PHOTOGRAPHY: HOW TO TAKE YOUR OWN OUTFIT PHOTOS

I believe that, along with a great design and great content, great photos complete the trifecta. If a blog has tiny photos, or really bad photos, I probably won't stick around for very long, especially if it's a fashion blog. If you're taking photos of your daily style to show on your blog, I'm guessing you probably want the photos to actually show your outfit! No more mirror shots standing in a pile of dirty laundry in your bedroom-- after today, you'll know how to take great photos all by yourself!

One of the things I get asked most often (other than how I do my hair, haha) is "who takes your photos?" The answer: I do. I take almost 100% of my outfit photos. Unless I'm out and about with someone and I ask them to grab a couple outfit shots, every one of my photos has been taken with a tripod and self timer. Some people choose to use a remote (like Jennine in the how-to video below), but I like my hands to be free and I really don't like seeing a remote in the photos. I've never used one, I much prefer taking my shots using the 10 second self timer. I know a lot of people don't think it's possible to take great photos with a tripod and self-timer, but I believe it's more than possible-- it's easy!

Here's what you need to take your own outfit photos: A camera with self timer capabilities, and a tripod! Yup, that's it!

When I first started taking outfit photos I used the camera at the top- a little Canon Powershot point-and-shoot. It was a nice little camera and it balanced on things pretty easily. Unfortunately it was quite beat up and I think it probably died due to falling off of something I'd perched it upon. I didn't have a tripod until summer of 2009 when I moved home and borrowed my brother's! Now I use a Manfrotto tripod and I love it. It's lightweight and really easy to transport. I've taken it on multiple vacations in my carry-on, so it's pretty convenient!

After my Powershot died, I started using my Canon Rebel DSLR. I hadn't used it previously because it was so big and heavy to carry around, but now I wouldn't trade a DSLR for the world and I carry mine everywhere.  I used a Canon T2i for a few years and I currently use a Canon 6D.

Take your photos!

1.The first thing you're gonna do is set up your tripod. A lot of people like to take vertical outfit shots, but you can get both vertical and horizontal shots for some variety.

2. Look through your lens and make sure you're going to fit in the frame, then focus on something where you're going to be standing. I love taking outfit shots in the woods because I can focus on a tree that I'll stand near. It's a lot harder to do this in the middle of a vacant parking lot or something like that, simply because there's not many points to focus on. You can also bring something with you to focus on- a purse or even your car/bike, then just move that thing out of the way, or shift your tripod to get that thing out of frame when you start shooting!

I use auto-focus to focus on the object (like the tree in this case), and then switch to manual focus so that I can just take a bunch of photos standing in the same place without having the focus get messed up each time I take a new shot.

In this case I focused on the tree on the right side of the image, then moved my camera a smidge to the left so the tree was out of frame.  I switched from auto to manual once the focus was set where I wanted to stand and could then use the camera's self timer to take as many photos in that spot as I wanted, knowing they'd all be focused on me as long as I stood in the spot where I'd focused.

3. Take a couple test shots to see if the lighting is good and the focus is correct. If anything is off, fix it or change locations and try again! Once you get everything set, you're ready to go!

4. Take a bunch of photos in each location for a certain shoot, this will give you a variety of shots to choose from.

It might seem a little bit awkward or time consuming/frustrating at first, but you really do get used to it and you can start doing some really fun things! When it comes to posing, I know many people feel strange or goofy posing in front of just a tripod, but the way I've started to think of it is like you're an actor. For that moment the shutter clicks, you are an actor playing a role. Sometimes I'll fake a little giggle to get a genuine smile for a shot or I'll do something with my arms that would look totally weird to anyone watching what I'm doing, but I know that the photos will look great!

Unless you're really self-confident, definitely try to find a secluded place to take your photos. It'll allow you to really let go and just do whatever, without worrying about passers by giving you weird looks. And if someone does come ask you what the heck you're doing, you can always just tell them you're working on an assignment for class or something!

If you're worried that your camera is cheap and you can afford to buy a DSLR, don't worry, you can take great shots with almost any camera (though I won't deny that having a good camera and lens help a lot). It's all about composing the shots and bringing an artistic eye to your shoots. I recently took some outfit photos (above) with my webcam, and plenty of people take outfit shots with an iPhone, so you know it's possible to take outfit shots with any camera!

Depth of Field

If you want to get a shallow depth of field like I have in my photos (meaning the subject is in focus and the background is super blurry), you'll need to get a lens with a wide aperture, like f/2.0 to f/1.4. Depth of field refers to how much of the photo is in focus and how much is blurry. Having your background out of focus, while you--the subject--are in focus, allows for the photo to really highlight you and your outfit, not the busy-ness in the background. I use a 50mm f/1.4 lens and it gets an extremely shallow depth of field. Lenses can get expensive, though, so decide if you want to spend the money on a nice lens. I decided to pay the "big bucks" for my lens (it was about $400.00), but my little brother got a similar lens, a 50mm f/1.8 and it was only around $100. His lens is a lower quality lens, but it still takes great photos and it gets the shallow depth of field, so you don't have to make a huge investment to have a better lens!

Lighting

For optimum photos, you also want to make sure you've got some good lighting in your photos. I try to always take outfit photos outdoors using natural lighting. This helps show the colors of your outfit accurately, and naturally lighting is just always most desirable, in my opinion. I actually prefer to take my photos on cloudy days, or right at sunset so the sun isn't super harsh. Full sunlight can create harsh lighting and be hard to get the right exposure.  Clouds create a natural diffuser for light, which creates a nice soft light.  Luckily for me, it's almost always cloudy in Washington! Haha. Try out taking photos in some different lighting situations (cloudy, sunny, at sunset) to figure out which you prefer. My favorite thing about taking sunset photos is getting an awesome sunflare in the photo!

Tips/ideas for interesting shots:

frame yourself with something in the foreground

lie or crouch on the ground

focus on something in the foreground and then go further and out of focus in the background

get detail shots

get action shots

use sunflares

use fun backgrounds

Jennine from IFB and The Coveted made this little video and it pretty much goes through everything I described above, except she uses a remote.

BONUS: HELPFUL TIPS FOR SELF PORTRAITS

Some bloggers are lucky enough to have a friend, significant other, or husband/wife who takes their daily outfit photos, but the rest of us are stuck doing it ourselves with the help of a tripod, self-timer, and maybe a remote. I personally have never used a remote.  Since the beginning, I've always just used the self-timer, so I can't give any advice on using a remote. I've never liked the idea of having to hide the remote and it's already hard enough to "act natural" in front of a tripod, so I felt like adding in the hiding-the-remote factor would just complicate things further. I've been taking outfit photos with a tripod & self-timer for 6 years now, so I'll let you guys in on some tips and tricks I've learned over the years.

USE THE AUTO AND MANUAL FOCUS TO SET YOUR FOCUS POINT

I get a lot of questions about how I get myself in focus when I'm using a self timer. Here's what I do: I autofocus on something at the distance I'll be standing (sometimes this is a tree, a garbage can, etc), and then once that focus is set, I switch the focus to manual, so the focus won't change when I click the shutter. If you don't put your focus on manual, the camera will autofocus to something in the distance and you'll be all blurry and out of focus because the camera focused way behind you when you clicked the shutter/autofocus. If you can't find something to focus on where you're taking photos, use a purse or something to set where you'll stand and focus on that. For the photo above, I focused on the grass right in front of the back wheel of my bike.  Then, I set focus to manual so it wouldn't change, made sure my camera was on the 10 second self-timer setting and clicked the shutter.  Then I went and sat right where the focus was set: in front of my back wheel.  Voila, in focus!  I really like taking photos with my bike because it's something I can place in the frame to set the focus.  Then, I can either remove the bike and take photos without it, or I can just leave it in the photo, depending on how I want the photos to look. For the photo below, I focused on the trunk of the tree, just out of frame to the right.  For the photo next to the turquoise wall, I focused directly on the wall, and then moved my camera and tripod back about two feet, so then the focus would be set two feet in front of the wall, which is where I wanted to stand.  The top photo in this post had the focus set on the little blade of straw/grass to the right of me.

FIND RELATIVELY UNPOPULATED LOCATIONS

I don't know about you guys, but taking photos of yourself with a tripod & self-timer is kind of, well, weird sometimes. Especially if you're trying to do it in a public place. I personally have found I have a hard time taking photos that look natural if there are people watching me, or walking by. I get stiff and the photos just don't look as good as when I'm alone without strangers staring at me.  I'm better at taking photos in public now, but I still find the photos I like best are taken in more private locations. Try to find places that are vacant so you can feel free to be silly and do whatever photos you want, without feeling awkward. I do a lot of jumping and spinning photos, and those are even weirder to try doing with people around! I find that an alley is a good place to take photos.  People don't walk down alleyways as much as they do sidewalks.  Finding a park with some wooded areas are great, not only because they are more private, but because you have lots of things to set your focus on!  Other places I've found are relatively vacant: Parking garages, sidewalks in quiet neighborhoods, behind buildings,  and if you really want super privacy: your backyard or your living room.  I find those can be difficult to make look good depending on the lighting you get inside your house, and how picturesque your backyard is.

EMBRACE ROUGH TERRAIN

I've found that my favorite place to take outfit photos is the woods. Unfortunately, oftentimes the forest doesn't have a flat floor, but lucky for us, tripods have adjustable legs! If you find a great place to take photos in the woods, but the ground is uneven, just adjust the legs to make the camera level. I've taken lots of photos on some pretty steep hills, but because the legs adjust on my tripod, I can make it work!

HAVE AN EXPLANATION FOR WHAT YOU'RE DOING

I always have a phrase to use if someone comes up and asks me what the heck I'm doing. Mine is that I'm working on an assignment for a photography class (a self portrait assignment, maybe?). I find that it's easier than trying to explain the whole, "well, I'm a style blogger and I take photos of what I wear every day" thing. That usually just perplexes most people and then they ask me more questions when what I really want is for them to move along and let me finish taking photos. Kind of silly, but it's nice to have an answer ready so you don't panic and start rambling on to a stranger about your odd behavior.  Don't let them make you feel like you're doing something wrong, because you're not (unless you're like trespassing or something).

TAKE LOTS OF PHOTOS

The more photos you take, the more likely you are to have a few good ones to choose from for your post!  If you take five photos and you post five photos, then you have to post even the ones you don't like very much.  If you take 50 photos, you're likely going to be able to pick five photos that you really like.  I've done self timer photo shoots where I took 100-200 photos.  I think my standard is usually 30-70, though.  Once you have a groove down, you can set things up pretty quickly and take quite a few photos in a relatively short amount of time.

HAVE YOUR GO-TO POSES

It's nice to know which poses usually yield good photos. Sure, sometimes it can get repetitive and you don't want to take 30 photos of you in the exact same pose.  Outfit photos in general can be relatively repetitive and it's nice to have poses you know well that result in photos you like.  Even professional models have go-to poses that they know look awesome every time.  I like to always do some shots with my go-to outfit poses, but then also try out some different things that may not result in good photos, but can be fun if they happen to turn out.

 

GET DETAIL SHOTS + VARIETY

Remember to get shots of the details of your outfits, like your shoes, some cute buttons on your dress, or fun jewelry you're wearing.  Shots like this add variety to the images in my blog posts and are visually interesting.  Change angles at your location, don't take all your photos with the tripod in one place.  Move around, find different backgrounds, take photos at different distances.  Maybe get a full length shot or two, a couple mid-distance shots from the thighs/hips up, and then a close up detail shot.  

  USE MOVEMENT

I love getting photos that capture movement because they show more of how your outfit reacts to motion. I like to see how fabric looks when it's in motion, as well as seeing how an outfit looks when a person is stationary. I think it's interesting that almost all fashion shows are done with the models walking, in motion. Seeing clothing move can be a lot more interesting than seeing it just sitting there motionless. Plus, clothes are designed to move with us, so it's nice to see it actually doing that!

DON'T ALWAYS LOOK DIRECTLY AT THE CAMERA

And not just in the pigeon-toed-look-at-my-feet blogger pose way. While I definitely take plenty of those kinds of photos, I also like to look off in the distance (corny, I know!), or turn my back to the camera.  It adds variety to your photos, and also gives you a chance to show of different angles of your outfit.  Not looking directly at the camera gives photos a more candid feel as well, as if you're unaware of the camera.  It can make you look more natural, rather than posed and rigidly looking into a camera lens.  Obviously you know the camera is there, but acting like it isn't can result in photos that are much more natural and relaxed.

USE DIFFERENT ANGLES + POINTS OF VIEW

I'm not a big fan of seeing 10 outfit photos of someone standing in the same place with slight variations on the same pose. Granted, I'm guilty of it at times when I'm not feeling very creative or am being more lazy, but I love outfit photos that are visually interesting in addition to showing my outfit. One way to help your photos be more interesting is to use some different angles. This can be a bit more difficult if you're using a tripod, but the more you get comfortable using a tripod & self-timer, the better you get at making it work to get the angles and compositions you want!

Sometimes using a self-timer and tripod and be really frustrating, but don't give up! True story, I've gotten so mad trying to take photos that I've thrown my bike and screamed after trying to get shots of myself riding it (I think PMS may have contributed to that incident...). It can be hard to take outfit shots with just a tripod & self-timer, and there will for sure be times you wish you could just have a professional photographer boyfriend to take your outfit shots every day, but I love the independence that taking my own outfit photos has given me. I don't need to have someone around to do my photos, I can take my own! Whenever, wherever!  And taking your own photos helps you get better at photography in general.  You'll learn about composition, how your camera works, what lighting works best, and more, just from practicing it all the time.

PHOTOGRAPHY: TELL A STORY

A nice dynamic to add to your photos is storytelling. Storytelling adds an element of narrative to your photos, rather than having them be simply two dimensional. It draws the viewer into your world and establishes a connection that doesn't require text to communicate. The viewer will be able to visually see a story develop that will make your post more interesting. You can tell a story with just one photo, even. Think about how much more story there is to the photo above with the cat than if it was just a photo of shoes!

A good way to incorporate a story line into your photos is to include various locations. As you can see in the example sets above and below, the photos were all taken in the same basic area, but by changing the perspective, camera angle and background, you get a sense of story and exploration. You can do this by varying your body position and the angle of the photo, in addition to taking photos in different spots. This is also a good way to get different angles of your outfit, if you're taking outfit photos.

Telling a story in this way also adds visual interest to your photos by giving your audience a different background to look at in each picture, as opposed to the same photograph with different poses. It moves the viewer's eye around, rather than giving them a stagnant series of images.

Take a stab at telling a story with your photos this week! Move around, get different angles and perspectives, give your viewers something to pique their interest!