Time after time I find myself explaining exactly what it is that I do, I even find myself explaining it to...well, myself. The fact is blogging is a strange gig. Being a blogger is filled with highs and lows; the perks and fun are often offset by self doubt and it's one wild ride sailing off into the tricky tides of variable income and self employment. All of that aside, it is so creatively fulfilling that I've never thought twice about venturing down this path.
So, what is blogging? What is life like as a blogger? What does it mean to make an income from typing away on a computer, working with brands and business, taking photos and sharing content? Well, I decided to answer some of these questions by sharing a few truths (some funny, some weird, some sobering) from behind the screen....
1. It is time consuming
Blogging is often looked upon as cushy, easy or even lazy. It is the opposite. A LOT of time goes into creating content. It can take days for me to create one blog post because of the time involved in writing, sourcing content, photographing, editing, sharing on social channels and keeping up with social media engagement. Yes, it is fun, but it is a timely process.
2. There is no room for self doubt or self consciousness
Being a blogger means sharing yourself, plain and simple. It means sharing images, sharing words, sharing ideas, sharing your life. It takes staunch self confidence in the face of ridicule to share yourself openly with the world, knowing very well there will be judgement - some quiet, some glaringly loud. A thick skin is vital to blogging. Sometimes this starts as "fake it til you make it" and over time it becomes real, the outside opinions start to fade away and you realise that if you love what you create and just one other person likes it too then that is enough.
3. We own tripods, despite what we might want you to believe, no one is following us around with a camera hah and if they are, then damn we know we have reached the blogging holy grail
Yes, we spend way too much time looking for quiet places to take a good pic with our tripod. We get embarrassed when we think we have found a place without a soul in sight and suddenly someone walks past us posing in front our tripod and we know we look like we are crazy. But we gotta do what we gotta do. Sometimes, on a good day, there is a photographer taking our pictures which is a huge win but very often it is just us, riding solo, praying for an empty ally where we can do our thing.
4. We get way too excited about walls
Yep, we sure do love a good wall. You know what they say, a good wall is hard to find...ok, no one says that, except for bloggers, we know it is true. That ever elusive, perfect wall must meet a few criteria. 1 - be in a quiet place. 2 - be the perfect colour and texture. 3 - be in the shade because nothing ruins an outfit pic like an overdose of sunlight from the wrong angel. 4 - must go with our "theme". We know this sounds absolutely nuts but bloggers look at walls and photo op's everywhere they go.
5. We call other bloggers by their blog names, even when we are on a first name basis
This is usually only at events to save detailed introductions and explanations, but sometimes even outside of those situations, we refer to one another by our blog or gram name. It gets pretty strange walking around calling people by their "brand" but we are used to it and don't think twice about it until someone points it out and we realise we sound like a bunch of idiots.
6. We have no room in our apartments or houses because, gifts
There needs to be an ebay just for bloggers. It is a little insane how much stuff comes into our lives. I regularly give things away or pass them on because I hate wastage. I am all about reusing things and recycling, sometimes "stuff" makes me heart sad and I crave for less. There has to be a way around this, I am working on this everyday. I give away lots of pieces or sell them on because I don't have it in me to throw endless masses of stuff away. I also have some great storage systems because so often clothes come back into fashion or can be worn again and again when well looked after.
7. Saying the word "blogger" during an introduction to a new person is daunting as hell
It just feels weird. I don't like saying it, I don't like explaining it, I don't feel confident with it. I should own it, every blogger should, but I think it is so misunderstood that saying it can often open up a can of worms. It all weirds me out really, so I often focus on the other jobs and businesses I do on the side - content writing for other publications, styling clients and event co-ordination, despite blogging being my main gig and source of income.
8. We work hard
Generating business as a blogger means a lot of chasing - chasing brands, chasing opportunity, networking, building a connection with our followers and community, putting ourselves out there and staying true to who we are. It is not all beaches, clothes and coffee, creating content is hard work, that is just a fact. One good image often has twenty terrible ones before it.
9. We totally don't care what you think
10. We totally do care what you think
11. We aren't vain, or self centered, we just love playing dress ups
I love playing dress up's, it has been my jam since I was in nappies. Fashion is in my blood. My images are a reflection of my creativity; what I do is not about vanity, despite how it may be perceived. I enjoy composing pictures, selecting colours, textures, locations and ideas. I would enjoy this just as much if I were styling or dressing someone other than myself but that is not a reality for me. I am with myself everyday, I can access myself everyday and play with my own style and express myself through my blog and that is what it is about - self expression, like curating a magazine only that magazine is your life.
12. We are more than skin deep
I've met some amazing people along my journey into the blogosphere. Intelligent people, caring people, creative people, brilliant business people. Just because the medium we work with is visual it does not take away from the depth of the person creating the image.
13. Our friends/insta hubbies/families/kids think we cray cray
I don't blame them. Being asked to take photos, not just one, but dozens would be pretty damn annoying. We are truly sorry for being so photo high maintenance. It would help if said iphone snapper would kindly tell us when we stand a certain way we look severely unco, or that that pose we think is working a treat actually looks like a crumbled paper bag with a ribbon on it, or that we have food in our teeth or our tags are showing, then we would only need 5 photos taken max, swear!
14. We love what we do and hope you love it too
This is the main goal after all. We hope our content might inspire you visually, motivate you to try something different or shift the way you see the world in some way. I am deeply inspired by certain bloggers, whether that be for their words, their personal stories, their artistic aesthetic or the way they dress, I find so much value in witnessing someone else's life play out in this medium. We don't care if not everybody gets it but we do want the people who follow us to love what we create just as much as we love creating it.
15. We know we aren't changing the world and a blog is just a blog
Blogs are a dime a dozen these days, it is a very saturated market and it shouldn't be taken very seriously. It is fun, it is a legitimate way to conduct a business or launch a career and it can be a means of sharing valuable and important messages but generally, blogging is not a serious business and we get that. Please don't think we take it all that seriously, we can see the funny side of it just as much as you can!