I feel we need to establish some balance and take back that feature for what it's intended to be. I'm sure there are tonnes of people out there who can take perfectly decent shots of new clothes (worthy of being included on those sites) without the photos looking so...cold. There's no personality, no colour, no flavour. One of the reasons I started The Shoe Girl Diaries was because I was tired of trying to judge whether or not I liked something from a stark, stock photo and thought it would be much more helpful to see how they (shoes) looked in real life on someone (that wasn't a model). I've been told numerous times that my photos, rather than stock ones, have enticed someone into buying an item and that's hugely flattering. I've even done it myself; fallen for something on a blog that I wouldn't have looked twice at on the website. I can honestly say looking at those AsSeenOnMe photos in no way drives me towards a purchase. I don't find them insightful or helpful or inspiring. I'd far rather Google it and hope it comes up with an Instagram account or blog with a photo bursting with personality. Stock photos exist to show an item in clear detail. So a customer photo should come from a different angle and offer something else, something different.
I hope I'm making sense here. I'm not sure if you're all seeing what I'm seeing and getting my point or wondering what the hell I'm on about! Sometimes the words don't come to me or I can't express my point clearly (and likely it'll hit me afterwards), unfortunately a mushy brain can be part of my illness. I think #BeRealMarch could easily be misinterpreted to be about looking bad or taking awful photos, but it simply means being unique and letting that charisma shine through without worrying or tweaking anything too much in order to be so-called 'perfect'. I think we should all embrace our own identities and let that come across in our photos (and y'know totally bombard ASOS with our sassy shots until they overtake the current ones). What do you think?
#BeRealMarch information
Day 26 #BeRealMarch
So so true! Modcloth for example often have real girls wearing their dresses in their reviews and I love it, I can see what an outfit looks like on a real person that's not being pinned and professionally shot! When I took part in the Matalan style challenge I found every other girl involved had perfect, professional level photos whereas mine were taken round the side of my flat by my boyfriend who couldn't really use my camera :p haha xx
ReplyDeleteGlad you know what I mean. Argh, see that's so sad...I bet yours had more charisma than the others. I feel there will come a stage when you can't tell photos apart because they are all shot the same, it's nice to have your own style.
DeleteI get your point but on the other hand it really doesn't bother me at all. I like both types of photos and I sometimes wish I could have professional photos on my blog instead of just photos my boyfriend takes using my phone :D so if someone else puts the effort and money (I really should try to save up for a camera) into their photos, good for them.
ReplyDeleteI like the feeling that someone took it themselves, rather than a proper photo shoot in the street pretending to be "I just walked out the house like this". I never really understand the bloggers that wear outfits only for shoots and don't show what they really like to wear. I mean I suppose if they want to be a model that's fine, but I don't like them masquerading as a blogger and critiquing a piece of clothing that they only wore for 5 minutes and would probably not wear normally.I think often those type of things go hand in hand with the professional shoot. I love that you take photos of what you really wore to the cinema or out and about, wherever you happen to be. It feels real.
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