Hey, clickbait much?! I know. I’m not talking about my face, or body, or really any crap you’d find in a women’s glossy magazine.
I’m talking about life. And specifically, I’m talking about styling yourself online. Most particularly, Instagram and Pinterest (you can follow me in both places!).
I share finished projects in un-pretty ways. Basically, you see what I see. No props. No extra cleaning. No retaking the photo for an hour to make it look good.
I’m not anti any of that stuff. I am a photographer (it’s not something I share online though, it’s mostly a private creative thing for me). It’s just that it’s not the type of photography that does anything for me – in terms of taking it. Sure, the styled photos of uber projects on Pinterest look good.
I don’t really go to Pinterest to see some incredibly styled things. Sure, I have an entire series of boards for a dream home. But I don’t actually use any of those boards; they’re not ones I refer to. Every day, practical things are what I like and actually refer to. Anecdotally, I’ve heard more than a few people say that they see the ‘perfect’ final results of others and just don’t bother trying.
So I’ve consciously decided to take a realistic point of view with any projects I pin. I just feel like sometimes the internet needs a reminder of reality.
As for meals that I Instagram, well, they’re snapped on the go because I want to EAT usually. But I’ve covered before why I would never make it as a food blogger.
How do you feel about ‘perfect’ pins and Instagrams?
I have a blog in my drafts called “A day in the unstyled life” where I rant about the perfect prettiness we are bombarded with in blogs, mags, on tv etc, contrasted with the mess of my house/food/wardrobe. Never had the balls to publish it though.
I totally get what you’re saying- not everyone wants to or needs to present themselves/their lives in a styled way … Not that there’s anything wrong with that though :p you just have to take it all with a grain of salt and remember: life isn’t always so neat and pretty
Press that publish button!!
Guilty as charged. I must admit I love the escapism of it all, because I love looking at pretty pictures, but your point is important, because I think it’s important not to actually believe the lives being represented are real. It’s like a Hollywood version of life x
I am very much guilty as charged as well – I do pin the ‘pretty’ stuff too! So I feel like a bit of a hypocrite but also not haha.
Hmm, I am always drawn in to the perfect photos but real ones are even better because it makes it so much more attainable I think. I know that everything I share is very real and very unperfect and that is just the way it is.
To be honest, I tend to think that they have been photoshopped!
Some probably have been, maybe that’s why I don’t like them sometimes: I learned to take photos on a film SLR so to me you have to get the photo correct in the camera, not in the computer later.
I like looking at pretty pictures, but I’m not good at taking them. I love the keep it real shots because I feel better that I’m not the only one that can’t take pretty pictures. 😉
Reality can be motivation!
I too think that if I see a perfect picture I think that there is no way I can attempt it. I find with recipes in particular that the ‘real’ photos have recipes that have easier to find ingredients in them as well. None of those obscure ingredients that I am going to use once and it will cost me an arm and a leg.
Good point! Practicality also has to do with using what we have, not going out of our way for one ingredient.
Don’t most of the food shots they use in magazine have food made of plastic? Honestly, the appalling photos I put on my blog are a disgrace. I put a photo of a Shepherd’s Pie on once and even my sister in law was shocked and told me so in no uncertain terms!
I’m not actually sure, but I wouldn’t be surprised. My food never looks like a magazine – but I much prefer to care about what it tastes like!
I try to steer away form pinterest these days, especially when I’m planning a cake for one of my daughters’ birthdays. Too many times I’ve tried to replicate something pretty that I’ve seen online and been disappointed. I prefer the real shots, but the pretty ones do have a place too.
I say go basic (heck, packet mix if need be) and just ice & personalise toppings with toys or m&ms (or whatever works). Let the people with too much time on their hands do the fancy stuff 🙂
I am with you – I want to see real life not something that is over styled and that I have no chance of achieving… p.s I agree with food shots on the fly, let’s face it a girl has got to eat!
Exactly! A styled food shot is fine, in context. But I sure don’t eat like that…food still ends up on my face and in my hair when I eat! 🙂
I believe the best photos are those that are a mix of perfect timing and amazing subject, posed photos are always obvious but when you stumble upon a great photo accidentally or without planning, these are the ones that win hearts and awards x
From the photographer part of my brain, a purely candid photo is perfect. I live by the beach and see weddings often – one day we were watching a wedding photographer follow a newly married couple onto a jetty for photos, very clearly getting just the ‘shot list’ and nothing else.
There was a moment where the bride’s shoe fell off and the groom immediately bent down and gently put it back on; they were laughing & happy. It would have made an absolutely gorgeous photo if the photographer wasn’t just focused on getting the ‘compulsory’ shots.