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Splendid vintage whisper circle top | I’m wearing a m/l
AG Stevie ankle sateen jeans | size 30 – these run small I think
3.1 Phillip Lim large ryder satchel | the purple card event starts at Barney’s!! Earn $25 for every $250 spent
Rag & Bone Quinn sandals | true to size
After ten years blogging here at Grechen’s Closet, I thought it was time to focus on getting better outfit pictures. In the beginning, I cut my head off and took photos literally in my closet (ok..my closet was really a second bedroom, but it was still my “closet”), and now here I am – out in front. I never really saw the need for a fancy camera either, mostly because I wasn’t sure it would be worth the investment, or that I even wanted to learn how to use one, but now I see the light. My photography skillz still aren’t perfect by any means, and I’ll always have to take my photos myself with a remote and a tripod, but using a DSLR (and proper lens) for my outfit photos makes SUCH A BIG DIFFERENCE I think. Don’t you?
I’ve written and thought a lot about this over the years: do you HAVE to have a DSLR to be a fashion blogger? Must your boyfriend follow you around all day to take your outfit pictures? There was a boyfriend lounge at the blogger conference I went to a few weeks ago, and there were a lot of boyfriends/husbands/business partners in attendance with DSLRs slung around their necks. Also, quite a few of the super-big bloggers have professional photographers take their photos. All of that is great, but I’ve never had that, nor wanted it, which is also fine. So, I’m not going to be able to get any really good action shots of my outfits, or super-artsy photos in random locations or in front of brick walls downtown, because that’s just not realistic for me. I take photos of WHAT I’M WEARING. So that means snapping a picture sometime during the day at a location that’s easiest for me. Which has worked well for me so far. I think. I guess you guys would tell me otherwise!! Or you’d stop reading!
I read some interesting criticism, then praise, for the photo of me in the Everlane trench buttoned-up recently. It wasn’t the best look overall, I’ll admit, but I wanted to show how it looked closed. Period. Several comments were that it looked bad, and one specifically compared me to another blogger whose pictures were much nicer, softer, and more interesting (and taken by someone else, not herself). Another commenter said she specifically liked my photos/blog because I don’t do the typical blogger poses and photos; I just show how things look in real life, in a simple way.
I’m never going to stray from that, but I am looking forward to using a better camera to take better photos. You won’t catch me looking down at my feet, pigeon-toed, pushing my hair back behind my ear, or staring off into space, thinking about something REALLY hard. (sorry, couldn’t resist those fashion blogger stereotypes!). But I hope you’ll bear with me as I feel this out. I’m having loads of fun, and am looking forward to making Grechen’s Closet EVEN better for the next ten years. Because…why not? I’m only 41…I have lots of time ahead of me to blog!
You also must have noticed my hair cut. It’s shorter than I wanted, but that just means that in about two weeks it will be THE PERFECT LENGTH. It will also mean that I’ll need to get it cut more frequently so it will keep it’s shape better if it turns out that I like it just above shoulder -length. Which I think I do; it’s a more flattering style on me I think. But most of you have been reading for a while, so you also know that I change my hair style almost as often as I change my clothes, so who knows if I’ll be able to stick with anything for very long.
I just changed how most of my photos are taking because I don’t want to be compared to 20-something bloggers casually fake walking somewhere, I’ll never look like that. I’m usually taking my photos at 6am before I head to work so my posing sucks and we rush through the shoots so there’s no looking at photos during and I only get to work with like 6 shots. There are those who desire the picturesque landscapes and city scenes in the background, and some (like me) who want to see real people acting like real people in real clothes. And Grechen, you rock at being real and your pictures are high quality that get your point across and feature the clothes naturally and beautifully. Keep being fabulous!
Alison´s last blog post ..#Blog4Good: Suppporting Goodwill Come Rain or Come Shine
I love your haircut! That is my favorite style. I haven’t read the complaining comments yet, but I’ll weigh in anyway. I agree 100% with Alison’s comments. Keep being fabulous, indeed!
thanks sandi!! those comments were on another site, not here 🙂
Ahahahahaha! I love that slightly snarky comment about style bloggers and the pigeon toed stances and looking off into the distance! I am somewhat new to following style blogs and there is a reason I keep coming back to yours. I love that you are wearing things from your closet that work in your life and I am guessing that if I saw you walking down the street it would pretty much be the same as what I see in your photos. I think most of us realize there is a fairly wide gulf between what we see in magazines and what is possible in real life. It is very refreshing to see your struggles and successes. I look at blogs to get inspired for myself – and if the look is too difficult or not approachable or even vaguely attainable – why bother? Love your photos. Also the hair – looks great slightly shorter – very polished.
thanks andrea! i totally believe there’s a place for everyone out here in the blogosphere, i mean, we still love to look at fantasy editorial shots, or else why would we still read vogue? that’s the angle the uber-popular bloggers take, and they’re making bank off of it with brand collabs, etc… that’s just not what i do. i do this because i’m primarily a shopping blogger and i wanted to how things looked on a not-model body to help people make an educated decision about what to buy when they’re buying online. obviously, things are different now 10 years later, but that’s why i started posting outfit shots. not for the art of it, or whatever. which is also okay…just not for me.
thanks alison 🙂
Love your hair! (dangit! because I have a haircut this afternoon and I’m in the “growing out” phase of my usual 2-3 year cycle of cut/grow longer. The length you have now is the length that probably “looks best” on me (and it’s the length I have in the photo on my ID badge I’m looking at now…) but for summer, I prefer something longer I can get off my neck because the heat & humidity make me crazy (ier) if hair is touching my skin.
I also love the “styling” (or lack thereof) in your blog. I’m not 20, I’m not buying Vogue styles fashion (though I too read the magazine) and I want to see how real women, my age, are wearing clothing, how it fits, what the color really is, what fabrics develop holes after 1 wash. Thank you for doing what YOU do, as a blogger!
ha! you sound like me with my hair…i did want to grow it out longer, but i really started hating it, and i think my hair is so thick and heavy it looks best when it’s shorter. like it has some sort of style instead of just hanging there LOL
Go good cameras! Mine is still point-and-shoot, but I’m thinking about upping the ante. And go regular people style photos, however they manifest:).
Wow! You covered a lot in that post. First thing I noticed: Your chic haircut! Love that length on you because you’ve got a nice neck and jawline. So, are you sticking with the blond highlights?
Next up, I love the way you take and post outfit pictures! Please don’t change that. I’m so proud of the changes in confidence I’ve seen in you from when you used to pose in front of the door, turning away from the camera to now, straight on with a full smile. Time changes us, doesn’t it? And growth comes with changes. All I know is, your blog makes me feel good about being ME vs. the “perfect posers” (Maybe I should say “poseur”!) who make me feel like I’m not living up to some standard of perfection that is truly unachievable. I guess some people like it, but I’m drawn to REAL.
Then…SERIOUSLY?!? Someone says the trench looked “bad” and your pictures weren’t interesting enough? That just makes me mad. I hate the meanness that comes with the anonymity of the internet. And there are plenty of other blogs out there, so go follow them! I guess if I didn’t care for a bloggers style, I would no longer follow her. I did recently unfollow a blog because I didn’t care for the “let’s pit woman against woman” track it seemed to be heading down. And I gave it a second chance, but it seemed to be an ongoing integrity issue to me. Your integrity is one of the reasons I follow you!
Thank you for that, for opening your heart to us, for your honesty, your inspiring photos, and most of all, your great STYLE!!!????
i don’t know if i’ll stick to the lighter color…this time, i just got the grays covered up, so the blond is still leftover from the very first time i did it. i’m thinking about going darker eventually…i like the light, but i think darker works better for me.
the comments (not on another blog, on a message board) weren’t really malicious i don’t think. and if you are comparing, yes, the other blogger’s photos look “better” generally, but i don’t think they’re comparable, really. we do different things…most fashion bloggers now take pretty styling pictures, and that’s never been what i do…i’m just interested in showing how something looks on me in a simple way so you guys can get a better idea of how it looks in general – which usually means i’m standing still. it’s also easier and less silly than walking around or posing in front of a tripod with a remote taking pictures of myself 😉
I love the hairstyle; it’s polished and pretty! I second what others have said. I come here for the fab shopping tips and pertinent topics, not the photos. Please don’t do the pigeon-toed pose;).
Congrats on the DSLR! They do take better photos, but I’ve never felt your photos were substandard. I appreciate that you always keep it real, both with your poses and advice. On a practical level, it’s now easier to see the details in your clothes, so we can make more informed purchase decisions and better try out your styling!
Laurel´s last blog post ..Travel superstar: The Desigual gauzy button-up blouse
Lol!!! Or like someone I used to work with who was constantly checking herself out between mirrors on opposite walls and doing the “model pout” over her shoulder!! (Really! It used to be so hard not to laugh…????)