Taking Your Own Pictures

I was finally brave enough to venture on my first solo photo shoot (thank you to my godmother for my awesome tripod!). It was so much fun! People stared, but I didn't care. I knew exactly what I wanted to highlight in each shot, I didn't have to explain to my boyfriend or my mom what I wanted (although I'm very thankful for their past efforts!), and best of all, I didn't have to wait for someone to become available to be my photographer for half an hour. 

By no means am I all of a sudden an expert on solo shooting. I have so much to learn, and I'm so excited to continue learning. Still, I learned a few lessons during my first time, and I'd like to share them with you. They're no-brainers, but I hope you'll find them useful.

1. Choose a very public location. One of my biggest concerns with going solo on an outfit shoot was appearing vulnerable and being an easy target for all kinds of attacks. You'll get more stares in a very public space, but you should be safer from creeps and thieves. And, if worse comes to worse, just pick up your tripod and smack the perpetrator with it.
2. Protect your belongings. Take as little as possible with you. Keep all your belongings under your tripod and never stray too far from the tripod. Excessive distance makes for bad shots anyway.
3. Use a remote control. Going back and forth between shots is a colossal waste of time.
4. Use a placeholder (e.g., a leaf, a petal, a rock) somewhere in the frame of your shot to know where you should place yourself. 
5. Be smart about time of day. If you shoot during the middle of the day, harsh sunlight casts unwanted shadows, makes you hotter faster, and makes for more editing time later. Early mornings are my favorite time to shoot, but you'd never know that because I never wake up early enough. If you must shoot during the middle of the day, look for a shaded area that's still bright.

Harsh sunlight casts distracting shadows.

Again, harsh sunlight is not very attractive.

Recognize this dress?

I hope you'll find these 5 tips useful in your own quest to become a more independent blogger. If and when I do get better at this, I'll write another post detailing what else I've learned.

Happy Friday, and thanks for reading!

Blazer: Forever 21 (old)

Dress: Janette Girls (from Lady Lux Boutique, a local small-business shop)

Belt: Forever 21 (came with gray pants)

Heels: Target (now only $14.99!)

Envelope clutch: vintage (from my mom's 80's wardrobe)