Here is me looking ridiculous while photographing a bag on top of a fire hydrant. #bloggerlife
A couple of weeks ago, I had a reader who's getting her own site up and running email me, asking this (very good, I think) question:
From post 1 to today, what are some of the steps you took to move your work forward?
On Me: Hatch Dress; Saks Fifth Avenue Fedora (similar); Deux Lux Backpack
Click here for an interview in which I talk my favorite blogging tips, what I wish I'd known when I started out in this field, and a (possibly surprising) thing that I really seriously do not like to do.
And while we're talking Q&As, click here to check out my interview with MomTrends - it's part of their Holiday Gift Guide, which is full of fun ideas (and also contains interviews with Soleil Moon Frye, Rosie Pope and others).
Q. Hey Jordan,
I was wondering if you could give me some advice regarding taking pictures of yourself. I feel pretty self-conscious about it, but I want to be taken seriously as a beauty blogger...[and] I know that if I'm running a beauty blog, people will want visuals when it comes to tutorials, hairstyles, etc.
So do you have any advice about posting/taking flattering photos of yourself? Is there any particular editing software that you use to adjust the photos (and can it get rid of my undereye circles)? And most importantly...how does one get past the period of feeling super awkward and self-conscious posing for photos that will go up on the internet?
Thanks for your help!
When I started Ramshackle Glam in March of 2010, one the major things that I was totally in the dark about was how to create a visually appealing page: I knew nothing about graphic design and very little about photography, so I basically just ran around with an iPhone and a point-and-shoot and did the best I could.
It was okay, I guess...but it certainly wasn't anything spectacular.
And while getting a decent camera (I have the Canon T1i and a 50mm lens) definitely helped in terms of making my site look the way I wanted it to, one of the tools that I've found to be completely, totally invaluable is Polyvore - it's what I use to make 99% of the composite images you see on RG, and is so fun and easy. I swear.
Weekend Trip Essentials by ramshackleglam featuring alexander mcqueen
Starting (and keeping up) a blog can be a major challenge, but I promise you: if you approach your site honestly and professionally, very cool things can come of it.
For this installment of blog advice, we're doing a two-for-one.
Q. Hi there! I am trying to get up a blog and I need advice. How do I get more relaxed with my writing time?
Q. Hey Jordan, I'd like to ask you about the rules and legal issues that come with having a blog...
Q. I recently started a blog of my own and was just wondering if you had any general advice about the do's and don'ts of blogging.
Photographing holiday cocktails...on my bed. Of course.
(Recipe coming soon!)
Whenever I see bloggers post their beautifully framed shots of food or their jeans arranged just-so against white bedsheets on Instagram or wherever, I like to imagine what the scene *really* looked like when they were shooting it. Especially the food shots, because you know that they're literally standing up on a chair in a restaurant to get that perfect top-down angle - but really: it's interesting to imagine pulling back on just about any photo.
