March this year, will mark my 5th year of blogging. Over these years, my blog has come a long way. Find myself both cringing as I look back at old posts, and proud of how far this little website has come. So I thought I share of some things I've picked up along the way, those things I do differently if I started a blog today.

Photography matters: 

When I began my blog, I used to take one iPhone photo, which little thought went into. The picture would often be poorly composed, out of focus, and basically in the dark  (see old posts here and here for a lol). Over time I've developed my photography style, taught myself to use a camera, and got better at composing images. I fell in love with photography, and my blog saw the benefits - my views went up, my branding improved, and I found myself feeling more confident when telling others about my blog. Improving my photography, meant everything looked more professional, and myself and others began to take me more seriously as a blogger. Improving and learning about photography is made accessible with the right tools. The Panasonic Mirrorless camera is at the top of my wishlist, as it's the perfect tool to keep pushing my photography further, to continue improving and create better imagery than ever.

Make friends and help each other out:

Blogging should be fun, it should be social. Find a local event to go to. Make friends, don't be afraid to reach out to other bloggers. You already know you have plenty in common, and this industry will give you so much to talk about so there is no need to worry about awkward small talk. Not all blogging friends you have will work out (have I ever mentioned the time I got ghosted by a blogger?) but the ones that do, will absolutely be worth it.  Another good thing about having blogger friends is you can help each other out. My friend Madi and I often play photographer for each other. Not only has having a blogging friend been the source of many good days and lots of laughs, but it also offered me support, made attending events less daunting, it's also allowed me to practice my own photography but also get some pretty decent outfit shots myself.

Use Other Social Media Platforms:

Post to your Instagram, tweet etc,  don't be afraid to share your work.  Nobody will know your blog exists if you don't tell them. I've often fallen into the trap of working hard on this little blog and hoping people stumble across it rather than shouting about it. Sure, it can feel a little cringe at first, but everyone starts somewhere and putting your energy in something creative, no matter where you're at with it, it's something to be proud of. I've recently been trying to interact more of my social media channels, commenting on other people's feeds, letting them know when I like their work, with the knowledge that it might just make them feel good, and in turn, I've seen my followings grow. I've also recently decided to start using Pinterest to see if that can drive a bit more traffic to my blog.

Post what you want, not what you think you should post:

Your blog posts won't be as good when you're posting for others, rather than yourself. Good writing tends to come from a place of passion. Sure look elsewhere for inspiration, but post what you're interested in, not what you think others will want to read. There are bound to tonnes of people who like the same things as you, that will want to read your blog.

Be organised, be consistent, be realistic:

Recognise when burn out is coming:

There is, of course, such a thing as too much hard work and we're all prone to burn out once in a while. Catch it before it's too late. If you recognise burn out coming step away and give yourself a break. The likelihood is, you've been working on posts so hard that you deserve one.

Do something creative when you're lacking in inspiration:

Go for a walk with your camera, paint, write in your diary, anything which doesn't require thinking about blogging, when you come back to blogging you'll be feeling refreshed and inspired. Sometimes stepping away from the computer and living in the real world for a bit is all we need to find that spark again.

Be proud.

Where ever you're at with blogging, you should be proud. Whether it's your full-time gig or you're a complete blog newbie. Blogging takes hard work, often being vulnerable online,  and putting yourself out there and that is something you should find pride in.

Outfit Details:

Photography: madeleiinegraceblogs
*The post is a paid partnership with Panasonic.
*Affiliate links are used in this post.

I have a love-hate relationship with Instagram. Although I enjoy the creative process, I find it comes with a lot of pressure. Follow counts on Instagram, seem more predominate than anywhere else, I guess mainly because having a large following in Instagram can be can money maker, and it seems brands are more and more interested in working with 'influencers' on Instagram posts than they are in long-form content, such a blog posts and youtube videos, which logically, seemed to cut the workload down slight for the influencer, and who would say no to less work and more money?


I find Instagram tricky, because, my followers rarely grow on there, and I know people endlessly say follow counts don't matter, but when they are what stands between you and your dream job, they kind of do. I don't want a career built on Instagram, not for a second, but as a blogger and a writer, my Instagram following has become something that could give me a ticket into the career I want. It's frustrating. I've said similar things to this on Instagram itself before - so I won't bang on too much about it here, instead, I want to talk about where I think the future of the platform is heading.
                                                                                 

I read something recently about how with traditional media, you get the advert between the entertainment, but with Instagram influencers, the entertainment is the adverts, which is completely true, advertising has become more integrated with the entertainment. Or is this just the first time we're realising? Product placements on TV shows have always been a thing. Is it such a bad thing that people are trying to sell us stuff? If we enjoy the free content they're putting out there, I see no reason we should not have to see the occasional toothpaste advert which is simple enough to slide into the content which is already there.

It's odd that Instagram is a career for some people, and a hobby for others, as with blogging and youtube, and many creative careers. Most of us have Instagram, some of us have several accounts. We're addicted to doing what some people get paid for, for free. Although unpaid, we might not be putting so much pressure on the images, and captions, hiring photographers and planning out our grids, but we're still contributing to that platform, unpaid. It's a place where humans are ranked by follow counts. I don't think I've ever looked how many friends somebody has on Facebook, or been concerned by followers on twitter but on Instagram, I'm more likely to interact with an account with more followers, which is absolute bullshit. I know, from experience, your follow count can be low but that doesn't mean your content is not thought out and valuable.

Something which does bother me is the idea that the print industry will one day be replaced by online platforms such as Instagram.

Personally, I've found myself heading more towards traditional media more than ever recently. Instagram can feel a bit samey, and while I have the blogs which I love, it seems bloggers are choosing more and most to posts on the 'gram rather than their own website, which is completely understandable, as writing a blog post takes a lot more time, and probably get a lot less engagement.



But lazy Sunday mornings, when I lay in bed, scrolling through insta doesn't quite cut it, and I begin to feel sick of my phone. I've realised nothing brings me the joy of a magazine and a cup of tea on those lazy. There's something satisfying in flicking pages, and the articles often tend to be a mixture of my favourite writers and some new ones. Articles I never expected to find myself reading can impact my thoughts, change my day - which I'm sure could happen with an Instagram caption, but sometimes I want it to be an event, consuming media, and scrolling Instagram is more of a habit than an event, there's nothing about it which feels special. With Instagram, it feels like something I consume when I want the minutes to slip away from me, but reading a magazine feels like a way to embrace the time I've got, and really make the most of it. It's a way to indulge in the words of others and curated imagery.

There's a pressure to post on Instagram, to create content which adds to what everyone else is posting. It's nice to read a magazine and know I don't need to worry about my input.  On Instagram you expect everyone to be relatable, real, and when they've got abs and a  new home, your average joe doesn't feel quite average which can leave a feeling of inadequacy, at least with magazines, the models printed aren't supposed to be the girl next door, they're too far from me to compare.

Having said all this, I do love using Instagram, I'm not against adverts on there if they're from somebody who's content I trust. and I think we're all smart enough by now to really, we don't need skinny teas.

I love that is something I can curate myself with who I choose to follow and I love that I have my own input in the space, but it's no replacement for the pleasure of carelessly flicking through the crisp pages of a magazine.


Jumpsuit: New Look - Lipstick: Marc Jacobs Kiss Kiss Bang Bang - i-D Magazine

 

I woke up this morning and I felt powerful. I felt positive and motivated. I practically jumped out of bed and decided I need to write a blog post about taking up space because that was exactly what I intended on doing.

I decided to do the photography first. To take on the role of model, stylist and photographer, and get the perfect shots. I used my favourite bright pink eyeshadow, I curled my hair with my chopstick curler. I put on a black jumpsuit which made me feel like a girl boss. I wanted to take up space in the images, with my bright makeup, biggest hair and my most powerful outfit that's exactly what I was going to do.

I ignored the fact, I was dressed for a different season, and the wet grass was making my sliders, well slidey. I didn't matter that I was home alone, I could shoot the photos myself and make them look good in my back garden.



Using a tripod, self-timer and phone remote at the back of your house certainly isn't the more glamour way to shoot photographs, but it was a way which was accessible to me, and I was excited to see what blogger esc images I could take. The visions in my head we're living up to the standards of famous fashion blogger who clearly have photographers they pay for and to die for locations as backdrops.  Rather than being somewhere tropical with someone snap some pictures of me living my best life, I was cold and hyperaware of how awkward I feel in front of a camera. I took pictures, but my camera wasn't playing games. Autofocus took to my mum's plants rather than me, and I found myself tugging on my jumpsuit a lot. After a while of freezing, putting on my best fake smile and placing my hands on my hips, I went to look at the results.

I was disappointed, to say the least. I spent my time taking these photos and I couldn't use any of them. I was out of focus. You could clearly see I've got a belly. I had too much cleavage out.  My hair was too big, I should have let the curls drop. My face looks... weird. I picked out endless flaws in the images. I felt defeated. I was going to scrap the post. I felt gutted I wasted a couple of hours.

And then something came over me. I wanted to write a blog post about taking space, and maybe it's more important I choose to take up this space, even if I do some imperfectly  It's the showing up that counts after all. We're all learning. These weren't the best photos, and I am the most awkward model, but still, I'm putting myself out there, and working to improve.

 Recently I've felt down about my writing, not necessarily the actual words but more that I don't recognise my spelling mistakes and grammar errors. Often I post poetry on Instagram, which is a vulnerable thing to do,  and I feel humiliated when I realise, I can't even get the spellings of the most simple words right, despite the hours I put into proofreading and redrafting. 

However, just because my words aren't always perfect and polished, it doesn't discredit their value. Trying is underrated. Putting time and energy into creating is important. Things don't always turn out how we planned, but that doesn't mean they don't matter, that doesn't mean our time is wasted.
With curated feeds, we often think negatively of imperfect imagery and try to live up to a staged perception of life, but that's not life reality, and sometimes we need to ditch the filters and remind the world of our most authentic self.

I guess the post is my way of saying, you don't have to be perfect take up space. to create, and feel good about yourself. And on looking back, I'm much happier with the images, they aren't perfect, but I'm choosing to share them here because not everything needs to be perfect. I'm entitled to take up space in whatever way I deem worthy.

I often feel inadequate, and I've still got a lot to learn, but that doesn't make me invaluable.

   

   Outfit Details

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We have a tendency to stick with things because of what they once were, and what we hope they'll become again, rather than what they now are.

Relationships lose their spark, friendships fizzle and the sun sets on even the brightest of days.

When the vivid colours of a relationship fade, it easy to wish them back as you watch them dull. although something which was once wonderful is no longer there. As time ticks on while you sit back and watch something decay, the more you resent it for what it could have been for what it once was.

The thing is, what it could have been or once was, don't actually exist anymore, beyond the image in your head. It's not real. So why hold onto something mediocre for an idea, rather than something tangible.  It does not exist, nor will it ever.

Life is short, and do you really have the time to waste on something that's not bringing you all of the joy you deserve,  because it once did? Letting it become something which doesn't have the spinning in a world of happiness, only tarnishes what it once was. Once it becomes the bearer of disappointment, you soon forget the days it gave you a spring in your step.

I've fallen in love before and held onto it for too long, and now I look back to that time with a bad taste in my mouth. The passion our feelings transformed from love to anger and hurt. I feel the sting by the toxic explosion each time it crossed my mind. Saying goodbye when the love fizzled would have been enough. The joy I felt when I lived in the midst of love would be at the forefront of my mind, it would not be overshadowed by the ugly thing it grew into.

It goes beyond the realm of romantic relationships. My friend and I recently spent the day together, and it was really the most wonderful day. We talk for hours on end, occasionally interrupting each other, as we're bursting to point out what a lovely time we were having. As it was heading towards the evening, we searched for somewhere new to have a drink, and suddenly there was an overwhelm of Friday night crowds, which transformed the previously serene atmosphere. We became aware of our purse strings, and the noise surrounding us. The magic of the day was over, so we skipped the drinks, and said goodbye. On my journey home a beautiful sunset filled the clear sky. Realistically if we stay out, we would I woke up thinking "urgh I feel so hungover" "Oh I hope I didn't spend too much" "I drank so much, how embarrassing". Instead, I woke up, feeling fresh at 8am, feeling happy about how great the day before was. And I got to see that beautiful sunset.

You know sometimes predrinks are better than the night out? 

Outfit Details:

Dress: Topshop

Jacket (old. similar linked): Whistles

Shoes (old, similar linked): New Look

Necklace: ASOS

Earrings: ASOS

Lipstick: Channel Rogue Allure Velvet in 37 L'Exubérante

I span in my garden one Tuesday because it felt nice.

Don't save your best, for best - you deserve to feel nice every day. 

Make the most out of the things that make you feel wonderful. 

Dress for you. 

Put the things on your body which make you want to spin with happiness. 

Every day can is an occasion if you make it one.

Your life is an occasion, don't forget to dress for it. Given the choice, why would you choose not to feel special?

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Recently I've been feeling a little lost, style-wise.  I have always felt I know what I like, until recently when getting dressed in the morning seems to become more of a challenge each day. A few days ago I found myself staring blankly at the contents of my wardrobe, as I do most days, and a black skirt, which had been pretty unloved hiding at the back of my wardrobe, caught my eye.  It's a piece I rarely wear, and I'm not sure why. Last time I wore this skirt, I received a lot of compliments, and felt, well special - and who doesn't want to feel special.

I decided to pop this black skirt with a black blouse over a black cami, at first I wasn't sure if it gave off too many funeral vibes, - I mean black on black can do that, so I decided to be a little more daring and take off my black vest, and wear it with a pretty bra, to show the sheerness of the fabric - I've gotta admit, it a little more see-through than I would like, but it certainly makes the outfit a little more interesting. I love the pretty collar, and buttons down the front of this blouse - it's a nice detail and takes aways from the hey look at my boobs aspect for when I do decide to wear it with only a bra underneath.

It's definitely a bit of witchy look, but who doesn't love giving off those Halloween vibes, even during Spring?!

What do you think of this outfit? I think I might prevent somewhat to wear worries in occasionally.






Skirt (similar here)
Blouse
Boots (similar here)
Bra (similar here)
Earrings
Watch
Lipstick - Charlotte Tilbury Matte Revolution in Glastonberry