I’m constantly experimenting with photo styling as I continue on this blog journey, and I absorb inspiration from all sorts of places, from magazines, food stylists, prop stylists, Pinterest too.  One of the things I’m always looking to improve is my photography.  I’ve come a long way since the beginning of this blog in 2009 but I think I still have a way to go, I aim high!

When I look at the portfolios of professional stylists, I’m always so impressed and inspired, and when I’ve had the opportunity to work or converse with them, I try to learn a thing or two from their many talents.  Here are five tips I’ve learned in the past year when it comes to styling and photographing a project, scene, recipe, or room.

Shoot from Above.   Taking a picture of a scene from a bird’s eye view is one additional angle to consider when taking pictures of your latest tablescape, project, or recipe.  This can be complicated for larger scenes because you need a lens that can capture all of the subject matter and the advantage of height above it, and it doesn’t work with everything, but it’s a great trick to keep in the back of your mind when you’re taking pictures from the side, think about snapping a picture from a high above angle too.

Agent Bauer

Halloween tablescape for Dabble Magazine

The Marion House Book

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I have days where I’m coasting along getting a ton of work done then I have days like today where the day totally gets away from me and I’m frustrated I didn’t finish as much as I wanted.  Such is life.  Some days you accomplish much, other days, you’ve got to close up shop, relax on the couch, recharge, and tell yourself in the words of Scarlett O’Hara, “Tomorrow is another day.”   Since I didn’t get much done today beyond the morning dishes and responding to a few emails, I thought it the perfect time to answer a FAQ I get a lot: “How do you manage to do so much?”  Oh the irony! 

Here are the five tools this full time momma blogger relies upon most for time management, organization, and all that jazz.   

1. The “Mom Binder”:   I make one of these every year, it’s often called a Command Central binder, but it’s the one that’s filled with the school calendar, PTA information, homework policies, contact list, and sports schedules.  I store it in the family room computer armoire when I need to look something up!

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Hello friends, it’s just an ordinary Wednesday for most, but for me today marks three years blogging here at this site. Looking back, I’m rather proud of everything that’s happened to date and very excited for what the future brings. I still find it a bit surreal that this hobby-turned-real job thing happened to little ol’ me.

The first thing I want to say is thank you to all of you who come over to visit with me, who leave such nice comments, and who interact with me via email and on social media. 

I also need to thank all of the DIY and design bloggers and businesses out there who’ve been incredibly supportive, welcoming, and encouraging – you really are such an amazing community and I’m honored to be a part of this online movement to better our lives and homes through good design and a can-do attitude.  And also thank you to my contributors, Courtney, Amanda, Michelle, and Abi – they’ve helped so much with this site!

My second year of blogging brought some fantastic features my way including  partnering with DIY Magazine, working with Matthew Mead for Holiday Magazine, and I also had my home featured in Better Homes & Gardens Christmas Ideas magazine.  Just this week, the blog hit 27 million pageviews, which I still can’t wrap my head around but those are the stats. 

Last month, I partnered with four other bloggers to write the Growing Your Blog Series (links to all five posts are there – it’s a great read) but today, I’d like to offer some words of encouragement and a few thoughts on what I think is the key to a successful DIY blog.

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A new blogger Abby wrote to me last week asking how I find stuff to write about everyday and I had to really think about it. I don’t often suffer from writer’s block but I used to in the beginning. These days, it just sorta comes to me at night which is why I keep a notebook by my bed of thoughts and ideas. I also get inspired from a lot of what I read online.

Writer’s block is a real issue that bloggers encounter at some point. It can be mild or it can be crippling.  It’s that feeling of not knowing what to say, what to write, what to put out there and to be frank I didn’t really know how to answer Abby’s question.

But then it came to me last night. How about 50 blog posts from writers that I’ve bookmarked or remembered from the past year. All of these posts are great because they’re personal and/or offer a takeaway. So here you go Abby, fifty great examples of what to write about when you can’t think of anything at all.

1.  Answer a reader’s question (like Kristi did).

2.  Rediscover your home (like Courtney).

3.  Share your vacation photos (love Stefanie’s).

4.  Make a funny observation (like Steph).

5.  Share a great bargain (like Emily).

6.  Teach readers something technical you know all about (like Amy).

7.  Start a clever series.

8.  Try something cool and wacky. (like Ree)

9.  Share some pretty pictures.

10.  Talk about a device that makes your world complete (like Holly).

via In the Fun Lane

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