Leave No Place UnSequined
This week’s theme is sequins and what I learned from shooting in a little glitz and glam is that I- as hard as this might be to believe- need more sparkle in my life. There is something about a good row of sequins that makes everything brighter. They reflect and shine what’s around them, rather then selfishly sucking in the energy. I look up to sequins! Sequins are the type of people I want to be.
Reflect the Good
Excuse me for what might be a far fetched tangent here, but it seems like sequins are a great analogy for life. I love justifying my fashion obsession with philosophy, so hear me out. Sequins have a magical ability of shining brightly by bringing to life, reflecting and extending the light that surrounds them naturally. With out the light of others a sequin fails to be more than a bizarre plastic disc with a little lustre. However, with the help of a little external glow that sequin sparkles to life. It reflects the good of it’s surroundings, and in turn grows in beauty.
Fighting Our Culture
We largely live today in a society that acts very much counter the way a sequin does. We measure our worth by how much do I control, how much I do , how much credit I receive, how much I achieve. To think externally and about one’s community in counter to what we are taught. We are pressured into thinking from children that we are in some weird horse race, constantly battling to be the top. In this world of mes it’s hard to focus on the we.
Why The We Matters
The more we focus solely on ourselves the more restricted we are in our potential. Let me explain. I am one person, with only a certain amount of talents, a limited sense of perspective and a certain mental capacity. I, by definition, am limited in what I can do. I could focus all my energy in doing something by myself and still not have the right resources to do it. However, when my goals and ambitions extend to include my community- viewing them as co-patriots to success rather than competition- suddenly I have a pool of talents to resource from, a varying set of perspectives and many more chances to succeed.
It’s hard to wrap your head around, and I am certain I have not done the concept justice with these words. Simply put, if you work to develop your community, your community will work to develop you and you will both be better than you could be individually.
Shop This Look
- Jordyn Sequin Wide Leg Trouser (Shown In Wine)
- Tara Wrap Front Bodysuit (Shown In Dusky Pink)
- ASOS TANG Lace Up Sandals
- Kenneth Jay Lane – Gold-plated Hoop Earrings
On some of the above links I earn affiliate commission. This helps support my blog, but does not influence what products I select to showcase.
The easiest way to learn about your body is to begin to think about what you want to accentuate. For example, if I want you to focus on my booty, I am going push that towards the camera more so it’s emphasized in the picture. You can minimize a feature in the opposite way- by pulling it away from the camera. Before shooting think about what focus of the outfit is, and make sure you are emphasizing it and diminishing anything that my distract from that focus.
It’s weird as women we’re often encouraged to not take up space, but in photography space is essential. Creating space ads visual interest and often during shoots can create unique interesting perspectives. Dancing can loosen the body allowing you to be more playful in the photos and create natural additions of space. In general, don’t be afraid of taking up more room in an image; it’s your frame you should own it all.
More often then not, catching the light on your face will produce a more beautiful and complementary photo then your face in the shadow. This simple difference- good lighting versus meh lighting- is often the difference between a camera throw away and one you frame. Your photographer will often guide you to the light. However, if you are self- shooting, take time to walk in a 360 degree circle taking selfies. You’ll quickly see the angle with the best light and in time you’ll be able to recognize with out that little trick.
Lastly, the more you allow your own personality to come through in a photo the better it will be. If you focus too much on the nuances, you lose the spirit. And the spirit is what a makes a photo great.
So I kind of decided this week all my future jackets will be faux fur, because wearing them is like wearing a cloak of teddy bear love. I actually loved them so much that for the last look I got stuck between two vests, before choosing one for the look book. So I’ve decided to provide a little round up of all the affordable plus size faux furs I got my beady eyes on. Because like Pokemon I want them, I want them all.
I was in New York just a few days and needed to take photos of my outfits for my look book pretty much as I wore them. However this particular outfit was… problematic. See I had absolutely fallen in love with Good American jeans, so I had a pair of their black denims rush delivered to my office in NYC. Specifically for this shoot. Specifically for this look. Specifically so I could come up with a reason to buy another paid of the pants I loved.
However upon arrival, I was sorely disappointed. The pants that had fit me like a glove in the lighter shade, were like a jig saw puzzle to put on in the new darker color. I literally had to lie down on my bed, suck in for all it was worth and say a long well thought out prayer to sweet baby Jesus to get these jeans on. I actually cut into my finger pulling the zipper up- it was that much of a struggle bus. They were easily two sizes smaller than the pair I had originally purchased… but they were marked the same.
I was in a make it work situation. I did not have anything else planned let alone packed to wear. I had put all my eggs in these jeans. Which obviously was dumb, because here I was watching those eggs drop through the leg holes and make a figurative yolky mess. But, I had to press on. So wearing the world’s tightest pants, I literally wobbled down the street to my office, praying that none of the seams split until after I got the photos I needed.
It bothers that I cant exactly explain just exactly what was so off with the fit. I climbed the stairs to the shoot with little to no problem. Normal walking was hard. Everything felt like I had been made into some gross human sausage that some one was aggressively squeezing so it would pop out of the casing dramatically. But yet to onlookers they looked banging, while internally I felt them mash my precious organs to tiny little bits.
I got up there and I modeled through it. I got the shots. My ass looked fabulous. But while I love this look, I got to be real with you. These jeans sucked. They were terrible. And right after the camera stopped, I raced to rip these off my body to send them back to the hell they came from. And now I sit here thinking about how those Kardasians probably wont give me my money back. How I will probably be out $200 because their fit is inconstant between washes. How I was a sucker and I deserve exactly what I got. I still think the blue 02 wash is amazing, but seriously anything else be very very very wary of. Weep womp.
Outfit details:
