3 Ways to Improve Your Flat Lay Photos

It took me a long time to get good at flat lay photos. I have some doozies on my Instagram from back in the day. I've just recently started to get good at it... probably because I only just recently started really, you know, trying. Mainly, I started spending a lot of time looking at flat lay photos that I like (you can view a collection of them on my Pinterest) and really figuring out how to do it. 

A few notes: 

• I really believe in having your own "style." A lot of flat lays seem to follow a similar formula: white or marble background, gold or rose gold accents, truly random props. I'm not into that. I use two plaid scarves as my backgrounds because that feels a little more "my style" for Fall and Winter. Come Spring, I'll figure something out. 
• Don't feel the need to take flat lay photos if you just don't like them! I like them: they're simple, they're pretty, and the more you practice, the easier they are to take. 
• It doesn't have to be perfect. You don't need a DSLR. I use my iPhone. 

Ok, let's talk tips now. 

1. Have the right apps 

I use my iPhone to take all my flat lay photos. Here's why: It's easier. I can take one really quickly while Forrest is halfway destroying my kitchen, then get back to business. I take photos with my iPhone camera. I have the grid option turned on--you can turn this on in settings--because it helps center things and make sure you're getting a good angle. Then, I edit using A Color Story from A Beautiful Mess. You can use a variety of filters (and buy some extras), but I use the same filters every time: Magic Hour (25%), Ginger Tea (25%), Disco Ball (50%), then either Everyday (50%), Lite Bright (50%), or Ruby Haze (50% or less). If you feel your photo wasn't taken in the best light and has that slightly "yellow" look, you can adjust the white balance in A Color Story as well. 

2. Take photos near a window. 

Point blank: the best light is indirect sunlight. I take photos in my bedroom, with the curtains open, on my bed. So set up your photo station near a window and snap away. If I miss daylight hours (which I often do), it's a bust: I'll never be able to edit photos taken at night, under artificial lights, to look as good as I want them to. Sometimes, I still post them anyway, but only when desperate. 

3. Crop accordingly. 

I think the number one mistake that I continue to make is feeling like I should't "crop" a photo. But sometimes photos look better when you crop out extra space. Prime example: When I post flat lays of books (like this one or this one), I end up cropping out a lot of "extra space" so you can focus on the cover. Don't be afraid to crop and that means, maybe cropping something partly out of the photo (like I cropped out my Kindle partially in this photo). 

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Most importantly, don't be afraid of being perfectly imperfect. Like if your nail polish is looking rough. Or it's something you don't want to, um, put down on the ground. Or if you son decides he wants the book you're trying to take a photo of. It's ok. It doesn't have to be perfect. It's just Instagram! 

5 Tips for Starting a Newsletter

I launched my newsletter in mid-December, so when it comes to newsletters, I am by no means an expert! However, if you're looking for someone who is working through the process in real time, I'm the blogger for you. If you're wanting to launch your own newsletter, here are a few tips, from one newbie to another. 

1. Pick a platform you know. 

I was very lucky that I knew how to use an email platform previously. Mailchimp was what I had experience in and even though I know there are actually better platforms out there, I went with Mailchimp simply because I knew it was easy to use. If you don't have experience with email platforms, I highly recommend doing a little research beforehand, watching a few videos, and knowing what you're getting into! 

2. Stick with a schedule. 

Pick a schedule to start with--nothing too strict. Once a month, or every other week. Put those dates on your calendar and start a document with topics so you're never scrambling at the last minute. I've signed up for a few new newsletters and ended up getting inundated with emails in the first two weeks--bloggers get excited about their newsletter and end up sending out a ton of them early on. Not only is that really annoying for subscribers, but you'll end up getting exhausted at the amount of work you're putting in! 

3. Don't expect instant success. 

Here's the thing: it will take a while to get into a groove with writing newsletters. It's important to remember that it will not only take time to build your subscription list, but it will also take time to write newsletters that people really want to read. Focus on writing great content and figuring out what your readers want first--not necessarily on being instantly successful! 

4. Promote (of course). 

Funny thing, but you've got to promote your newsletter! I have sign ups on my blog, but I also tweet a link to sign up at least every few days. Encourage your friends to sign up and to share it on social media as well. Promotion is the only way you'll get anywhere, so don't just set it and forget it! 

5. Have fun

Listen, it's not the end of the world if you launch a newsletter and it ends up falling flat! Most importantly, just have fun. Send the newsletter that you would be excited to see in your inbox; write the things you want to see. When you are passionate and having fun, it will resonate with people! 

And of course, don't forget to sign up for my newsletter, sent out every other Wednesday, here!

30 Ideas for your Blog

"Consistent content" is a rule that gets thrown around a lot for successful blogging. And it sounds great in theory. But everyone gets to a point where they just run out of ideas--either through stress or anxiety or writer's block, every blogger has a moment where they think, "I just don't know what to write anymore." 

I've had a lot of times like this myself. In August, I started an editorial calendar, where I write a topic idea for every single day. I don't always have to use that idea, but it helps me having a running list. I have blogs planned through November with this method. Whenever I have a random idea for a blog, I add it to a list on my phone and then to my calendar. 

I thought I'd share a list of topic ideas for other bloggers to use when they're stuck, need to work on their editorial calendars, or just plain need a little inspiration. 

1. 5 products you love
2. 5 overrated products
3. Your blog story
4. Your blog goals
5. A day in your life
6. Your favorite podcasts/songs/movies/etc
7. Seasonal decorating
8. Your beauty routine
9. A letter to your past self
10. Things you've learned since graduating/getting a job/becoming a blogger/etc
11. The best/worst advise you've ever received
12. Your personal goals
13. Your bucket list
14. Your favorite apps
15. A longterm goal you want to reach (publishing a book, starting a business, etc.) 
16. Seasonal beauty projects
17. Monthly goals
18. A perfect playlist
19. Prepping for the holidays
20. How to take better photos/how you're improving your photos
21. A challenge you've overcome and how
22. 5 recipes you want to try
23. 5 things you're thankful for
24. How you organize your blogging materials
25. Why you decided to start blogging
26. Your favorite jeans/skirt/top/etc
27. 5 things you wish blogging did (want to make money? want to start a newsletter?) 
28. The hardest part of being (a blogger/a student/etc) 
29. 3 favorite Twitter chats
30. 5 products you cannot live without 

My Blog Story

I started blogging, approximately, in Spring 2009. But my blog didn't really get kickstarted until the fall of 2009, when I started interning for CollegeFashion.net. That's when I really gained some of my favorite readers, which blogs of their own that I love. 

When I sat down to write this blog post, I thought I would just whiz through my history of blogging: I'm someone who has changed my blog a lot throughout my time blogging. I started on Wordpress. Then I switched to Blogger, where I stayed until 2 years ago when I jumped to Squarespace. But ultimately, that's a big boring. If you want the full story, I can certainly tell it--but really, that's about it. I didn't know what I wanted to do and I changed my mind frequently. Who doesn't? 

Now that I feel like I'm finally in a good place with my blogging life, I feel like I'm able to look back and see what decisions I made that were right and which were wrong. I want to share a few things I've learned along the way. 

I wish I'd never taken an outfit photo.

I loved fashion blogging for a long time, but the truth is, I wish I'd never walked down that road. Ultimately, I think putting my appearance out there for judgement made me too aware of being judged and how I was perceived--and I've been fighting those effects ever since. I don't want to say that fashion blogging made me have body image issues--but it certainly didn't help the issues I already had. 

I know this statement will be heartbreaking to my friends I made when I was posting outfits every day. And I guess I should say--I'm glad I took outfit photos when I did. I really enjoyed doing them. But in the end, they made me obsess about myself in a way that wasn't healthy. 

I wish I'd switched to a better platform sooner. 

I visited my old blog, Ellipsis, the other day and, let me just say--it looks awful in comparison to this blog! Thank goodness I switched. I wish I'd done it sooner. 

I wish I'd let go of the things that made me unhappy.

Re: outfit photos, I wish I had just let go. When it stopped being fun, when it started making me look at myself and think, "gross," I wish I had just stopped. Why did I keep torturing myself?

I wish I'd known then what I know now about content marketing.

Really, seriously. I wish I'd been more aware of producing quality content, of writing good blogs, of having good social media. I wish I'd been more careful about what I wrote and how I wrote it. I've recently been reposting articles I wrote on my old blogs and reading some of the things I wrote--I'm just baffled about how I thought that was true! It's so odd to read your past self's thoughts. I'm sure I'll look back at this in 3 years and be like, "shut up, past Michelle." 

I wish I'd appreciated the community more. 

Sometimes I got really down on blogging and felt excluded from the community. But the fact is, when it comes to blogging, you make your own community, your own circle of friends. You might never be best friends with the "top tier" blogger you love--but you might make some of the best friends you've ever had if you just let go of that. 

2016 Blog Goals

It’s good to have goals. I love writing goals, but I have to be honest: my way of expressing my anxiety is to get really, really lazy. I find myself paralyzed by the fear that I will do badly, that I won’t meet my goal, and therefore, that I shouldn’t even try. I experience the static, hand-wringing kind of anxiety. Some people have to follow a schedule, have to complete tasks, have to always be working. My anxiety turns me into, essentially, a sloth. 

I’ve been planning a post for ages on my process of setting very small goals to break myself out of my anxiety and depression loop, but for now, a simple explanation is that I often choose one thing to do every week and then build on it. For example, a few weeks after I had Forrest, I set the goal that I would change my clothes every day; then the next week, if I succeeded, I would try to shower every day; and then the next week, if I succeeded in both of those goals, I would try to leave the house 2-3 times a week. This sounds like the lamest form of baby steps ever, but I find these kinds goals much easier to digest, personally. 

For my blog, you may have noticed that I’ve recently started posting a lot more. That was a goal I set for myself in August: I wanted to post every week day. Once August was done and I’d successfully kept up blogging every day (usually writing everything in advance the week before), I set the goal that in September, I would keep up a process of scheduling tweets alongside blog posts a week in advance. In October, my goal is to start cleaning up my Instagram feed (a process I’ve already somewhat started) to better promote my blog. 

To be completely transparent, I want to share my goals for the last few months of 2016, so that I, the anxiety sloth, can stay accountable. 

October

As I said, my goal for October to clean up my Instagram feed to better promote my blog. I will, obviously, still share photos of Forrest because he is my number 1 main man. However, I want to start posting, at most, 3 times a day, plus Instagram stories. Here’s my content plan for Instagram: 

• 0-1 Forrest post per day (this is entirely selfish & for my family) 
• 1 blog-related post per day
• 1 personal post per day (dinner, walking, thoughts, etc.) 

Hopefully, this will clean up my feed and allow my Instagram to be more than just a shrine to a baby named Forrest. 

November

I will share more about my goals for November later, but I’m going to be looking into switching from Squarespace to Wordpress. My Squarespace subscription renews in September, so I will keep Squarespace for at least another year. However, Squarespace is very expensive. Way more expensive than I really enjoy paying. That being said, Wordpress seems to be kind of a fight for me, especially with my insecure internet. I need to do some more research on the process. A breakdown of my goals for November: 

• Keep up blogging, Twitter, & Instagram schedule 
• Research Wordpress

December

My goal for December is entirely growth-based: I want to start sharing my posts on Pinterest more consistently and I want to see an increase in my traffic of at least 25%. I have a few ways that I want to do this, but they mostly include using my existing social media to better push traffic to my blog, participating in those Twitter chats that I know are important. 

January

Ok, not in 2016, but in January, I want to do something I’ve written about for a while now: I’m going to launch a newsletter. I’m going to change how I was originally going to do this, but I think it will work out really nicely. And hopefully, as my blog and brand grows, I can make positive changes in the direction I want to go. 

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I’ll be checking in on these goals periodically in the coming months. Keep my accountable, ok? 

4 Tips for New Bloggers

I've been blogging for over 8 years now. I started my first blog, on Wordpress, in April 2008, during my sophomore year of college. It's been so long that I like to think I know a thing or two about blogging, even if I'm not a "top tier" blogger (thanks, IFB, for giving us that weirdly insulting term!). 

Starting a blog is always really daunting and I don't think a lot of people really know what they're doing at the start -- I definitely didn't! I wrote some truly awful articles. And once I started doing outfit photos, I took some truly awful outfit photos of truly stupid outfits... simply because I thought it was fun. Actually, I kind of miss that impulsive silliness when it comes to blogging! We're all so serious now. 

However, I think for newbies who really want to dedicate themselves to blogging and have a blog that develops into something more than them sending words out into the Internet, there are four tips you really need to follow. 

1. Get on Twitter. 

You might hate Twitter. You might think it's totally stupid. But if you want a blog with readers, you should join Twitter. Twitter is the #1 way I stay in contact with other bloggers. It's the main way I find new blogs to read and it's actually one of my top traffic sources. Twitter is awesome. You can micro-blog. You can ask and answer questions. You can rant about your smelly coworkers. Whatever. It's Twitter. Say what you want; be funny, be friendly; and most importantly, post your links... and hashtag them. 

2. Comment, but don't spam.

And there is a difference. Leave comments. Meaningful, real comments. If you read a blog post and can't think of anything to say, don't just post something stupid. Move on. If you want to leave a comment, leave one. And maybe that blogger (or someone who reads their comments) will follow back to your blog. But that's not the point. When you blog, you're part of a community, which you interact with via comments (and on Twitter... see?). It doesn't make sense to blog and just let it sit there. But don't leave comments just to leave your link. And for the love of all that is holy, do not ever use the words "I follow back." 

3. Do your thing. 

And by your thing, I mean your thing. Want to take outfit photos? That's cool. But don't try to copy another blogger's style. Figure it out for yourself. Want to post DIY's? That's cool. But make up your own -- don't just copy ones you find. (Lame!) Want to post recipes? That's cool -- make sure to link to recipes you are following, and note what you've changed. My point is: do what you do, be you. Seriously, don't be a copycat, that's lame. 

4. Don't be a jerk. 

If someone has a criticism of your blog, you can do two things: you can write a level-headed response or you can flip out. Personally, my reaction tends to depend on the tone of the criticism. I've gotten some really nice, thoughtful critiques of my blog that I've taken to heart and used to become a better blogger and writer. And some have made me want to kick through my own window. It's all in phrasing. But, moral of the story: don't be a jerk when it comes to people pointing out flaws. People are people and we all see flaws in ourselves and each other. That's just the way life is. The number one way to react to criticism is to take it, let it wash over you, and react in the classiest way you can. And most importantly, be objective. What a troll says might actually be kind of true... even if they say it in a rude way.

Do you have any tips for new bloggers?

7 Tips for Starting a New Blog

This post was originally published on my old blog, Ellipsis, over 3 years ago. I've learned a lot since then, so I've adapted the post to fit the current blogging climate. 

When I started my blog, I really didn't have any advice to turn to. I started blogging because I wanted to be just like Gala Darling (cringe!) but I've definitely grown since then. I see a lot of talk about advice for new bloggers. Here are my simple, 7 tips after blogging for almost 10 years. 

1. Start with clean, simple design. 

No matter what platform you use (Blogger, Wordpress, etc.) pick a theme that is clean & simple. I see a lot of "cluttered" looking blogs -- huge headers, double sidebars, crowded sidebars... it's incredibly overwhelming for readers! I'm a firm believer in less is more & I personally like designs that have one sidebar with a clean, organized look -- not too many icons, no random text, etc. Beyond that, remember to pick a readable font for your body text! The other day I went to a new blog that used cursive as the body font, that was near impossible to read. 

2. You don't need a fancy camera. 

I love my Canon Rebel t2i, but honestly, I don't use it as much as I used to! Most of the time, I use my iPhone to take photos or I use stock photos from websites like PicJumbo and Unsplash. If I'm writing a review post, I'll use my Canon to take those -- but an iPhone or point-and-shoot camera takes photos that are just as good. Remember, you don't need perfect photos -- just photos that clearly demonstrate what you're trying to show! 

3. Content is king. 

Your content matters -- from formatting to what you're actually writing, your content is the most important piece of your blog. The other day, I clicked to a blog that has 1000+ followers & had received a box of samples from Benefit -- really! -- and the first paragraph of that blog post? About 30 lines of text with not a single period. It was so stream of consciousness and it read horribly. Content matters. The amount that businesses pour into content marketing makes that very clear: write good posts and you will reap the benefits. 

4. Pick 2-3 social media platforms & use them to their advantage. 

Most of my traffic comes from Twitter and Pinterest. I also get a lot of traffic from Google+, which I don't even really use! Lots of people try to use every social media network, but that's not really necessary. Pick the ones you like best & work them! Post consistently, post intelligently, and post your links! (And if you decide to use Twitter, participate in chats whenever you possible can! I like #lbloggers, #fblchat, and #blogtrends the best!) 

5. Network. 

The blogging community is just that--a community. My blog is primarily read by other bloggers. If I find a blogger doesn't interact with the community, I'm much less likely to read their blog! It's totally fine to be busy, but replying to people on Twitter, asking questions, participating in chats, joining communities... it'll help you go further in the long run. 

6. For Love, Not Money. 

Ok, I have something to tell you: the blogging bubble has burst. There are just too many bloggers. It is certainly possible to have a creative career, but blogging will only be one part of that. To be truly successful, you have to have multiple streams of income if you are an entrepreneur: you can't rely on just a blog or just an etsy shop. You have to establish multiple ways to be successful & work hard at all of those things. Have passions, hobbies, and a career outside of blogging. It will all fall into place someday! Don't blog to get rich -- you'll only end up disappointed! 

7. Be yourself. 

This is something I cannot stress enough. I see so many blogs that are just carbon copies of each other. You don't have to have the perfect, pin-worthy home, an expensive camera, or new everything all the time to be successful. You just have to be yourself. When you blog in a way that is genuine to who you are, you will be successful. 

My Daily Essentials

I have a busy life. 

Those are words I really thought I'd never write. I hate that tendency of bloggers (especially full-time bloggers) to always write or post about how "busy" they are--when, in reality, they're probably not that super busy. Not that this is the busyness Olympics or anything.

But now that I'm legitimately busy, I feel stupid for all the times I thought I was busy in the past. A combination of sleep deprivation (although that's coming to an end), working a full-time job in half-time hours, and taking care of an entire small human has made me realize what it actually means to be "busy." 

The past few months, I've found a few ways to keep myself organized and on top of things, while effectively doing all my different jobs. These are my absolute daily essentials 

1. Bullet journals

I'm a list maker. I always have been and I always will be. I find it easiest, for all the various hats I wear, to keep a running calendar or list of deadlines, things to do, and notes. I started bullet journaling at work 2 years ago and it has worked wonderfully. I keep my bullet journal very simple: I have an index and then a full month master calendar for each month. Each day gets its own page where I record notes, things to do, and deadlines to add to my master calendar. I keep one notebook for my job and one notebook for home and it works really well to keep me feeling sane. 

I also have a "fun" bullet journal where I can do whatever list pages I want--and I don't do daily pages. I keep track of habits, saving, and all the lists I need, from books I want to buy to home improvement projects. 

2. Meal Planning  

Every Wednesday, I sit down and plan meals for the week. I know this seems like a strange day to do it, but I typically go grocery shopping with Forrest on Thursday or Friday morning. I don't use anything fancy: I use Pinterest and make a list in my journal. Then I create a grocery list out of all the recipes and add them to OurGroceries. 

3. OurGroceries

Have you guys ever used this app? I've used all kinds of different ways to try to organize my grocery lists. For a while, I used the basic Notes app on my iPhone, but I needed something better. OurGroceries can sync across different phones, so if Danny and I had the app, I could add a list of things I needed him to do on his way home from work. If I'm grocery shopping with Forrest, I don't necessarily have the ability to carry a notepad (and pen to cross things off). I can, however, hold a phone and tap to cross things out. And I never forget my list at home because it's already with me. 

4. Google Calendar & Reminders

I have an increasingly terrible memory. I used to be able to remember anything without writing it down, but those days are gone, clearly. Just like OurGroceries, it helps me to write things down in a bullet journal (usually my work one); but then I also add everything to my Google Calendar and iCalendar on my phone. I set reminders for 30 minutes and 5 minutes, just in case I forget. If I don't do this, I forget--like the doctor's appointment I completed spaced on at the beginning of June. Oops. 

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What do you use to keep yourself organized? Share with me on Twitter!