What goes into being a blogger?

I recently shared on Instagram Stories a behind the scenes look of what a day of shooting blog content looks like for me and many of you enjoyed it. In case you missed it, I saved it in my BTS shoot highlight so you can check it out. To go more in depth with the process though, I summarized what the content creation process looks like for me in the form of a short Q&A.

HOW OFTEN DO YOU SHOOT? 

Over the past few months, I’ve been shooting more consistently, say 2 to 3 times a month. I schedule the shoots on Sundays since that’s the day that works best for me and my photographer.

WHO’S YOUR PHOTOGRAPHER?

In the past, my family members and friends have all served as a photographer. I’ve worked with freelance photographers as well but more recently, my friend Martha of @malinycollections (check out our Essence Magazine Cover challenge here) is also a blogger so we take turns shooting each other’s pictures. Neither of us are professional photographers but we do our best and learn as we go.

I took these pictures of us by setting up my phone on a mini tripod and using a remote to capture the shots. It’s funny how we often show up to shoot wearing similar things. This was completely unplanned.

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HOW MANY OUTFITS DO YOU SHOOT AT A TIME? 

I can’t imagine shooting daily so batching our content creation process has been the most beneficial for us. Martha takes my photos and records a short clip of my look then I take her photos and record her video before changing to the next look in the car and repeating the process again for 4 to 6 looks each. 

WHERE DO YOU SHOOT?

Unfortunately, we haven’t found an array of locations that would allow us to shoot against multiple backgrounds so we have stuck to our local parks and simply switch locations within said parks. Sometimes, we shoot on the streets or near houses with pretty front yards.

HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN BLOGGING?

My first blog post went live 12/5/2012 so at the end of 2020, I will have reached 8 years.

WHAT HAPPENS AFTER YOU TAKE THE PICTURES?

The picture taking is probably the easiest part of the process. After taking hundreds of photos in one shoot, they have to be uploaded to Dropbox. Then I select about 10-12 of the best shots for each look and edit them in Lightroom. From there, they are added in WordPress in a draft where Alt text are added to ensure my pictures come up in Google searches.

I then have to come up with a topic to write about. Google drive is what I used to keep an arsenal of ideas that I choose from when it’s time to write a post. I do some research when necessary before writing the draft; I search links for the items I’m wearing or similar ones, edit and format the post. When it’s almost ready to be published, I add tags for search engine optimization (SEO), select which category the post falls under, select a featured image.

When the post goes live, I have to promote it on all my social platforms to make sure you guys see it: Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram feed and Instagram stories, Twitter and even WhatsApp. I also interact with you guys by answering comments and that takes a lot of time too. Blogging is clearly not for the weak. It requires a lot of commitment and consistent hard work which I’m still struggling to find a balance with but because I love it, I do my best to keep up with all the moving parts as often as possible.

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That’s all for today folks. If you guys have any other questions for me about blogging or anything else fashion related, don’t hesitate to ask. Until next time, be well and be kind to everyone, especially the unlovable!