1. The Lightbulb
My blog posts don’t always start in the same way but certainly always have the same amount of effort lavished upon them, no matter what the topic. Occasionally a beautiful addition to the wardrobe can be enough to inspire a new post, sometimes a beauty brand will plant a seed in my mind or alternatively I will feel the pull to write something a little more personal, in the hope of offering something to others that I feel strongly about or have experienced first hand.
The first spark of a post, no matter what form that spark takes should always excite me and personally, if the excitement isn’t enough at the first inklings of the topic then back to the drawing board I go. Being proud of what I publish is the only outcome acceptable for me. On the other hand if the topic hits the right note for me then it’s onto the next!
2. What Next?
Each step of my process doesn’t necessarily follow the exact same timeline and I don’t like to restrict myself to a certain number of steps, or the order in which they appear. Often a topic will come before the imagery and will spur on an outfit shoot, a make up menu flat lay or some dreamy holiday imagery, but sometimes the imagery will already have been shot and that will be the inspiration for my post. A great example of this is my recent Why You Should Never Be Afraid To Travel Alone. The amazing imagery shot by Alex of me standing alone on crowded New York streets and yellow Taxis flying by was the perfect catalyst for a travel post all about something I wanted to encourage others to experience.
If however the imagery is the next piece of the puzzle then here’s where I get really excited!
3. Imagery
& Styling
It’s all about imagination, creativity and certainly not always the quality of your camera!
- Outfit Shots: From experience I have learned that no one wants to see 14 images of me front facing, in the exact same outfit, with the same facial expression. Varying the imagery is what I love to do! A shot focusing on my footwear/accessories is a must, my hairstyle of choice, a wide angled landscape image and multiple facial expressions. Ensuring movement in outfit imagery is hard but oh so important to me too. I want to show how the material moves and wears just as much as the styling itself.
- Make Up Shots: This is where that imagination comes in! A beautiful flat lay on a gorgeous Blogger Goals fluffy bed spread with added Jo Malone makes me swoon like no other, but I don’t want you guys to think I don’t go outside the box. I adored the snowy imagery I shot in Aspen for the Glam Glow post I collaborated on just as I loved the Multi Coloured shots of the Givenchy Rouge Edit post. My beauty posts with products being worn and not just swatched are always received so well.
- Travel Shots: Often I am lucky enough to have Alex travel with me to document our experiences and we know each other so well that he can produce some beautiful imagery in no time at all. Again from experience, no one wants to see 42 images of me frolicking in the same bikini, in the same light, with the same backdrop. It’s all about a mix of that golden hour lighting, imagery that doesn’t even show me at all and any hidden resort gems that may catch the eye.
4. The Final Layout
The layout of any post on InTheFrow is always dependent on the outcome of my imagery. I base my layout around the shots I’m excited to incorporate and continually switch them up to ensure the post flows, just as I had envisioned when the initial spark was ignited.
With outfit posts you will notice I tend to start with a full outfit shot, moving into more detail focused images, a mix of imagery showing location and then usually culminating in some more light hearted, warm photography towards the close. This post is no exception, possibly the cutest photobomb ever! With beauty, as mentioned above, a little imagination is needed to avoid being stagnant. Usually you will find a mix of inventive flat lays, images with swatches/wear of the product and perhaps a full look at the end of the post to really show off the products to their full extent. I feel this mix also brings a more detailed review to the blog that is worthy of the brand I am either proudly working with and/or lusting after. With travel I tend to naturally have far more landscape imagery so will incorporate more full screen shots, flowing into detail focused parallax images and interspersed with anything that will keep the post moving such as some ‘foody’ imagery or amazing room details.
SHOP THE LOOK
5. Hitting
Publish
I always remember how terrified I used to be of hitting that publish button when I first started blogging. Would anyone even be interested in what I said? Would people pick apart any accidental typos? Would someone think my imagery wasn’t good enough? It was such a battle for me. Now I only have two requirements of anything that you may find on InTheFrow:
- Am I proud of what I have created?
- Have I been truthful?
So long as I have truly worked my ass off and have been truthful in my content then I am a happy Blogger. I will continue to thank my lucky stars that I have a career which I adore more and more each day and will work even harder to bring content to all my social channels that I hope you all love.
How do you bring your ideas to life on your blog?
Do you follow a similar thought & creative process or do you do things a little different? I’d love to know what you guys do!