Styles photos are all the rage these days on blogs and websites which want to be seen as more chic and professional and certain people have jumped on the bandwagon to make big sales out of creating stock photography that's truly eye0candy! Not to bash those amazing brands doing all the people who're short of time or maybe not so experienced with the camera a stunning benefit but...wouldn't it be so much better if you could make your own styled photography? If you're an owner of lots of pretty baubles, have a good eye for photography and this manual at hand, it's no biggie! I'll give you a plentiful list of tricks to do those gorgeous styled photographs
and be a master at it!
This article features 10 fool-proof tips to get those styled pictures everyone craves! Don't forget to share and... to thank YOU. for going through my tidbits of wisdom, I've even got a free surprise at the end of the post!
1.Choose a theme.
You can't get the best out of styled photography without choosing a theme.I don't mean any rigid constraints with the word "theme". It could be a color theme. Or a seasonal theme. (If you're choosing spring, you could go with a selection of lots of pastels. If it's summer you could choose something bright and fruity. If it's a winter theme you'd like to go for, you may wanna shift to more cooler tones like blues and purples in your photographs). In addition you could also choose a topic based theme: I've compiled a collage of some popular ongoing themes for styled images: take a look at this ridiculously beautiful styled pictures!
1) Beauty/Outfit/Accessories potpourri
1.Connie Cao @kisforkanithelabel 2.blushshop @blushshop 3.Nat @n4tic 4.Raffaella @raffaellferrigno 5,Jenny Jovanovic @crazystylelove 6.lenie @lenieloves
2) Breakfast and food, tantalizing food!
2 & 3. Maimona Jamal Badi @dreamy_touch 7.Utosh @ utosh 5.Princess inspiration @ princessaddictions 9.@cathycouture
3)That dre-a-a-a-my workspace.
4,5,6 & 7 Jessica Clinch @simplyjessicamarie 9.blushshop @blushshop
2.Choose a carefully thought out background in relation to your foreground objects and props
If you have a careful look at the pictures above you'll see there's a variety of backgrounds, from plain to textured with wood, marble or even glass (in the workspace collage). Neutrals backgrounds like these are always the best bet to add that little something that's so important because it holds the entire picture together. You'll wanna make sure your background is not overpowering but if you'd like to choose a bright, fun background, go to the next point..which is...
3.Contrast, contrast, contrast!
It doesn't just have to be between colors, it can be between materials too: pair hard rough wood with soft, flowy textiles. Monotoned marble with bright colors and on and on.
This account on Instagram (@zynp) is what made me believe that while it's tricky to have a bright background against bright colorful objects, if done right, the results can be stunning. You'll need a bit of practise for this but here's one tip: Look for the opposite colors on the color wheel to pair or colors within/around the same color family. Think berries with blush pinks or colors normally found together in nature: woody browns and deep greens; and keep the contrast in couples: stark blue background against juicy orange foreground objects or the the likes. (so that's just two colors: blue and orange but so much to swoon over!)
(Zeynep Albayrak) @zynp on Instagram, she knows what she's doin'! Go ahead & follow her!
4.Layering
Layering gives so much more dimension and depth to what could otherwise be flat photography and that which lacks in character. Try layering with different napkins that fit in your theme, maybe cutting boards, textiles (the more frayed, the better), scrapbook paper, giftwrap, pretty books,place-mats or even shimmery bling!
1. Jenny Jovanovic @crazystylelove 2.Nash (@candygloss006) 3.Nash (candygloss006)
5.Fluidity
Sometimes if your object looks too static, you could use a bit of dynamism in the picture. The best way to add this may be a crumpled sheet in the background (maybe a picture of breeakfast or five-star dessert in bed?) that signifies movement had taken place or even a scarf in a vibrant color sprawled across the picture's width or height. You choose. This isn't always necessary but see if it works for you. When it works, you'd immediately know because the picture suddenly gets a whole lot of oomph.
1 Zeynep Albayrak @zynp 2. Nash @candygloss006 3.Melissa @milkthistles 4. Zeynep Albayrak @zynp
6.The human touch
This is another optional. You might want to add a slight part of your hand going over the keys of your laptop. Or maybe fingers curled around that beautiful coffee mug. This adds so much more dynamism and relatability!
7.The little details
There's the big focus of your picture, and then..there's the little details and the props that just kick it up that extra notch. This could be anything from sprinkles thrown in around your cake (yes, around!) or confetti sprinked in around your stationery. Or maybe some delectable macarons placed by your current favorite novel. They don't have to get the spotlight, but they sure do make a difference.
8.Doodles and lettering
Adding doodles and lettering is completely in vogue right now. So if there's a little too much of empty space that shows up in your photo, try adding a bit of doodling or lettering overlays. There are so many apps for this.Apps I use for Android include
Doodlesnap, Photofy and Shii Overlays.
9.Never stop looking
Don't ever make the mistake of thinking you have enough inspiration. Get started, yes, and do what you need to do but always keep looking for more. Coffee shops and bakery shops do such beautiful styling; it's hard not to get inspired. And so do glam decor editorials. I usually pick up inspiration from Pinterest and Instagram. (To see which boards I usually follow on Pinterest and Instagram, follow me from the sidebar!)
You can like a picture on Instagram and it will instantly get saved by default in your profile (you can access all the pictures you keep liking through the settings menu on the app.) The problem here is: if all the pictures you keep hitting like for pile up in your account, it does away with some of your earlier liked ones to accommodate space for the newly liked pictures. To bypass that nuisance, download an app that saves pictures/vids from Instagram and use to to constantly save those pictures on your gadget. I use
Instasave for Android if you were wondering. :D
9.Try not to be a perfectionist
Sometimes Instagrammers put all those beautiful pictures out there, it's easy to be caught in that culture where everything needs to be poetically set up. I need to tell you that even if those tricks above are for significantly improving your styled photography, sometimes it's good to leave things messy, untended to or to show flaws. After all, a little embarrassment brings in more friends than appearing impeccable!
And here's your surprise: Three high-resolution styled photos you can include in your website/blog promotions or themes! If you do happen to use any of these, don't forget to drop by and let me know so that I can have a look as well! :D
PS:I've tried to link back as many Instagram photos to their accounts as possible which was a tough job. If you find one of your photos here and I haven't listed you please let me know so that I can title the photo to the correct owner. If anyone of you would like me to take their pictures down, please contact me via email. Thank You. :)
And now folks, a few examples of using styled photography for beautiful branding, magazine layouts and even opt-in boxes!
1
deluxemoderndesign.com 2.assets.lookbookpro.com 3.
rosemarywatsonproductions.com 4.
shaycochrane.com 5.
lauradrayton.com
Need another article to pump up your lifestyle blog? Have a skim through my "Secrets to writing killer DIY blog posts" article
here!
You can also download and print many freebies in my
freebie gallery (in the nav bar) to primp up your photos! Orrr....check out my shop if you'd like to print papers for uploading images on commercial sites.
AND LASTLY, PIN AND SHARE THE FUN :)
Follow me xx,
Nash
