What you need to know to be an Outfit of the Day Blogger

I admit, I’m still learning… learning a lot on a daily and weekly basis about fashion blogging and outfit of the day posts. I personally have some good outfits and some not so great ones. I’ve got great photos and ones I wish were better. But as I scroll through my Google reader looking at my favorite blogs and the 30 for 30 bloggers I’ve begun to notice a pattern. There are blogs that I zip right past thanks to the powers of my Mighty Mouse and there are posts I clip through to see them in their original blog form.

The things that differentiate these blogs are not necessarily the outfits the blogger has on or the content that is written. A lot of it is based on aesthetical appeal – and those things, luckily, can be learned. You don’t have to be an amazing photographer. You don’t have to live in the most beautiful city in the world. You just need to work within some basic guidelines and always be improving. Will they make a huge difference in the popularity of your blog? No, not right away. But they are bound to catch reader’s attention for the good.

What you need to know about daily outfit posts:

1. Photos should be taken with a camera, not your cell phone, computer, etc… (yes in extreme cases you can work with one of those alternatives. But it should be the exception not the norm.)
2. Use a timer or get a photographer. The reflection in the mirror shots with your phone or camera are great for MySpace (if you still have an account) but they don’t say you are serious about blogging and fashion. Check out my post on how to take your own photos for tips.
3. All photos should be in focus. Readers don’t want to squint to see what you’ve got on. They want to see it plain and clear on their computer. Like this one below, sure it is a fun pictures but the details are missing because it’s not in focus.
4. Heads should not be cut off. If you are going for anonymity here cropping your head out of the picture is one way to do it but it isn’t appealing to see a bunch of headless fashionistas. Take a page from MonkeyFace‘s book and get creative with masking your face.
5. Less is more. Some days you might only have two great pictures. Other days you might have 15, but that does not mean 15 photos should be posted! Readers don’t need to scroll through photo after photo of you looking nearly the same. Think along the lines of: how does this photo further the purpose of this post? Is it a close-up to show the detailing? Does it offer another angle or perspective? Great! If it is just another great shot do without!
6. Crop your photos so that you and your outfit are the main focus. Pictures of you in your outfit far away won’t give your readers any helpful dressing ideas or styling tips. They need and want the up-close and personal. (Below is the same exact picture in the original form and then in the way it appeared on ModlyChic.)
7. SMILE. As Annie sings, ‘You’re never fully dressed without a smile.’ Sure it’s hard, and yeah, you feel stupid smiling at your camera over and over again especially if you are in public. But it is so much more appealing to see a happy blogger than one who looks forlorn all the time. Pretend you are taking the picture with friends and they are going to put it in a frame.
8. Make your pictures big enough to be seen – aka not like below. I admit ModlyChic pics are a little bigger than necessary, but I like the look and feel of large pictures. Besides having them large helps give emphasis to what you are focusing on – your sense of style. (I upload all my photos to Photobucket and then load them into Blogger from there, which seems to help keep the pictures crisp and large.)
9. Not every outfit is worthy of a post. I personally found this one of the hardest lessons to learn. You feel the need to be a consistent blogger, posting outfits often. But that doesn’t mean you need to include a picture of everything you put on. Some days you are going to repeat. Some days you’re going to bum around in a sweatshirt and old jeans.
10. Diversify. This goes along with #9, but in order to fill the voids that come from being more selective with your outfit posting, come up with new features or articles to include on your blog. Highlight another blogger, do a trend report, how-to video, whatever….
11. It’s ok to tweak the coloring and play around with the picture a little bit. You want to show the outfit in the best light possible, the way that will make the true colors and textures apparent. At times that will mean adjusting the coloring of the black/white balance. It might mean ‘magic lassoing’ your body and making that pop a little more. (There is a big visual difference between the two photos below.)
12. Be original. There is nothing worse than seeing bloggers copy someone else’s idea, especially without giving credit. Other bloggers read enough to start noticing trends. As the genie says in Aladdin ‘Beee yourself.’ Your readers will be interested in you.
13. Search for inspiration. Sometimes you’ll open your closet door and seriously think ‘I have nothing to wear! Nothing that hasn’t been done before, nothing new, nothing original, nothing.’ As the 30 for 30 proves, that just isn’t true. There are countless combinations you can come up with. Start looking at magazines and other bloggers to find new ways to remake an old item.
14. Focus on the details. Anyone can put a top and bottom together, most people can make it match. But it’s in the little details that we fashion bloggers tend to excel. The interesting way we tie a scarf, the innovative use of a pin, the new way of layering. It’s those details we want to highlight so others can draw inspiration from them.
15. It’s ok not to spend your money. You don’t need to go into credit card debt (or sell your first born) to be a good fashion blogger. (For example, take Alyson who went a full year without shopping and and Amy who is in the middle of a year’s shopping diet.)
16. Chictopia, Weardrobe, Chicismo, etc… do not help to drive traffic to your blog. You’re better off spending your time working on your blog and growing traffic organically then going around and posting your look on every fashion site out there. (Check out Vahni’s post on this topic)
17. Interact with others. Being a blogger means you are part of a community, it’s a big family. And yes there is the crazy Aunt who no one understands and the wallflower cousin who sits in the corner knitting and the niece you’re so proud of you could be the president of her fan club – but we’re all doing this together. So get involved. (Become a member of Independent Fashion Bloggers or participate in Fashion/Beauty Friend Friday)
18. Leave comments. You like to receive them, so leave them for others to read too. But be honest, sincere and thoughtful when leaving a comment. (Take part in the Comment Challenge that Amy started this month.)

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