Feeling Stylish

Google just keep taking away features that we all seem to use. First it was Google Friend Connect for non-blogger blogs. No more of that and my following got me quite a lot of traffic, thanks.

Now they are pulling Google Reader. The RSS reader has been losing users and Google clearly want to focus their efforts on other projects.  On July 1st the reader will be retired and I know a lot of bloggers are wondering if they should stick with Google.

You might user Google Reader to keep up with your favourite fashion and beauty blogs. Or perhaps you see a lot of traffic coming from it.

Alternatives to Google Reader

I can’t recommend Bloglovin enough. I’ve spoken about it many a time on here but it really is the best place to read your favourite blogs… If they are signed up.

One of the biggest downsides to this reader is that you can’t just pull the RSS feed from any blog. You have to find your fave then follow them.

However, any blog who has any pride or business savvy is on Bloglovin’. You shouldn’t struggle to find the ones you want to follow. It’s also a good chance to discover new blogs.

They’ve made it easy to transfer your Google Reader blogs to Bloglovin’.

You should also take a look at this article from CNET, it gives great alternatives to Google Reader.

Give up on Google?

Now, I love Google. However, I don’t really get on with Blogger, I never have. A lot of bloggers are talking about moving away from Google now that they are taking away services. I wouldn’t recommend this. Although WordPress.org (the self-hosted version) is much, much better, you’ve got no reason to move away from Blogger just yet.

However, if they keep taking away services (I’ve heard rumours of Feed Burner and Google Friend Connect) then there’s not really any reason to stay as WordPress.org is much better as a blogging platform.

If you do want to make the change

WordPress.org is a little more complicated than WordPress.com and Blogger. Instead of just signing up and getting a blog you have to sort yourself out with hosting. I use TSOHost and to set up WordPress blog with them is very straight forward. If you want some advice on how to do this just email me jess(at)feelingstylish.co.uk.

I will be doing a full tutorial on this at a later date. However, for the time being, check out the WordPress.org documentation.

Benefits of WordPress.org

• You have more control over your SEO
• You’ll get your own domain name
• You have thousands of more choices when it comes to layout
• There are thousands of plugins that change the look/functionality of your blog
•  More control over documents, media files, bandwidth and email addresses

 Start now

If you do think you’ll eventually make the move, do it now. You can then use your old blog to slowly drive those followers to the new URL. You can also remind them that you can be followed over at Bloglovin’ or whichever other RSS aggregator you recommend. You can make sure everyone is following you somewhere by the time Google Reader is retired in July.

Following on from my fashion blog photography tips I thought I’d do another one for those of you that don’t have a DSLR and won’t be purchasing one any time soon. Here are some point and shoot camera tips for fashion bloggers.

Equipment

I do occasionally take outfit photos with my basic compact camera. I have a Canon IXUS 220 HS (bought a while ago, now retailing for £184.99 on Amazon).

To be honest, I don’t really rate it. The previous model was much better.

I don’t think the type of compact camera you have makes a huge amount of difference here. If you go for the high-end point and shoot cameras like the Nikon 1 J1 or Canon EOS M (both of which are actually classed as compact DSLRs) then you will see a difference but you can get half decent results with most sub-£200 point-and-shoot cameras.

Just make sure you get one with a self-timer.

As I mentioned in the previous post, the tripod is your friend. Mine is a very basic tripod that was bought for about £10.

Self-shooting with a tripod

Set up the tripod and attach your camera to it. Most compacts will have a screw point in the bottom where you an attach it. If it doesn’t then you’ll have to fashion some way to hold it. I’m sure you can work that out.

You’ll then need to set the self-timer and jump in front of the camera. Pull a pose, wait for the picture to take then go from there.

Learn to edit

It might sound time consuming but learning to edit your photos will really make up for colour issues with less-than-sophisticated cameras. I’d recommend Adobe Photoshop or Lightroom but they are expensive. There are free photo editors though, like GIMP.

My camera seems to get really confused in my conservatory. I think it assumes that I’m outside so produces a really dark photo. All I had to do in order to lighten it up was adjust the curves in Lightroom. What you’re looking for is nice S-shape on the curve graph.

Again, experiment. Look online for photo editing tutorials. It’s easy enough to teach yourself basic photo editing skills.

Improvise

It’s not always easy to take a full-body shot. Experiment with angles, hold the camera up high to get a wider shot, or get someone else to take the photo for you.

Ask a friend

The joy in asking a friend to take a photo of you with a basic camera is that they won’t look at it in terror. Most people know how to use a camera and shouldn’t struggle to take a few quick snaps with half-decent composition.

Details

It’s so much easier to get detail shots with a compact camera than it is with a DSLR. It’s just easier to hold it out and snap a necklace or your shoes. If you can only get one good full-length shot then the rest of your images should focus on the little details.

Most point-and-shoot cameras have a macro setting (usually a little flower symbol) this is great for picking out close up details such as charms on bracelets, heel detail on shoes and patterns on clothes.

Make-up

A lot of fashion bloggers are great at make-up but think that because they aren’t a beauty blog, they shouldn’t be talking about their faces.

Don’t forget to get one or two shots of your face. Especially if you are wearing a particularly bold lipstick or are trying something new with your hair.

You don’t have to go into detail about what you did to achieve the look but it gives readers more of an idea of your whole style.

I love bright hair. When I was in highschool my hair used to be platinum blonde with pink bits (earning me the name Bagpuss). Since then I’ve been through so many different colours including black/blue/green, purple, brown/red, black/red, black/blue and currently red/ginger.

I’ve hopped on the dip-dye bandwagon. I’ve been looking at the Schwarzkopf Ultra Brights for a while, ever since Bunn the Baker reviewed the Fiery Copper colour. I’ve been itching to dye my hair a really bright colour.

These Ultra Brights work best on pre-lightened hair and are perfect for dip-dyes. I’ve recently bleached my hair with the intention to dye those lighter bits some crazy colour, I just can’t decide what. I have all these ideas and that means I’m being very indecisive.

Tip: Backcomb your hair slightly before dyeing as you’ll get a more graduated colour

Wish I’d seen this video before attempting my own dip-dye last week! I’m so tempted by the Raspberry Rebel featured in the video but I’m not sure how that would look with the rest of my hair being red. Purple and red won’t really go all that well together, I don’t think. Perhaps my gingery red would look good with Pillar Box Red at the ends.

Because these dyes are semi-permanent, it’s a good chance to experiment with colour. I might try purple and if it really looks rubbish I’ll pretend it doesn’t until it’s washed out. Then I can go with red!

Semi-permanent dye is also much better for your hair. Permanent colours tend to look a bit dull. If you want to go for bright and shiny then semi-perm is the way forward.

This is a sponsored post on behalf of Schwarzkopf. Of course, all opinions are my own.

I did touch on some fashion blog photography tips over at SinSins World but I thought it might be a good idea to expand on the subject here on Feeling Stylish. If you run a fashion blog then it’s likely that outfit photos will take up a large portion of your content. Outfit posts are also what makes a blog stand out from all the others.

Invest in the right equipment

You can get by with a basic point-and-shoot camera but these limit you when it comes to settings. Invest in a DSLR and a couple of lenses.   I shoot with a Canon 450d (although I am looking to upgrade to a Canon 5D Mark II as soon as I get the money) with either a 50mm lens or the 18-55mm lens. I bought mine a while back but the modern equivalent is the Canon EOS 600D .

You’ll also need a tripod and remote shutter.

How to get a blurred background

A 50mm lens with a low f-stop is the best for this job. I have the Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II Lens, which is quite cheap at around £80. If you want to do even better then there are f/1.4 and f/1.2 versions. Now, those numbers stand for the aperture. Basically, the lower the number the more light your lens will be letting in.

The wider the aperture (lower the number) the shallower depth of field you’ll have. This means that your subject will be in focus while the background is blurry.

If you stand right in front of a brick wall with the hope that it’ll get that nice blur then it won’t work. You need to be a good few metres from your background.

Be careful with focus here, it takes practice to get the right things in focus. If you’re using a low aperture for a portrait shot then it might be that the nose is in focus but the hair or ears aren’t.

Experiment

The joy of digital photography is that you can take hundreds of terrible photos before getting the perfect one. Obviously, you’re goal is to be able to get the shot you need in a couple of snaps, but it doesn’t matter if it takes you a while to get the hang of it.

Switch your camera to manual and fiddle around with the shutter speed and aperture settings. Find out what levels of light and depth of field work in what conditions and what flatters your outfits and skintone.

You should also experiment with facial expressions and poses. Most of us don’t start out as models so posing might feel awkward at first. Just try different things, you’ll soon find out what shapes are flattering.

Use a tripod

If you don’t have a friend or family member who knows how to use the camera (or someone willing to take a bit of instruction from you) then you’ll need a tripod. Set your camera up on one of these and then set the timer. You can then run round to where you should be, strike a pose and wait for the picture to take.

This shot was taken with the tripod at about knee level. It was a great way to get this unusual angle.

Make your life easier with a remote for your camera. I use the Canon Remote Control RC-06 and it really does save running backwards and forward between your camera, which is especially annoying if you are wearing ridiculous shoes.

Shoot with others

Embo of www.swirlyface.co.uk and Ali of www.bunnthebaker.co.uk

Find some fashionable friends and take them out on a shoot. You can hone your composure skills as well as experiment with your camera settings. Get them to try different poses, shoot from different angles. Then let them have a go with the camera so you can get a few outfit photos and have a go at posing yourself.

It’s all in the details

This is something I often forget to do but detail shots are the things that will set you apart from other bloggers. Anyone can wear a nice dress with Lita boots but the way you accessorise that outfit is what makes you stand out. With full length shots, you can often miss things like jewellery and bags.

Make sure to get at least one detail shot to go alongside your full length shots.

I hope you’ve enjoyed these fashion blog photography tips. If you have any questions, feel free to post them in the comments below!