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Instagram, here we come!

December 1, 2015

The Blog Spa is on Instagram

Like a butterfly preparing to emerge from its cocoon, I deleted all the old photos in my Instagram account – mainly a few hundred travel photos (yep, I’m a travel addict!) – and decided to restart on a fresh note.

It may sound silly but I actually felt a little sad deleting my old photos one by one. It almost felt like I was slowly erasing a part of my life that I’ve come to identify myself so closely with. But in the end, starting on a clean slate felt really liberating as well. To me, it meant two personal milestones – a celebration of my career reinvention over the past few years, and the creative freedom to develop a new sense of visual aesthetics which is something I find really fulfilling to do as a designer.

Over the years, I’ve noticed that popular Instagram accounts that are also beautiful and eye-catching often follow consistent color schemes and themes. Consistency is especially important when you are trying to build a brand around your imagery or simply to learn how to develop a better eye. I like to become better at this by being more mindful of each image that I post. My old Instagram photos used to look dark and felt somewhat heavy and gloomy. This is something I like to change and so you’ll see me posting more photos that look brighter and cleaner from now on!

I also like to draw a comfortable balance between personal and business images in my Instagram account, which is something I’ll play by ear for now. Let’s see how that turns out with time.

What about you? Is there anything in your life you would like to change or start from scratch again, and have you taken any actions to work towards it? Do share!

Filed Under: News, Photography Tagged With: Instagram, The Blog Spa

Behind-The-Scenes of a Portrait Photoshoot

November 21, 2015

in-out-forever

About 2 months ago, I had the pleasure of working with the very talented and inspiring photographer D’Arcy Benincosa when she flew down to Singapore from USA to shoot a wedding. I came across her lovely portfolio online and reached out to her as I desperately wanted to upgrade my head shot from a iPhone selfie to a professional photo. If you’ve never worked with a professional photographer before, here’s a rundown of the whole process and what to expect.

Even before meeting D’Arcy, the photoshoot starts not with the camera but with me creating a Pinterest board showing a collection of images that I like. This was a process I had slowly started weeks ago, sourcing images all over the internet and accounts of people that I follow on Pinterest. I also thought of the clothes and makeup I wanted to wear, tried on a few different options at home and using a self-timer camera, took photos of myself to see what looks best in terms of colors and style. Ideally it would have been nice to hire a fashion and makeup stylist but without a big budget, it was all about doing the best you can on your own. As you can see, a successful photo, even when it looks simple, can involve lots of behind-the-scenes planning and preparation.

When the photoshoot day finally came, D’Arcy and me sat down for a discussion to understand my business goals as well as vision for the headshot. D’Arcy took a look at my Pinterest board and quickly understood what I was looking for based on common visual elements such as clean backgrounds and soft colors. I also elaborated that I wanted a look that feels feminine and even artistic although not abstract.

Eva-Messy-Hair

Eva-Messy-Hair-2

There are people in this world who enjoy being in front of the camera – well… sadly that is not me. Being camera-shy and a little sick that morning, I was feeling nervous and apprehensive about modeling for the photoshoot. However, D’Arcy with her cheerful personality did an excellent job at making me feel comfortable and patiently demonstrated simple poses or movements I could do. A glass of wine and nice music helped to soothe my jittery nerves as well! Using natural light from big windows, my living room was the studio setting which involved finding a clean bare wall for me to pose in front of and rearranging furniture around. The photoshoot itself lasted about 2 hours and actually felt like it went by pretty fast. Final photos were delivered to me a month later after going through post-processing which basically means using Photoshop to improve colors and small details digitally.

In the end, I was really happy about the results and overall experience. I’m sharing a few of my most favorite photos in this blog post as well as the sidebar and About page. As seen at the very top, I especially loved making an animated gif from some of the more experimental shots.

Having your portrait taken professionally can be fun as well as valuable in elevating your image and blog or business. Take your time to do lots of research on different photographers, see if their portfolio resonates with you and importantly, have a conversation with them to make sure that they are somebody you can feel comfortable working with. Finding an experienced photographer you like is half the battle won, the rest is to relax and enjoy yourself as much as possible during the photoshoot. Last but not least, don’t be afraid to show the world your shining personality!

Filed Under: Photography Tagged With: Photoshoot, Pinterest, Portrait, The Blog Spa

The Beauty of Light

May 22, 2015

Today’s post is all about learning to see better. I’ve always envied photographers who seem to possess an effortless ability to capture beauty wherever they go, and there is a desire deep inside me to do the same.

So recently I’ve been trying to train my eyes to be more observant when I look at images – particularly paying more attention to the existence of light and the way it falls on the subjects. In the past, I would look at images without much thought or analysis. These days, I’m trying to be more mindful by asking myself these questions: Where does the light come from? Is it everywhere in equal amounts or does it seem to come from a particular direction such as the side, top or the back? Are shadows harsh and dramatic, or are they soft and gentle? How do the light and shadows make me feel about the photograph?

Hopefully with more practice, I can make better use of light to add more depth to my images, as well as to create a stronger mood and feel for them. Do you have any tips for studying light in photography? Do share in the comments below.

Light and Shadow in Photography

Light and Shadow in Photography

Light and Shadow in Photography

Light and Shadow in Photography

1. Source: honeypielivingetc, via Pinterest
2. Source: cinnamoncheri, via Pinterest
3. Source: Akiko Hirai Ceramics, via Pinterest
4. Source: vacants, via Pinterest

Filed Under: Photography Tagged With: Light, Photography, Shadow

A New-Found Love for Photo Styling

May 11, 2015

The past few years, the desire to become a web designer has led me to focus rather obsessively on learning coding. This was a long journey that is worth a blog post by itself for another day. Now that the online shop has been launched, I’ve finally had more time to pick up my sorely-neglected photography skills especially in the lifestyle realm. It’s never too late to start so recently I’ve started going back to basics and reading up more on photography from books and blogs. I was also binge-watching Skillshare workshops which I highly recommend for all creative folks. A couple of my favorite workshops are Lifestyle Photography: Capturing Food, Flavors, Conversation and Food Photography: Shooting in 5 Styles. Do check them out especially if you’re wanting to improve your food photography.

During the process, I’ve discovered the proper term for something I’ve always enjoyed looking at but had no words for it until now, and that is…. PROPS STYLING! Basically a prop stylist is somebody who uses objects and styles them up to make a photograph look more attractive. We all know what a photographer does but the work of a prop stylist often goes unnoticed or taken for granted. In the name of improving my photography and sharing this journey with all my readers, I thought it would be fun to start a series of photography and prop styling tips for my blog. So without further ado, here is Tip #1…

PHOTO STYLING TIP: Rather than using a wooden or textile surface, use a simple but bold graphic pattern as your background instead for a modern oomph.

Photo Styling Tip by The Blog Spa

Styling and Photography by Sully Sullivan for Haus Candles.

Filed Under: Photography Tagged With: Photography, Photostyling Tips, Props

Hello + Welcome

Hello + Welcome

Hello there. I'm Eva Lim, the founder of The Blog Spa. I'm so thrilled that you are here! In this corner of my world, you will find lots of blogging tips and creative inspiration, plus little bits of my personal life and things that wow and delight me. This blog is really about finding beauty and inspiration no matter where you are, as well as the joy of learning something new everyday. I hope you will stick around and let's enjoy the ride together. xoxo

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