7 Things I've Learned About Styling So Far

Less than a year ago I got the opportunity to do a little display work in my retail job at the time. It was only because there was a delay with deliveries and there wasn't much to do, and my wonderful manager at the time gave me the task of making some fun product displays, and gave me free reign to do whatever I liked with them. They were some of the most fun shifts I have ever had in any job, and it was a bit of a lightbulb moment for me as it got my brain swirling with vague ideas about some kind of career in styling, design, interiors, or decorating in some capacity. In the fairly short time since then, I've done work experience in the industry, now have a job in a fantastic homewares store with an amazing interior stylist as a boss, and the vague ideas from back then are forming into more focused aspirations to become a stylist. I still have so, so much to learn and still a lot of hard work to do to get to anywhere near where I want to be, but I am loving being able to practice prop styling for this blog and other projects, and helping style furniture and homewares at the store I work at!

The other day I was styling some vignettes for this month's 7 Vignettes project by Interiors Addict. As I was making a huge mess of melted chocolate (I'll get to that) and gathering all sorts of things from around our house and actually talking to myself at one point, I had to have a laugh. Styling photos makes me act a little crazy and really pushes me to get creative. Here are some things I have learned and experienced so far when prop styling for photos...

1. Being absolutely void of any ideas whatsoever for a project and sulking about it and worrying that I'll never have another idea ever again. (I think any creative activity suffers from this one!)

2. Then being almost overwhelmed with inspiration from all sorts of unlikely places and trying to do four projects at once. I'll be inspired by Pinterest, people's blogs, interior magazines, a homewares catalogue, all sorts of things, and suddenly when inspiration strikes it tends to unleash an almighty flood of creative ideas. I've found myself in the middle of doing one thing and I suddenly have to go and grab something else for another idea that's just sprung to mind for a completely different project... and I'll end up doing four different projects at once.

3. Fossicking for objects to use in a vignette or styling project anywhere and everywhere is my new thing. When I have an idea, I start to see all sorts of objects in a brand new light, and I search high and low for items to use in my photos, and sometimes find them in the oddest places.

4. And if I can't find quite what I'm looking for... I'll think outside the box. It has sunk in that when prop styling for a photo shoot all that matters is what's in the frame. The other day for example I really wanted some decadent delicious looking cookies in a photo I was taking. I didn't have any, and I didn't want to waste time going to get some and I didn't have any ingredients to make some. All I found was an old packet of very plain wheat biscuits at the back of the cupboard and a very old block of sea salt chocolate that didn't taste very good (why were they in the cupboard still? I don't know). So I put down my camera, melted the chocolate, drizzled it all over the plain biscuits and voilà! Delicious looking shiny chocolately drizzly biscuits for my photos. Every time I put something together I find myself doing something like this!

5. A large white piece of card has been my must have styling tool. I live in a rental house which has sage/seafoam green walls. A large white piece of card to use as a background has been a fantastic $2 investment, although I really should upgrade to some kind of wood panel or something less prone to bending and marking.

6. Agonizing over the placement of every object of the picture. I'm getting really fussy over my composition of images, that's for sure! I want to have everything in the frame balanced and perfect. It's really helping my photography skills!

7. And then agonizing over which picture is the best one to use. I'll take so many photos of the same thing, most people would think they all look the same. But I'll spend a long, long time agonizing over how this one has the slightly better lighting, however this one has the poster and the tabletop perfectly straight and in line.

I'm sure that a lot of bloggers who take a lot of pictures for their blogs can relate to these as well! What are your photography and styling habits? Do you have props that you always use, or short cuts you like to take? 

Hope everyone is having a brilliant week!

Nina xo

P.S. Yes, these pictures were taken on my new camera! I am definitely still learning the ins and outs of it, but I'm loving it.

Currently

Hello! Wow, I cannot believe the first week of March is already nearly over! How fast is this year going so far?

I wanted to share a couple of current things in my life, or upcoming things I'm excited about!

1. Firstly and most importantly, I got a new camera! I got this gorgeous white Sony a6000 and it is amazing. I am still a total amateur when it comes to photography, so I can't wait to learn all I can on such an awesome camera. I have only had a little play with it and I haven't tapped into its true potential yet, and I'm already in love with it. After doing a tonne of research into cameras and liking this one, I was so excited to see that it came in white, I just had to get it. I was totally happy to spend more money to have the white one. Sometimes you just gotta do what you gotta do.

2. I was really excited to read that Adore Home Magazine are releasing another print edition! The last one was so beautiful, I love it. This one is called the Paradise Edition, and they are running a Pozible campaign to raise money for printing costs. Head over here to pre-order!

3. I bought a small string of pearls plant a little while ago, and it's growing well! They are such interesting and pretty plants. I just need to find a really nice hanging pot for it. Once it gets settled it'll be pretty hard to move around, so I need the perfect pot! I'm actually considering making one. If you have any DIY hanging pot tutorials to recommend, let me know!

4. This is a bit of a strange one. I just got a pair of Timberland boots! They arrived this morning, and I'm pretty excited. I just wanted a comfy boot for travelling, walking, hiking, that also looked nice to me. When I'm in Japan later this month, I think they'll be great to wear all day walking around and exploring (with their anti-fatigue technology and waterproof exterior... God I sound like an ad!) and then will look fine to wear to a restaurant or out for drinks etc at night (let's face it a lot of hiking shoes are really, really hideous, although I'm sure they are very comfortable and perfect for hiking). My brother has already teased me about them, calling me Kanye - I guess I kind of didn't know there was a stereotype surrounding these boots? Anyway, I'm a fan. And I'm not a rapper in case you were wondering.

I have lots and lots of ideas and projects I can't wait to share with you guys... Hope everyone is enjoying March so far!

Nina xo

Simple, Delicious Fruit Infused Water!

Hello! I've been getting more and more interested in healthy living and clean eating lately and have seen a number of infused water pictures around instagram and healthy blogs. I feel like I haven't been drinking enough water lately, maybe because it's winter here in Australia, so I thought I'd make some infused water to encourage me to drink more throughout the day. The pretty colours and nice taste definitely remind me to drink more!

This one is frozen mixed berries with home grown mint and filtered water. The frozen berries make it nice and cold, and I used both regular mint and chocolate mint. Mmmm...

This one is tangerine and home grown lime verbena (a herb used in drinks and teas). I wanted to add cucumber as well, but we didn't have any left, oops. It looks a little murky because I shook it up. I can't believe how infused and how flavourful these were instantly.

I refilled the water after drinking the first jar, reusing the fruit. And I ate the berries and the mandarin slices after/during drinking it as well haha! So the fruit definitely doesn't go to waste. I've also heard of people re-freezing the berries and using them in smoothies!

Finn wanted to be a part of it as usual. He's such a poser! He came and flopped right on me while I was taking photos. I love it when the cats want to be involved.

I'm not sure which is my favourite! You could get much more creative with the flavours of course, this time I just grabbed a couple of ingredients that were at hand and threw them together on a whim. But my brain is already thinking of more combinations for next time. I'd recommend serving this with a spoon or little fork on the side if you want to eat the fruit with it right away. If not, keep refilling and reusing the fruit throughout the day. On a side note, my neighbours must think I'm really weird, lying on my lawn taking photos of mysterious jars and talking to the cat. Oh well!