Outfit Photography- Expectations vs Reality and my home truths & tricks

I felt compelled to write this post after having so many of my non-blogging friends and family tell me how “natural” and happy I look in some of my recent photos. Needless to say they do not understand the struggle that is outfit post photography!! I’ll let you into some of photo secrets and home truths of taking them...

Weather

90% of the time you will be freezing your bollocks off if you live in the UK and want to take pretty outfit snaps. Very rarely is the weather nice here.

Wind is a phenomenon which can go really in your favour and make your shot look real and so cool or really f*cking awful- particularly if you live in a flat farming area where wind travels i.e. Cambridgeshire. So the photo above- I was actually furious with the wind that day but somehow the stars aligned and presented me with this shot which subsequently was a really popular post on my Instagram.

This however never made the cut. Somehow I don’t think I need to explain why... #sexybumeatingmyshirtdress

Another drawback to British living is the fact that it rains A LOT here but if you smile and fake laugh through your photos, sometimes you can forget that your hair is slowly becoming a frizzy mess and somewhere along the line you’ll pretend that feeling damp is FUN! Not only was it wet when we shot this outfit, it was horrendously cold; so much so that I was not surprised I developed the lergie shortly after but of course it was worth it for the gram right? Clearly it was an excellent idea to don a thin lace dress outside in January...

So far I have only showcased the negative truths of outfit photography but in the same shoot as the photo above, I bumped into a rather lovely chap called Brian who happened to own a classic car shop round the corner and was shooting this little baby for his website. Being in the right place at the right time meant I got the opportunity to pose with said car (I’ll call her Bessie) and boy did Bessie add some pizzazz to the photos! Cheers Brian you absolute legend and Bessie- you’re a doll.

Posing

So onto the “looking natural” in outfit photos... I have developed a technique known as the fake laugh when I pose. Yes you will look like a hyena with lock jaw during the process of taking your photos but trust me- it works to get that “I’m so happy life is wonderful” look. Thankfully my blogger gal pals know this signature move but every time I manage to persuade the husband to take my photos he is bewildered, confused and downright furious with how ridiculous this method is, especially when there are onlookers curious as to what is going on. They have a look of “you okay hun?” strewn across their faces whilst Chris is highly embarrassed and mortified.

Another one I like to do is look at the floor. Looking into a camera can be really off putting and I don’t know if it’s just me but don’t you find when you shoot with someone you don’t know so well you feel a bit...shy? I know that their eyeballs are behind that camera lens and I’m effectively pulling wannabe sultry faces at them. I’m not having a stroke or trying to seduce you- I promise.  Instead I like to opt for looking at the most FASCINATING pavement, concrete or grass I’ve ever seen. If that doesn’t make you smile- what will?

Props

Yup, I have props and like many a blogger I aint afraid to utilise them so I appear to have my shit together and life is pretty. 

Now, I genuinely do use the coffee cup featured in this photo but the reality on this day was it was empty. If it had contained hot black caffeinated liquid whilst posing, I guarantee I’d have chucked it down myself within minutes and ruined everything or even worse IT WOULD HAVE GONE COLD. Who wants that kind of negativity in their life?

The reality was- it’s pretty, it’s something believable to pose with (and something I do actually use ALL the time ) and was off to the pub as soon as we’re done shooting so fuck coffee. As for the flowers? Well, they matched in with my outfit like said coffee cup but the reality is I NEVER wander around with a bunch of flowers, especially not in my handbag.

These fake beauties work wonders and save me from a soggy handbag lining.  Using props just helps to add a bit of interest to an outfit and accessorise it further. 

I even use the bloody dog. Walking Harry is something I do- of course but maybe not always looking so glam. The reality is its usually 6am and I’m in UGG boots with no makeup on. #pretty

Authenticity

So what I don’t like or get about certain outfit photography in blogging is when the outfit is worn purely for taking a photo. If you’re someone who genuinely walks around London in killer heels all day then fair play to you- I take my hat off  and fake flowers to you but if you wear them purely for the gram then those heels or that hat are never to be seen again? I have to ask- what was the point? To me that’s not authentic and don’t get me wrong I know that fake flowers in my bag isn’t authentic but at least I’m being honest. I think sometimes it’s taken a bit too far and if you’re like me you end up wondering why people are... pretending? But that’s just my view and that’s a whooole different topic; one which I’d rather not to get into. All I will say is anything I wear in my outfit posts I wear in real life too and I’m proud to have it in my real life- so much so that I’ve put it on my blog or Instagram.

So that is a little insight into the reality of my outfit photography. Apologies for the many variations of my moon face throughout this post. If you have any sneaky techniques I’d love to hear about them in the comments below. Is there a “natural” pose you do that I’m yet to master? Also what's your thoughts on authenticity?

Toodle pip!