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HELLO AGAIN

Why it's important to compare yourself... to yourself and nobody else.

Monday 4 August 2014





I recently wrote about overcoming the 'Blogging Blues'  and I had so many lovely comments, tweets and emails from readers and blogger friends who related to it. In my post, one of my points was to not compare yourself to others, but only to yourself. I shared on twitter 2 photos that represented my blogging journey better than any words ever could. My first and last blog photos. I even started a photo sharing session with many bloggers sharing their first and last photos too.  

As bloggers we spend so much time learning. We're constantly learning new about new products, fashions, trends, techniques and skills. We're constant researchers, we live and breathe social media and imagery, but all of this comes with a hidden downfall - comparison. 

The problem with living in a world full of social media is that we're surrounded by other people, albeit virtually - but often there's no escaping it. That comes with the hidden price of insecurity and envy for good measure. We spend so much time looking forward and trying to better ourselves and our blogs that we never really look back at where we started.

I wanted to share with you three visual examples of how I've grown over the past few months since I started my blog. From the sole single product shot, to the haul post and the make up look - my imagery has changed so much it's almost unrecognizable as belonging to the same person, taken with the same camera. 

The Single Product Shot
Gone are the days of the dull, flat product shot with a busy background. Instead replaced with a clean, bright and airy image making full use of the depth of field my DSLR has to offer. I feel proud when I look at the image of the Kadalys Banana Balm, and I cringe when I see the image of the elf acne blemish powder. 

The Haul / Multi Product Post
I actually laughed when I compared these images side by side.The old image taken on a bit of wood found on the side of the road with products 'artfully arranged' in what can only be described as a horrendous attempt. To the bright airy shot of the Kiko Eyeshadow sticks. Even though the new image isn't perfect, and there are things I wish I did differently, it's a visual reminder of how much i've improved and how far i've come. That old tatty bit of brown wood - has been painted white is the base that the products stand on. 

The Make Up Shot
Can you believe I wasn't actually wearing fake tan in the first pictures? I had no idea how to use or set the white balance on my camera when I first started sharing photos of my make up online. My photos all had a yellow tint to them, which massively affected how my make up looked. If you look at the eyes, you can see that they're a grey/yellow in the first and bright white in the second. 

The two biggest changes that happened to my make up pictures were learning how to use my camera properly - including the white balance, and learning not to use warm yellow table lamps to light my face.

I wanted to write this post to show you why it's important to compare yourself only to yourself. I didn't fully realise how much i'd improved, learned and grown until I put these images together. It makes me proud to look at my latest images - I still cant believe that I took all of these photos.

This is my blog journey so far in photos, and a reflection of how I've grown as a blogger. I would absolutely love to see yours - so be proud, and post them! I'd love to read some blog posts showing the journey of your blog and how you've progressed. Leave me your links in the comments.

As always, thanks for reading.
Em xxx 

13 comments:

  1. This is a great post! Your blog is beautiful, you should be very proud of what you've created and how far you've come! My blog is only 3 weeks old so far but already I feel I've learnt so much and can't wait to see where it is in 6 months time!

    Sophie xx

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  2. It's great to see more experienced bloggers doing these kind of posts, I also enjoy advice posts. My blog is still in it's infancy but I'll be excited to see how it develops in time x
    eleanor's adventures in wonderland

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  3. It definitely helps if you have a good camera and lighting, I'm hoping to upgrade my own soon then I can start improving my photos :)

    Frankie x
    Crazyblondegal

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  4. Great post, I've only been blogging 2 months and my photos are terrible :( Can't wait to start having the knowledge and confidence to get better shots!

    Becki x
    www.littlecrush.co

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  5. My favourite quote ever is 'the race is long, and in the end only with yourself'. I have to constantly remind myself not to compare myself to others, not just with my blog but every aspect. I think it's hard to remember how far you've come sometimes!

    India / Touchscreens & Beautyqueens

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  6. This is important advice not just for blogging but for life in general. I have to say, your "before" photos are even that bad! Definitely not to the level you're at now but certainly not a bad start. Would you consider doing a post/semi-tutorial about your photographing set up? I recently became the proud owner of a Canon T5i and would love to know what other beauty bloggers do for their shots!

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  7. This is really an awesome post, and you're so right about all of this. I've been blogging for a little bit over a month and I can already see so much of a difference, but we all have to remember that when comparing ourselves to others :)

    gyudynotesofbeauty.blogspot.com

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  8. This blog post is so useful! I have just started blogging and can't wait to see how it grows <3

    LizzieWarnexo

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  9. Great post. I agree, social media has made it nearly impossible not to compare yourself to others. I love that you are reflecting on your journey with pride. I am writing my very first blog post at the moment and this makes me excited to meet my future self.
    Jessie Bee :)

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