Outfit Details: top // jeans // heels
This has been one of my most requested posts, and I’m super excited to write it! Let me start by saying that I am not a photographer or a model, and definitely not a photo expert. I have learned a few tricks over the last (almost) two years of snapping #ootd pics though, and I’m happy to share them! I also want to mention that these tips are specifically for taking outfit photos like you see here on my blog or Instagram – they won’t help you much with nature or animal photography or anything like that 🙂
First of all, you do not have to have a fancy camera to take good photos! I use a DSLR for 99% of my shoots, but that is mostly because I have an older phone and the camera isn’t great. I know tons of bloggers who only shoot with an iPhone and their pictures look amazing. Ok let’s get into it!
Tips for Taking Outfit Photos:
Shoot in good lighting: Lighting is everything when it comes to photos – I’ve had entire shoots that I couldn’t use because the lighting wasn’t right. I prefer to shoot early in the morning or on cloudy days – direct sun is not my friend when it comes to photos. If you have to shoot in full sun, try and shoot in a location with shade and avoid having the sun directly on your face. You don’t want to be squinting, anyways! The photo below was taken in the afternoon, but it was a cloudy that day so it worked out.
Outfit Details: jumpsuit // heels
Shoot in the morning: In addition to good lighting, the other advantage to shooting early in the morning is that there are less people out and about walking in the background of your photos if you are shooting in a public area. Now if you’re in NYC or another major city, there’s no way to avoid that (I’ve tried and failed) but I actually like the “city vibe” that you get with that environment. The people of downtown Greenville love to try and photobomb haha. I actually got REALLY close to a photobomb-free shot in NYC below, but that one guy managed to sneak in!
Outfit Details: dress // heels // similar heels
Create movement: A little backstory to this one: my mom is a sports photographer and she shoots things like football, lacrosse, etc.. sports that involve a lot of running. So when I started my blog and recruited her to be my photographer, she would always tell me to walk around for shoots because she wasn’t used to taking photos of someone standing still. I had no idea what I was doing, but moving around gave me something to do and the photos ended up being my favorites!
Outfit Details: dress // bag // heels // similar heels
Use props: Avoid the “What do I do with my hands?” problem by holding a prop! A coffee cup, an ice cream cone, flowers, a bag, whatever fits with the theme of the photo! In a majority of my photos you’ll see me holding a Starbucks cup and 95% of the time it’s empty. I have a couple reusable Starbucks cups that I like to hold in pictures just so I don’t have an awkward hand.
Outfit Details: top // reusable cup // white jeans // heels // similar heels
Shoot multiple outfits at once: This tip is mainly for new bloggers or anyone who wants to post to Instagram daily, but I get asked all the time how I manage to shoot my outfit every single day and the answer it: I don’t! I shoot 1-2 times a week and around 5 outfits during each photo shoot. I just change outfits in the backseat of my car or wherever I can. I’m sure that there are some bloggers who are able to snap an actual outfit pic every single day, but that’s just not possible for me to do.
Outfit Details: dress // chambray top // heels //reusable Starbucks cup
Create space: And by “create space” I mean with your body. Simply bending an arm or a leg to create space in the photo just makes it more interesting. It’s fine to have some photos where you’re standing straight with your arms by your side, but adding a little space will give the photo some variety. In the photo below I bent my arm to create space in between my arm and my body.
Outfit Details: ribbed midi dress // clutch //heels // similar heels
Be yourself: It’s great to get ideas and inspiration from others, but don’t feel like you need to copy them! It’s extremely popular in the Instagram blogger world right now to pose with an mouth “laughing” smile, throwing up a peace sign, or doing a kissy face while holding a donut or something in front of one eye (to name a few.) Don’t get me wrong, those poses are super cute and if that type of thing comes natural to you then go for it!! They just aren’t really me, so I don’t try and force it. Bottom line is to just do what feels right to you!
Mirror Selfies
I wanted to touch on mirror selfies because I’ve had a few specific requests for this and as a fashion blogger, mirror selfies are inevitable. I definitely don’t think that I have “mastered” the mirror selfie, but I will share a couple things that I find helpful. First is to make sure the mirror is clean! For dressing room selfies, bring a bottle of glasses cleaner and a small cloth to wipe the mirror down if it’s dirty. Also you want to make sure the background is tidy because otherwise it can be distracting. Lastly, try out a bunch of different angles and poses to see what works best!
Outfit Details: jumpsuit // earrings
Editing
By far my most asked question is how I edit my photos! I use the Lightroom mobile app and I apply a preset (which is basically a filter) that I created. Using a preset definitely helps to create a consistent theme for my Instagram feed. I’m working on getting my presets available for you all, so stay tuned! I also use Snapseed and Facetune 2 editing apps sometimes if I need to. Facetune has a great “smoothing” feature which is helpful if you need to smooth out an unwanted wrinkle from your clothes. I also have Lightroom for desktop, but I haven’t used it in a while because I’m much faster on the mobile version. Here is a before and after example of editing with my preset:
Alright I’m going to wrap up the post here- hopefully this was helpful! If you have any additional questions, please do not hesitate to leave a comment below or send me an email or a message on Instagram. I’m always happy to help and I love being a resource for you all 🙂
