit a photo store. It’s much easier than balancing your phone on tables, and stacks of books.

Finally, my newest Accessory is a Background stand. This is from the brand Neewer. You can see from the photos how it works. It's very lightweight. I put it in my family room which always has great light (but too much glass). I then drape fabric over the stand as the background for the photos. You can change this anytime you like, just by visiting your fabric stash and getting a different colour. You can also use sheets.

The stand is adjustable. It also comes with sandbags to weigh it down, if you choose to use it outdoors. I leave the stand up and just store it in the spare bedroom. It was about $100.00. The details are in the photo below, so use your search engine to find the best price.

So, all of this just to take a photo. Maybe not for everyone, but it made things much easier for me. I really enjoy all other aspects of Instagram, except the photos!

The irony is I'm always smiling.

I hope sharing my photography process has been helpful.

I would love to know how you take your photos. Any tips and tricks would be greatly appreciated.

Thankyou for taking the time to read my blah blah blah.

My next blog is Planning my Spring/Summer 2021-22 range.

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Bye for now

Meridy