The Sunday Natter: blogging behind the scenes

Blogging is a real whirlwind. As enjoyable as it is, there's a lot of hard work and effort that goes into it and with that grafting comes plenty of out takes, behind the scenes moments and little habits you begin to pick up along the way. When you're scrolling through someone's online persona, the great parts are always noticed and taken into perspective but today's Sunday Natter post is all about those behind closed door, laughable secrets that go into the process of creating your fashion, beauty and lifestyle content. Enjoy!

1) Taking 500+ pictures and only using 5.

(And sometimes not even using any because you realise they've all turned out rubbish, whoops!). This is a regular occurrence of mine, particularly during outfit photos but just as much when I don't think I've captured the right angle of a product. I may be classed as a perfectionist but I'd much rather refer it to the fact I like a good choice I can pick the best from. Gotta dig your way through the frogs to find the prince, right?!

2) Looking past the outtakes.

It becomes a problem when you have god knows how many pictures to sort through after a shooting session. Patience is definitely a virtue when it comes to snapping some photos which reach your standard. Along the way there's the awkward poses, the half sneeze/half cough/half laugh faces, the mid spill of a product, the tumbling of items, and the list goes on. At least you get a giggle out of it!

3) The stares.

Oh my, the stares. Coping with the never ending gawping public is a challenge every time you venture out to take photos. Whether that's at your local restaurant (cue people around you giving you the 'why are you arranging the table and taking pictures of the food' look), or when you're playing paparazzi with your outfit taking and everyone seems to view you as an alien with this strange unidentified object named a camera. It takes a while to get used to, in fact the paranoia I feel in public still puts me off experimenting with different scenery but trying to ignore people having a good look and even skitting at your actions is something (unfortunately) we all need to accept as part of blogging. The more you do it, the easier it will get. (I hope!)

4) Photos first, life after. 

I feel like this is part of the blogger package. It just seems necessary to photograph every adventure and event so you can not only remember it but so you can display it and pretend you live the city life of dreams (it can't be just me?!). Whenever something new appears on the horizon, I instantly think of the photo opportunities that will arise. Only recently my Auntie announced she's getting married and straight away my brain switched to crazy amateur photographer mode! Same goes for when you're on your travels. Every place I pass, I consider whether it would be Instagram worthy or not. Usually it is and that's often when I'm in the car or on the bus which in that case means I make a mental note for next time. It's nice to cherish the memory and appreciate the nature I suppose. I just shove off the complaints from my family and friends regarding too many lenses being pointed in their direction.

5) The struggle of a nice day and no chance of a photo opportunity.

If I've learnt one thing about blogging, it's that you need to make the most of the natural sunshine and daylight. Sometimes, this just isn't possible. When there's nobody available to take your outfit photos and you really don't fancy trying to position yourself appropriately for the tripod making the process twice as long, and when you arrive back home just as the windows seem to be rebelling against the limited light you see in front of you. As darkness suddenly falls when I haven't finished snapping away, a part of me slowly dies as I try and squeeze as many photos in as possible. This is why summer is better, guys!

6) The decision making.

Relaxing vs blogging, staying in bed vs getting up and spending your weekend blog planning. I've often had in mind what I was going to do with my day, then woke up the next morning desiring a slouchy, pyjama, no makeup day. Sometimes I just have to force myself to get up and ready because otherwise, there'll be nothing for my beloved readers to read! This is where scheduling comes in handy, I still need to pick up the pace of plotting in advance! I admire anyone who manages to get 2 weeks worth of content up and ready to be published.

7) Ideas popping into your mind at the most inappropriate times.

There aren't enough fingers on my hands to count how many times I've been laid in bed and a sudden genius idea sparks when I should be sleeping. I can't risk shutting my eyes without noting it down so I bring my phone and its 'notes' section to good use. As convenient as it is, it's a pain when you're a neat freak. Bloggers block happens when you're sat at your laptop or with pen to paper but as soon as you're away from your usual environment, these propositions come piling in, in herds. WHYYY?!

8) The using a product vs keeping it unused until you photograph battle.

I think we all know a newly packaged, fresh, without a trace of a smudge beauty product is the ideal starter for a photograph setting but this means it's often necessary to keep the product to one side until you find the time to capture it in its best light. I (and probably so many others) have this one particular rule that I have to wait until I've photographed an item before I can use it because I don't want to mess it up. By the end, I'm often terrorising myself resisting hesitation because I can't wait any longer to trial it. The stuff we put ourselves through for things to look nice is actually quite insane!

9) The mess.

We're all familiar with the situation. A tidy bedroom, everything's in place, then it's time for blog related affairs. Out comes the white card, the movement of furniture to catch the best section, the handful of products dumped on the floor, the extras flung around, the kitchen blown up with food, the purchased clothes and accessories shoved to one side and then it appears as though a bomb has hit your home. It's a good job there's time left over to put it right but it's the finding the motivation to declutter, remember and arrange things back to how they were which becomes a problem! 

10) Finally writing the blog post up.

It's all well and good treading through the hurdles to reach the final step but it's the sit down job which proves to be difficult (especially when you're aiming to publish these type of posts and want to express your personality as genuinely as possible). Not knowing how to word a statement without sounding like an egotistical loser is a common issue of mine. As is rereading and checking grammar and spelling a billion times until I drive myself mad. I also find myself not wanting to use the same word twice which means Google is recurrently used as back up saviour. I'm telling you now, typing away as though there's no tomorrow takes some skills!

Blogging is a constant learning curve which is why I love it so much. The story is never closed In the blog world and sometimes it's healthy to find the comical side to it. Do you have any of your own to add?

Bridie x