One thing I never understood when I first began simply reading blogs was all of the behind the scenes action that took place. So much time goes in to planning, scheduling, researching, and creating content - It's totally transformed from a hobby to a second job in my mind (and I wouldn't trade it for the world). I get asked all the time how I manage to balance work and blogging so I thought I would provide a little sneak peak! These are the basic in's and out's of my little blogging world…
OUTFIT POSTS:
These are generally the "easiest" types of post for me. I say that carefully because these require the most planning. I generally photograph 5-6 outfits every two weeks with my photographer and friend, Emily. We shoot on Sunday afternoons and are able to knock out 5-6 outfits in around 1.5 hours. This is pure skill on our part - we've been working together for 8 months now so I've gotten to know how she likes to work and vice versa. It's such a comfort working with her because she knows my favorite types of shots and my good side versus bad side. Best part? She's not afraid to tell me when I'm posing in a less than flattering way ;) Hey, it happens!
I always lay out my outfits including jewelry, shoes and lipstick before Emily comes over. I snap a quick photo so that I don't forget the lipstick color - I have so many I forget! We tend to shoot a couple of looks at my place and then go somewhere else to shoot the remaining outfits. I'll pack up a bag and change in the car or change at Emily's apartment. This provides different backgrounds for the posts (although I'm guilty of having the same backdrop… but it's about the outfits)!
Emily uploads all of the photos on her computer, does some editing (lightening up the photos, etc.) and then uploads her best shots to Google drive.
I download the photos on to my computer and then do another round of editing in Adobe Bridge! I will lighten the image up more, make sure the colors are bright, crop anything out of the background, and then save my 10 favorites (this is never intense editing… simply creating a brighter and lighter image), Once I've picked the photos I want in my post I export them into Photoshop so that I can change the pixel width to be equal (so that they're even while scrolling down the blog post).
Then comes the time consuming part... Finding what I'm wearing online. This normally takes me 1-3 hours depending on the amount of things I'm wearing. If something is sold out or old I try to always link something similar in style and color (this is really time consuming because I try so hard to wear up to date items but that's just not realistic with my budget haha).
Upload photos, link items, write a little post (or a big post like this one), and BOOM!
>>> My secret trick… I try to create all of my posts the weekend before. This doesn't always happen… sometimes I'll write it the night before and sometimes I've had posts that I've been working on for weeks (these are my more thoughtful posts - like this one or my instagram tricks).
I also NEVER buy an outfit just for a post… that is my biggest pet peeve. Why would I spend money on something just for a post if I'm never going to wear it again? Yeah, I've been guilty of buying something and photographing it months before I actually wear it but I will never fool y'all into thinking I have this vast wardrobe of the latest and greatest!!
COLLAGE POSTS:
Surprisingly these can take me 4-5 hours. If there's a sale I've just heard about (cough cough last day for Shopbop!!) then my posts get pushed back a day and I will create a collage for the sale going on! As you can tell from yesterday's post I take the time to go through the entire website - window shopping if you will - and pick out my favorites. Sometimes I pick 5 things and sometimes it ends up being 20+ items I'm in love with.
I create new tabs for each product, save each image and then open them all up in photoshop. Then I select the images and plop them all on a blank canvas. I will transform the images to be the proper proportions and sizes (e.g. all of the shoes the same size and the models the same height) and then it becomes a giant puzzle laying out the pieces. I'll add lines or words here and there to create some visual movement.
Next comes the linking and tagging part. I'll do one of two things: I will list each item below the image and have the words hyperlinked or I will create a "shoppable" post where you click the product in the image that you want to see. (Do y'all have a preference??)
Sometimes I'll write out why I've chosen a product like my winter beauty favorites or I'll keep it short and sweet so y'all can get straight to the shopping!
One of my favorite collages to do is putting together outfits :) I love thinking up different ways to wear one product - I do this all the time because it gives you more bang for your buck!
Curious to hear your thoughts on today's post! Do you like the behind the scenes? Or would you rather have an air of mystery around the magical world of blogging?
This is just how I make it work… Emily has a full time job and I don't even have a nice camera (YET). I'm not graced with a photographer boyfriend ;) that seems like the best solution to having photographs taken of you all the time! I like to think I've just perfected the selfie hehe.
I always want to keep it interesting on Southern Anchors so if you guys have suggestions, comments, concerns, etc. please let me know!! I'm always open to new ideas!
Love Always,
