This month started with my “Welcome October” post on Instagram (click here). When it comes to creating new content for all of you I try to think outside of the box. I know you like to see new & interesting things so I try to come up with new stuff all the time. I like to pull my inspiration from all over the place. It could be something I see in a Williams-Sonoma magazine, a movie scene, a favorite blogger or just capturing things I see around my house/town. For this post I wanted it to scream OCTOBER when you saw it. So what better way then to put on my best witchy tights, cat flats & act like a pumpkin head (literally). We just finished decorating our front porch with mums and pumpkins for the season so I thought it would be the perfect back drop for a photo. Thats one of my tips: always make sure your backdrop matches the type of photo you want to take. For example; if I took this photo with me in my witchy outfit holding a pumpkin over my head with lets say a background of a busy street and cars passing by it wouldn’t give you the same effect and impact.

Part of my posting “style” (if thats what you call it) is to mix it up and share some of my home decor. For this post I wanted to show my fireplace display that I finished decorating for the fall. My photo tip for this one is: you don’t always have to get everything in the photo. For instance, this setting in my living room actually had more decor pieces around the fireplace that you don’t see in the photo because getting a more closeup shot is sometimes better. There’s a chair in the corner and panned glasses doors on the right so if I took an photo of the entire setting it would have been too busy for someone to focus in on the fireplace details. So think of that the next time your shooting a home decor element of yours. Think “less is more” when capturing your subject.

For this post I was promoting my new blog post “My 10 Must Have iPhone Apps” and so I thought it would be fitting to take a photo with well… my iPhone of course! I wanted something that was simple and casual which is my next photo tip: don’t over think it. Taking photos in a spot where you feel the most comfortable is where you’ll probably get the best pictures out of. In this setting, you aren’t forcing the photo and its more true to you. For me, I love coffee dates with my mom and we were having brunch at one of my favorite spots Atlanta Bread so I felt “in my element”. I always have my camera on me so I thought it was the opportune time for a quick pic while we talked and sipped our lattes. For the iPhone element of the photo to go along with my upcoming blog post I had scheduled, I didn’t want it to look too forced or cheesy. So I didn’t over think it and we made sure that the iPhone element wasn’t the main subject of the photo, instead it was a very subtle detail. This tip is really helpful for those of you who are trying to promote certain products and don’t want the photo to come off as too “advertise-y”. Just remember your product doesn’t have to be the main subject of the photo.

I love a good throwback pic and thats just what this post is! Taken a year ago at Disney Worlds Halloween party I used my same Lightroom fall presets to edit the photo and keep it consistent with my current theme. As stated before, not only do I like to mix up my “posting style” with decor pics and outfit shots I also like to add in some architectural photos too. This is my next photo tip: keep a balance of the different types of subjects you want in your photos. Having the same photo over and over again on your Instagram feed gets dull and may lead to less engagement with your followers. So mix it up a little and see if you like it! *Extra tip: Also, for this particular photo I picked it because I loved the “rule-of-thirds” touch to it. Although the main subject is of course the Disney Theatre, having my boyfriend standing off to the side and looking up at the building gives the photo a human element to it which for a photo nerd like me LOVES haha. 

Okay, let me just say this once… no fall content is complete without a photo at a pumpkin patch haha. It’s true and you know it! No matter how “basic” you may think it is, its a fun photo to take nonetheless. Which leads me to my next photo tip: (a bit cheesy but equally important to remember) don’t make it perfect! An unplanned or (dare I say it) more “candid” photo is far better than a staged photo in so many ways. As you can tell in this photo of me, I wasn’t ready at all haha. My bag was falling off my shoulder, I was in mid-walk and my smile is a mile wide. But I chose it because in this quick snap (taken by my mom) you can really tell how excited I was to be there picking out pumpkins for the first time this year. Although planning for a photo is always great, when the photos are actually being taken don’t feel the need to be perfect because nobody ever is and your photo will feel forced yet again.

You may recognize this set up because it goes along with my previous post, the fireplace scene. For this post I was promoting my new blog post “Fall Finds: Wish List” like the halloween pjs and blanket I’m sitting on. I knew I wanted these items in the photo so I took some more pics by the fireplace since its decorated for the season. This brings me to my next tip: don’t feel like you can’t take another photo in the same spot twice. If you find a place you like… then you struck gold and keep taking photos there! Just be sure to mix up the angles or poses so its not the exact same photo every time. For instance, this fireplace scene is my favorite spot in the house to take pictures because I redecorate it for the seasons. Therefore, it’s the same spot but always a little different. When Christmas arrives I guarantee I’ll be taking more photos again in front of it haha. 

Gosh I love taking flat lay pictures! But when done wrong it looks a bit chaotic so that leads me to my next photo tip: when taking flat lay photos less is more and spread things out. This may sound like a “common sense” tip but you’d be surprised at how much stuff people try to cram into a flat lay photo. Also, be more creative with your item placements. For my jeans in this photo I didn’t want them laid all the way out so I folded them up a bit along with my sweaters. Another tip to remember for flat lay photos is to make sure where ever you’re taking the photos on that its simple and doesn’t over shine your items. My items are placed on my white bedspread which created the perfect and simple background I needed. I’ve seen some flat lays where the items are placed on a busy rug and it just throws the whole thing off. 

As you can probably guess, this is another throwback picture from when I was in Boston. I took this photo in Boston’s historic beacon hill district on Acorn Street which is a very popular place for photos. Leading me to my next photo tip: don’t copy, recreate instead. As I said, this is a very popular place for photos and I’ve seen many of the same photos taken here. Most of which have the Acorn Street sign and the old cobblestone streets in the photos or just a close up of the street sign itself. But for me I wanted to make sure I wasn’t taking the same old photo that everyone has seen time and time again. So instead of getting the cobblestone streets in my picture I decided to capture the beauty of Boston’s old brick buildings with the Acorn Street sign peaking out on the side. That’s how I was able to recreate and not copy. I encourage everyone to pull inspiration from others but its important to not copy their work but instead reinvent it for yourself.

This was the best day ever haha! I was driving around town running on errands with my mom when we saw a bunch of trees blooming with orange leaves and some sort of flower blossoms or berries. So what do we do? Pull over of course! As you probably know, fall foliage doesn’t really show up in the south until late November (if at all) so this was a real treat for us. Here comes my last photo tip: color coordinate your photos if you want to have a consistent theme. This burst of orange in my photo from the leaves was perfect for my feed. As you can tell there is one similarity throughout all these photos for this month and thats the color orange. I may not be wearing something with orange on it but its still in my photos whether its a pumpkin, an orange coffee cup or building… that element is present in all my photos which helps keep the theme going and makes sure everything flows on my feed.