Favourite Instagrammers #12

Hello again guys; for the past couple of months I haven't been loving instagram as much as I did before, I feel like that's because I decided to have a bit of a break from it. I wanted to have a break because as a blogger, I like using social media as a way to interact with other people (bloggers or not) and gaining inspiration, which I felt instagram was lacking for me. I started using Twitter and Pinterest a lot more, and I found that was the perfect mix; Twitter is fantastic for interacting with other people, making friends and supporting each other. Similarly, Pinterest is great for inspiration, but I love instagram again now too. I feel like after having a break, I've realised why I liked it. I just really enjoy scrolling through and seeing people's lives and loves. So, this month I've decided to have a look at some of the Instagrammers who I've been following for a couple of years as there must be a reason why I've followed them for so long... (hint: the feeds are lovely!)

 

sirenandrose

I've been following Megan on social media since she was more commonly known as TheBriarRoseBlog and I've always loved her girly, whimsical and quirky sense of style. Over the years she has definitely changed, mostly because when I first followed her she had vibrant, waist length red hair and now her hair is (just as stunning) still long, but curly and bronde ombré. However much her hair has changed, her beautiful photography hasn't and nor has her sense of style; whenever I see a floral dress on Megan I instantly think that she looks like a fairy! It's hardly surprising that she has so many followers because of the mix of the lovely coastal Cornwall views and pastel, girly and Disney inspired homeward splashed all over her feed.

 

justmolly

I have no clue when it was that I followed Molly, but I'm going to assume it was a while ago, as I found her feed through her YouTube video 'the piercing tag' and she had only one tattoo then. She's definitely a bit of a geeky, girly girl with a love for Harry Potter, Doctor Who and many more. She takes some beautiful photographs of nature, friends, pets and architecture and often dabbles in cosplay and writes interesting little captions to match the images. Recently she's been working in a bullet journal and I'm enjoying seeing the updates of where she's at with that, her drawings and collages.

 

rosietheginger

Rosie has the loveliest instagram feed; full of selfies, various outfit of the day posts, travel and her art. I've followed for a couple of years and she honestly comes across as so mature, much older than she is with her incredible sense of style. I like how she fully embraces her pale skin tone and often posts make up looks that suit pale skin. I tend to prefer feeds that don't have a theme, (at least, not an obvious one) and I like how Rosie posts about food, nature and many other things as you see snippets of her real life that way, rather than a fake reality. 

 

itslittlelauren

Lauren's feed is a foodies dream! Honestly I feel like whenever she posts I'm ready for whatever fantastic treats she has laid out; whether it's chocolate, milkshakes, cupcakes, fruit, macaroons or many more she always manages to make me crave the naughtiest things! However alongside her foodie posts there are many just as lovely outfit posts, room displays and photos of her out and about. I like the mix of different interests and you get a snippet of all the parts to her life; I just feel like she's keeping it real whilst being super girly and having the most beautiful decor for photo backgrounds I've ever seen.

 

emmablockillustration

Naturally, Emma's instagram feed is an array of her illustrations and I've been following her since before I finished university (which is a few years ago now!) and I love to see her beautifully hand drawn images pop on my homepage. There's some quirky and slightly whimsical about her watercolour painted illustrations; however the main reason that I love her feed so much is that I like getting a glimpse into the different creative steps and stages she passes through before finishing a product. Likewise, recently there's been more selfies and nature appreciation posts and that also nice as it's mixed things up a bit; now I see the person behind the drawings which is really nice, particularly as I've followed her for so long!

How I Edit Photos on an iPhone

 

 

 

The above three photographs show the three main stages of how I edit using my iPhone. The first image is the flatlay that I prepare on a cream fluffy rug, (that cost me £8), as having a nice background genuinely makes all the difference to your photography. I've found that having a neutral coloured background really makes the items you're photographing stand out. I studied photography at A Level and at university but I actually take all of my blog and instagram photos using the camera on my iPhone 6S. If you can't afford lots of expensive equipment there are definitely ways around it. On my iPhone I've made a folder (called Essentials) of really useful photography apps (other than instagram) to use for blogging. The first app I use is VSCO which is great for adjusting brightness, contrast and natural filters. My preferred filer is F2 as it really picks up the cream background of the rug and makes the whole photograph look much less dull. Although there was actually nothing wrong with the original photograph, I feel like with the filter it does look much more put together and appealing to an audience.

 

If I need to make a collage of photos; for example when I write posts about what photographs I've posted to instagram in a month I like to try and condense the amount of photographs in a post as I'm aware of how image heavy posts can be to an audience. The app Fotor is so easy to use for beginners upwards as it clearly lays out different layouts for different amounts of photographs. Once you've picked a layout (for example of 9 photos) you literally pick 9 photos and it slots them in for you. From there you can choose curved or straight edges and different border thicknesses, which is another nice feature. I use this app regularly and have a lot of success with it as it's so simple to use.

 

Another holy grail app in my collection for blogging is Repix; I actually found out about it through reading a post by Lauren about different ways to edit photos for instagram and as a result I've found an app that I really love. It does quite a lot of different things, but you need to purchase more access. I have the standard access which suits me fine as the only option I use is the Flares effect. It allows me to draw light flares with my fingers that give off a bokeh style effect, one that's often used by photographers. I'm my own worst critic and thought that my photography was really lacking and desperately needed improvement. Through editing using these apps I feel like my blog photography has come a long way; one of the best parts of blogging is learning as you go along, and learning from reading and admiring other blogs, which is exactly what I did. Yes, I did study photography but I still had (and have) so much to learn, which I'm trying my best to embrace. Hopefully this will help someone out there that's struggling to take the perfect photograph! Much love xx

 

Favourite Blogs #8

Hello again! I've found that I stress out a little before I write a blogpost. I always overanalyse whether anyone bothers to read my blog, if I'm basically writing something to myself. I worry that there are so many bloggers everywhere now, how could my little corner of the internet possibly be of any interest to anyone? Over the last few years I have definitely realised that I'm very hard on myself. The reason I like blogging is that I like writing and taking photographs; since leaving university and working a lot it's become a means to express myself creatively, which is why I love it so much. However I also love reading other people's blogs; they're a fantastic way to gain inspiration and also understand other opinions about life, beauty products, mental health... There are as many themes for blogs as there are bloggers and I've found that every month I discover a new blog that I enjoy.

 

www.itslittlelauren.co.uk

Lauren's blog is literally amazing if you're into food, girlie things and interior design; I love how she keeps it real and posts about living with a chronic illness as well as being really honest about how she built up her blog and instagram following. As a new blogger, it was really lovely and helpful to read about how she edits her instagram and blog photos, as well as an honest post about what really goes on behind the scenes of the perfect instagram photograph. Her blog is so polished and is like a dream with the colourscheme of pink and white and endless posts on make up. As she's got really lovely taste in Make Up, I honestly trust all of her recommendations as I feel like she only posts something that she really likes, which I think is great in a blogger.

 

www.northernnancy.com

At the minute I'm really enjoying looking at established blogs alongside new blogs; Abbie's blog is more in between those two. Her posts often contains beauty, fashion and liftesyle as the content but my personal favourites are her beauty posts. Her make up collection is one to be desired and I've been loving the posts where she clearly swatches out different lipstick shades and types from matte mac ones to nyx liquid lip creams as she has a similar skin tone to mine. I also like how she directly talks about different trends, such as the 90s beauty trend of brown lipstick as it shows she actually knows what she's writing about and has taken the time to find out about a topic. I feel like she only writes about subjects that she feels confident about, which is something that inspires me.

 

www.sophielouisesdiary.com

I would describe Sophie's blog as being a primarily fashion based, which is different for me as I usually prefer beauty blogs. That said, I really like how she mixes her travels with her outfit posts. She's a new blogger too, which is always nice to see as I enjoy watching blogs develop from small followings to larger followings. Her outfits are effortless but classic, her sense of style is great and I like how her photographs don't look overdone; they're more like street style snaps which is nice as it feels like she's taking you on a journey of what she wore throughout the day. Her most recent post touches on what trends are expected for spring and summer, which is a nice reminder that nice weather is just around the corner (hopefully)!

 

www.littlegirlfromwales.com

Another smaller blog that I've been loving this month is more of a travel and food related blog. Gwawr is a trained chef so her baked goodies look simply delicious. What I love about her blog is that it's not all about the views, or who is reading. It's literally like a visual diary and I personally find that both refreshing and inspiring. As someone who has grown up in London, I enjoy seeing others who show their hometowns, and Wales always looks so beautifully rural; many of Gwawr's posts feature her native Wales and she discusses how no one appreciates where they are from until they've been somewhere far away for a while. She definitely deserves much more attention than her stats suggest she does.

 

www.memyselfandivy.com

Amy's blog about her family is lovely. It's not the typical family goals life as her eldest child is chronically ill and often they're out and about the hospital; yes I do think that is absolutely horrible but at the same time I think it's incredible that she uses her blog to raise awareness of childhood illnesses. Amy often posts about how to donate or help hospital causes, which I believe most people who just breeze through life take for granted. Her blog also document her family life in terms of holidays, outfits, activity days and general life as a mother. As I don't have any children myself I can't say that I understand her situation, but I truly admire her strength and would love to see her blog continuing to support her growing family!