Advice about Starting & Promoting a Fashion Blog - See Post #1 for Thread Rules
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FrenchCactus
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Hello there! I've been blogging for about 18 months, sometimes with long pauses between posts because I was so busy with my job. I need to get more serious and regular at it since I'm going to start looking for another job soon and I like to promote my blog to recruiters as a main interest outside work.
I would love to get general feedback on my blog to see how I can improve it. The link is in my signature. Thank you for your help!
I would love to get general feedback on my blog to see how I can improve it. The link is in my signature. Thank you for your help!
When it comes to content, which is extremely important, there should be a good balance between writing and photos. And to be honest most bloggers (especially notable ones) have sub par writing.
For that reason, I do not like Tumblr.
For that reason, I do not like Tumblr.
That's why I use Blogger. I only have around 350-500 visitors a day, but I'm happy with that. FrenchCactus
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^ What is blogcatalog.com? Is it like Bloglovin?
Okay, I'm fairly new at fashion style blogging, but I thought I should give it a try, mainly because I'm a fashion photography student and this would make good practice plus might get my photography a bit more attention.
Now, I'm not the prettiest of models and I have an 'awkward' style (a mix of goth with vintage/classical/old eras). I know that 5 posts in I should not be expecting much, but I would love to get some feedback on it! And do you think that people might be interested in such awkward styling? I don't afford expensive clothes and accessories at the moment, so I have to make-do with what I already have or find on sales, but I am hoping that eventually I will be able to have classy items (think Edwardian, think 50s, hats and gloves, big hairstyles, so on).
And another thing I have proposed myself for this blog is to always find an interesting and beautiful location for the shoot, rather than just doing in the middle of a street crowded by cars.
What do you think? Does my idea have any future?
Here's the link: http://ladynoree.blogspot.co.uk/
Now, I'm not the prettiest of models and I have an 'awkward' style (a mix of goth with vintage/classical/old eras). I know that 5 posts in I should not be expecting much, but I would love to get some feedback on it! And do you think that people might be interested in such awkward styling? I don't afford expensive clothes and accessories at the moment, so I have to make-do with what I already have or find on sales, but I am hoping that eventually I will be able to have classy items (think Edwardian, think 50s, hats and gloves, big hairstyles, so on).
And another thing I have proposed myself for this blog is to always find an interesting and beautiful location for the shoot, rather than just doing in the middle of a street crowded by cars.
What do you think? Does my idea have any future?
Here's the link: http://ladynoree.blogspot.co.uk/
BetteT
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Welcome to the Fashion Spot! 
The styling is "you" and therefore is interesting. You do not have to style from high end labels .... it's more about an interesting or unexpected mix. However, people will tire of seeing that same style ... so mix it up a lot.
I especially like the second set of pics .... to celebrate your graduation. I like the mix of the things around you and espeically the shot of the bracelet .... very inventive. And it looks professionaly done, to me.
And I love the Mademoiselle la Comtesse shot ..... for the depth of the background, the lighting and the dramatic look of the model, which, despite the dramatic background, is the main focus of this photo ... due to the forced perspective.
I am a stylist in Los Angeles, and I do mostly commercial stuff (not high fashion, just regular clothes) ... but I've worked with a lot of fashion photographers and have seen their portfolios ... and we often critique each other's shots.
So, I can offer some ideas and thoughts about your photos and your blog:
1. You say you wish to show off your photography. Therefore, your blog will serve as a portfolio too. So, remember, as they have always told me .... your portfolio is only as good as your worst shot in there ... so edit your photos, ruthlessly. This advice is to serve as a critique of the blog as if it were a fashion photography portfolio ... so I'm only talking about the photos you take and post in this blog.
2. When you shoot "fashion", you must remember that is is about the clothes .... not the background. Yes ... the background can offer a sense of the theme that you are trying to get across, so it's important. But if the clothes are not the main focus ... you have not succeeded in shooting a good fashion photo. That is exactly why I like the bracelet shot ... it's all about the bracelet .... excellent!
3. Do "fashion stories" ... that means you should have a theme or a concept to the photoshoot. You must start with an idea of what the pictures will be about. You can start with the clothes ... then decide what the setting should be. Or you can find a setting, and then style the looks to work within the setting. But they must work together, to get your vision across.
Example: If you are shooting a dark goth outfit, you have a couple of choices. You can go with the goth, and find a dark and mysterious location ... and this is the easiest way to have a good story. Or you can decide if you want to make the setting in opposition to the clothes. But this does not always work ... it's has to be strong opposites and there has to be compelling reason why the model is there in that outfit and the entire picture has to explain it (lighting and posing is just as important as background). So, trying this does not work most of the time. Pretty background with strong, dark styling is very, very hard to do well, to make a good story. Find a less pretty backdrop ... maybe under a bridge, against some grafitti, in an alleyway .... things like that. Still interesting ... but better suited to "goth".
My suggestion ... begin with working "with" the style of the clothes, not against it. Once you get that down, then you can experiment with opposites.
4. Backgrounds: Careful about not placing your model in or close to a background. It's too distracting. If you are close, use a shorter depth of field to bring the model into sharp focus, and blur the background (If you are studying photoghraphy, you will know how to do this with appetures and f stops, etc.) Be careful that the background doesn't overshadow the model, as it does in the lilacs shots. And don't sit in the garden ... it looks like a common snapshot that your mother would take.
Now, the Mademoiselle la Comtesse shot is a great example of how to use a background to your advantage .... and how to get a story out of opposites. It makes visual sense with that outfit. Why? Because it looks like a little girl who is lost, way out in the countryside, all alone, unsure of herself, perhaps a posh city girl in a lonely and slightly foreboding place ... a "story". And because the background just works with the story ... it's scary and pretty at the same time. And because, as I said before, it makes the model the focus of the picture.
5. Suggestion ... unless the story is about the handbag, get rid of it. It only distracts from the outfit. If it's about the bag, then do closeups, making sure the clothes complement the bag, not the other way around.
6. Get someone else to model ... and switch it up often. You are very cute, that is not the problem. The problem is that if you are both the photographer and the stylist, too ... you can't effectively be the model and still get good pictures. In fact, a professional photographer would not even try to style the shoot himself ... he might approve the "looks" but he'd have the stylist there as his second set of eyes to make sure the clothes look good, while he made sure the posing, lighting and background was working. Doing both is hard enough ... you need to stay behind the lens, if this blog is about your photography.
To learn more about fashion photography .... study the fashion magazines ... look at the backgrounds, the lighting, the posing, the focus and depth of field, and see if you like how they put their "stories" together.
Now, I've broken a rule here and taken this nicely off topic ... my comments are more about photography and styling than about your blog (only slightly related). So ... if you want to discuss fashion photography more, you might be interested in some of these threads:
All About Becoming a Fashion Photographer
Discussion: Shooting & Retouching Techniques for Professional Photographers
Photographers: how to find clothes /wardrobe or a stylist for a photoshoot?
The Process of doing Editorials or Photo Shoots for Magazines
Fashion Photography Books - Recommendations
Tech Talk for Pro Photographers: Gear, Lighting, Resources, Etc. See Post#1.
Hope this gives you something to use to make your blog even better.
The styling is "you" and therefore is interesting. You do not have to style from high end labels .... it's more about an interesting or unexpected mix. However, people will tire of seeing that same style ... so mix it up a lot.
I especially like the second set of pics .... to celebrate your graduation. I like the mix of the things around you and espeically the shot of the bracelet .... very inventive. And it looks professionaly done, to me.
And I love the Mademoiselle la Comtesse shot ..... for the depth of the background, the lighting and the dramatic look of the model, which, despite the dramatic background, is the main focus of this photo ... due to the forced perspective.
I am a stylist in Los Angeles, and I do mostly commercial stuff (not high fashion, just regular clothes) ... but I've worked with a lot of fashion photographers and have seen their portfolios ... and we often critique each other's shots.
So, I can offer some ideas and thoughts about your photos and your blog:
1. You say you wish to show off your photography. Therefore, your blog will serve as a portfolio too. So, remember, as they have always told me .... your portfolio is only as good as your worst shot in there ... so edit your photos, ruthlessly. This advice is to serve as a critique of the blog as if it were a fashion photography portfolio ... so I'm only talking about the photos you take and post in this blog.
2. When you shoot "fashion", you must remember that is is about the clothes .... not the background. Yes ... the background can offer a sense of the theme that you are trying to get across, so it's important. But if the clothes are not the main focus ... you have not succeeded in shooting a good fashion photo. That is exactly why I like the bracelet shot ... it's all about the bracelet .... excellent!
3. Do "fashion stories" ... that means you should have a theme or a concept to the photoshoot. You must start with an idea of what the pictures will be about. You can start with the clothes ... then decide what the setting should be. Or you can find a setting, and then style the looks to work within the setting. But they must work together, to get your vision across.
Example: If you are shooting a dark goth outfit, you have a couple of choices. You can go with the goth, and find a dark and mysterious location ... and this is the easiest way to have a good story. Or you can decide if you want to make the setting in opposition to the clothes. But this does not always work ... it's has to be strong opposites and there has to be compelling reason why the model is there in that outfit and the entire picture has to explain it (lighting and posing is just as important as background). So, trying this does not work most of the time. Pretty background with strong, dark styling is very, very hard to do well, to make a good story. Find a less pretty backdrop ... maybe under a bridge, against some grafitti, in an alleyway .... things like that. Still interesting ... but better suited to "goth".
My suggestion ... begin with working "with" the style of the clothes, not against it. Once you get that down, then you can experiment with opposites.
4. Backgrounds: Careful about not placing your model in or close to a background. It's too distracting. If you are close, use a shorter depth of field to bring the model into sharp focus, and blur the background (If you are studying photoghraphy, you will know how to do this with appetures and f stops, etc.) Be careful that the background doesn't overshadow the model, as it does in the lilacs shots. And don't sit in the garden ... it looks like a common snapshot that your mother would take.
Now, the Mademoiselle la Comtesse shot is a great example of how to use a background to your advantage .... and how to get a story out of opposites. It makes visual sense with that outfit. Why? Because it looks like a little girl who is lost, way out in the countryside, all alone, unsure of herself, perhaps a posh city girl in a lonely and slightly foreboding place ... a "story". And because the background just works with the story ... it's scary and pretty at the same time. And because, as I said before, it makes the model the focus of the picture.
5. Suggestion ... unless the story is about the handbag, get rid of it. It only distracts from the outfit. If it's about the bag, then do closeups, making sure the clothes complement the bag, not the other way around.
6. Get someone else to model ... and switch it up often. You are very cute, that is not the problem. The problem is that if you are both the photographer and the stylist, too ... you can't effectively be the model and still get good pictures. In fact, a professional photographer would not even try to style the shoot himself ... he might approve the "looks" but he'd have the stylist there as his second set of eyes to make sure the clothes look good, while he made sure the posing, lighting and background was working. Doing both is hard enough ... you need to stay behind the lens, if this blog is about your photography.
To learn more about fashion photography .... study the fashion magazines ... look at the backgrounds, the lighting, the posing, the focus and depth of field, and see if you like how they put their "stories" together.
Now, I've broken a rule here and taken this nicely off topic ... my comments are more about photography and styling than about your blog (only slightly related). So ... if you want to discuss fashion photography more, you might be interested in some of these threads:
All About Becoming a Fashion Photographer
Discussion: Shooting & Retouching Techniques for Professional Photographers
Photographers: how to find clothes /wardrobe or a stylist for a photoshoot?
The Process of doing Editorials or Photo Shoots for Magazines
Fashion Photography Books - Recommendations
Tech Talk for Pro Photographers: Gear, Lighting, Resources, Etc. See Post#1.
Hope this gives you something to use to make your blog even better.
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Oh wow, Bette! Thank you so very much! That is very helpful advice! (To be honest, you have explained it better than some of my lecturers!).
I should have been clearer in one respect, the blog is for my personal style and also posting photography news/images from time to time, but I also have my photography website and blog, where I do use other models (although I do often play the stylist as I rarely find anyone to work with, since I'm not in a big city yet). What I was hoping is that by getting my style blog out and putting links and bits of my photography in it, that might get attention as well. And the practice is for editing and to find poses that work and ways to work with the environment.
But I will definitely keep in mind your suggestions! Thank you, you're the best!
I should have been clearer in one respect, the blog is for my personal style and also posting photography news/images from time to time, but I also have my photography website and blog, where I do use other models (although I do often play the stylist as I rarely find anyone to work with, since I'm not in a big city yet). What I was hoping is that by getting my style blog out and putting links and bits of my photography in it, that might get attention as well. And the practice is for editing and to find poses that work and ways to work with the environment.
But I will definitely keep in mind your suggestions! Thank you, you're the best!
I see lots of you give such good feedback so maybe you could take a look at my blog and tell me what you think? what can i do to make it better?
http://letherspeak.blogspot.com/
I have been blogging actively about almost a year now.
I write about ...everything. I dont want my readers to get bored. DIY, OOTD, trends, how to wear something, interviews with fellow bloggers etc etc.
Sad part is that Estonia doesnt have this blog culture that (pretty much) all the world has. For example designers dont support (they have no interest in it) blogers. There are no award ceremonies for good blogers. There are no blogger trips together. Press wont do feature stories with bloggers. Bloggers dont get invites to fashion shows /showrooms and i could go on. (one of the reasons why i hate living in Estonia).
I want to become a better blogger for me and my readers and i want to experience different things but i just dont know how to pursue that career. If any of you have good ideas/tips then let me know, im always opened for new ideas.
http://letherspeak.blogspot.com/
I have been blogging actively about almost a year now.
I write about ...everything. I dont want my readers to get bored. DIY, OOTD, trends, how to wear something, interviews with fellow bloggers etc etc.
Sad part is that Estonia doesnt have this blog culture that (pretty much) all the world has. For example designers dont support (they have no interest in it) blogers. There are no award ceremonies for good blogers. There are no blogger trips together. Press wont do feature stories with bloggers. Bloggers dont get invites to fashion shows /showrooms and i could go on. (one of the reasons why i hate living in Estonia).
I want to become a better blogger for me and my readers and i want to experience different things but i just dont know how to pursue that career. If any of you have good ideas/tips then let me know, im always opened for new ideas.
freakinglondon
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I've had a blog for a very long time and i've got several invitations to milan, paris, london and berlin fashion week but I really dont like the image of most of the bloggers at the moment. It should be more like a Photography Blog - so I got a new blog but it's hard to find enough followers in the beginning. Any advice?
wainblatrobert
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Hi fellow TFSers, I know you guys give great advice and feedback so I was hoping you could take a look at a website/concept I've designed and recommend changes or tweaks that would make it more user friendly.
The website is CampusSartorialist and just like Scott Schuman's website, The Sartorialist, CS chronicles street-style on college and university campuses around the world.
We've recently added a lot of new contributors and as the website gains momentum we're looking at tweaking and updating it for a better user experience.
Thanks for your help and if you'd like to send us your feedback please send a personal message or e-mail us at [email protected]
Best,
Robert
Founder, EIC
Campus Sartorialist
The website is CampusSartorialist and just like Scott Schuman's website, The Sartorialist, CS chronicles street-style on college and university campuses around the world.
We've recently added a lot of new contributors and as the website gains momentum we're looking at tweaking and updating it for a better user experience.
Thanks for your help and if you'd like to send us your feedback please send a personal message or e-mail us at [email protected]
Best,
Robert
Founder, EIC
Campus Sartorialist
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How are you following them? Like "Follow" on Tumblr, or are you doing something else? RSS feed?
BetteT
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Welcome to the fashion Spot!
We encourage discussions right in the threads and feedback threads like this are inteneded to serve that purpose ... to provide feedback publically, so all can read and learn. We share here, this is what tFS is all about.
So, I will offer my thoughts here: I like the concecpt a lot and think it would be of interest to a lot of people.
Two things that you might want to take a close look at:
1. I am not sure Scott Schuman will love your use of "his" monicker or not ... it might be copyrighted, so I suggest that you look into that first..
2. Also, I had a problem reading the font ... had to actually read your post, before I realized that it said Campus Satorialist ... so you might want to tweak that a bit to make it more legible.
We encourage discussions right in the threads and feedback threads like this are inteneded to serve that purpose ... to provide feedback publically, so all can read and learn. We share here, this is what tFS is all about.
So, I will offer my thoughts here: I like the concecpt a lot and think it would be of interest to a lot of people.
Two things that you might want to take a close look at:
1. I am not sure Scott Schuman will love your use of "his" monicker or not ... it might be copyrighted, so I suggest that you look into that first..
2. Also, I had a problem reading the font ... had to actually read your post, before I realized that it said Campus Satorialist ... so you might want to tweak that a bit to make it more legible.
wainblatrobert
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Thanks for the feedback Bette, we added our e-mail because we didn't want to clutter the thread/were unsure on the rules of the forum.
We did check for copyright and he has "The Sartorialist" trademarked which means the word Sartorialist by itself is and other variants of it are up for grabs
We'll look into making our header/logo more legible, thanks!
We did check for copyright and he has "The Sartorialist" trademarked which means the word Sartorialist by itself is and other variants of it are up for grabs
We'll look into making our header/logo more legible, thanks!
yeah there is this button "follow" and on your "blogger home" there is a dashboard-alike. there is also this button to following other blogs (you put the url of the blog in and push "follow"). but somehow it doesnt work for me. or i do something wrong.. idk.
YoninahAliza
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I was wondering what is the best platform for a blog? I've used both blogger and tumblr before and I am looking to start another blog soon. I like tumblr because you can interact more with your followers. But it seems like blogger might be more professional. So do you think it's more of a preference thing really?
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