Happy Martin Luther King Day!
I am in LA for the NAACP Image Awards and to take a few meetings. On the plane ride over, I indulged in Aimee song’s New York Times Bestselling book, Capture Your Style.
After the Revolve debacle, I decided to step my game up. If you lack in anything, do you research. There are innumerable books, Youtube videos, and conferences you can attend where you can learn and grow better in areas where you may lack.
I must say, Aimee’s book is very good and I learned a lot. Behold, 5 Key Lessons I gleaned from her well curated pages:
1. Aimee is Very Intentional With Her Feed, and studies photographers and visual artists to fine tune her aesthetic.
Aimee came into the game as an interior design school student and studied the work of everyone from master Leonardo Da Vinci to photographers like Horst P. Horst, Herb Ritts, Helmut Newton, Richard Avedon and more. She is a professional who knows what she’s doing–and is intentional with every single picture she posts. She has an eye and went to school for design, but that doesn’t mean that what she knows can’t be learned (let’s hope!).
2. Location is everything.
Scouting out places to shoot is just as important as what you are wearing. Find backgrounds that contrast or complement your ensemble. It works! Two of my most successful pix last year were in front of colorful walls that made my outfit pop!
3. Mix it up. Feature food, landscapes, and accessories in addition to your #OOTD.
This is something I slack on in a major way. I never focus on accessories or anything else but my whole lewk (head to toe). Aimee was apt in saying that your pictures should tell an authentic story of what you are actually doing, rendered beautifully. So in addition to snapping outfit pix, show people what you’re sipping and snacking on to pump up your story. Also, you don’t always have to show your whole ensemble. Just the shoes or 3 quarter shots work as well.
4. Update once a day. 4 Times a days if you’re nasty.
Like any good blog, your IG feed needs to be updated at least once a day. Aimee divulged that she tries to post 4 pix a day, but that is even considered a slow day! Don’t have anything to post? Save up evergreen images over time for those days you’re just kicking it on the couch. Also, post during primetime (I heard from a homie at Facebook that those hours are 9am, noon, 3pm, and 6pm).
5. You don’t need a Professional Photog
This one blew my mind! Aimee doesn’t use a professional camera—she uses her Iphone. Using natural light, she employs iPhone’s Grid and Exposure settings to create the perfect capture, then puts her pix through three key apps: Snapseed, Facetune, and VSCO. I have spent thousands of dollars on photographers over the years! And while professional photos are good to have, they aren’t necessary. This one is a game changer (all the pix below were taken with my iPhone)!
At the end of the day, though some of you are sad that FashionBombDaily.com is on hiatus, this break was exactly what I needed to focus on this next phase of my life: ME and living the Bomb Life.
Now, it’s time to spruce things up over @ClaireSulmers. Here’s to giving you something to double tap!
Love & Light,
*I took a picture of the book and ‘staged it’ with a few items including my favorite Céline shades and a Starbucks I got today (coffee makes for a good prop). I’m adhering to a red theme these days (Aimee recommends going for a similar color for every 12 photos), so I threw in a tube of red lip gloss just to tie everything together.
I still don’t really know what I’m doing with Snapseed, Facetune, and VSCO cam, but I figure as long as I’m consistent with my VSCO filter, it should be fine. I guess it’s just a matter of figuring out which one works best for you and going with it.
**I literally never ever ever thought about doing any of this in the past, but it really is a game changer! If you don’t know something–learn. The keys to success are a click and a page turn away.
***Which image do y’all ‘like’ more? I like the pink and white but the brown/clear glass table is kinda funky.
Images: ME!
