I, like every other blogger, find myself scrolling through my blog (yes, I’m ‘self-absorbed’ like that) picking faults with the page. But, of course, it's natural and there is always room for improvement with all sorts of creative outlets. In fact, there isn’t really a standard ‘perfection’ because we all perceive that differently. However, I’m a firm believer that that if you like the content being put up, then it will be reflected in your reception - this goes for Instagram, Twitter, Blogging and more; if the appearance or quality isn’t making you happy then it’s best to change it.
Despite the fact that I only consider myself to have been seriously blogging for the past few months, I have actually had my blog for over 4 years (Wow!) and in that time there has been SO many changes. I don’t think I can count on my fingers and toes how many headers that I’ve had or how many times I’ve battled ignorantly with html. The move that I made from www.alzgalz.blogspot.co.uk to www.the-rose-glow.blogspot.co.uk back in 2015 was probably the best and most useful change that I’ve made so far, but there are so many more improvements that I am wishing to make.
BLOG TEMPLATE.
The first change that I want to make soon is to get a new blog template. I am desperate for a new template because my current one (a £2 Etsy template) seemed to only be great for a few months and quickly started to irritate me. The design is very basic and almost completely un-customisable but, on top of that, the designer seemed to drop off the face of the Earth meaning any questions went unanswered. In addition to this, the text is small and requires every blog post to be put on ‘large’ text but, worst of all, the image quality is terrible. EVERY one of my DSLR camera images (images that already exist as high quality) are ruined when put into Blogger. I find myself manually changing the html of each image in an attempt to fix them and, although it does make an improvement, the images are not at the quality that they should be. This is also seen on my Blog header. I am tired of putting hard work and effort into achieving good quality images for my template to ruin it.
I can’t wait to change to an upgraded template to relieve all these issues. I’m currently looking at buying a Pidig template and would love to know your opinions.
BLOG HEADER.
As I said, my blog header isn’t the best quality at the moment and isn’t exactly what I want. I have had so so many different headers over the years of blogging; partly because I can never settle and partly because I just love designing them. The reason why I haven’t changed from this one yet is because I am going to wait until I have a new template in the equation before I change the header. As well as that, the new header will breathe sophistication and I do plan to put a lot of thought and effort into it to ensure that it doesn’t have to be changed every week. The vibe I’m going to be going for is subtle, easy to read and professional.
SETTLE WITH A PHOTOGRAPHY STYLE.
My blog photography really itches my foot. As proud as I am of some of the quality images that are put up within my posts, I think there is the inevitable feeling of ‘never-good-enough’ that I’m sure everyone is familiar with. I can’t quite pinpoint exactly what it is that I’m doing wrong or what it is that needs improving but I feel like I should definitely start by believing in myself as well as the good old ‘practice makes perfect’. I might just have a play around and try and settle the normal way: from start to finish.
SETTLE WITH AN INSTAGRAM THEME.
They may not be to everyone’s taste but I do like a good Instagram theme (and as I said: content that you’re happy with is good content), they are just so pleasing to the eye and I feel can really reflect a person’s aesthetic. The reason why I can’t settle with one theme is because I don’t always like the way an image looks with the edit that the others have - I think it’s something I am slowly going to have to get used to and perhaps just lump it.
SCHEDULE SOCIAL MEDIA.
I have recently been quite good at scheduling tweets and I really want to keep this up. I feel a lot happier when I have tweets scheduled and less like my twitter is just sitting there not reaching it's full potential. Although scheduling is not the most entertaining job to do, I am starting to get the hang of it and finding the most effective uses for it; hopefully I can keep going at this and make that improvement happen.
SCHEDULE SOCIAL MEDIA.
I have recently been quite good at scheduling tweets and I really want to keep this up. I feel a lot happier when I have tweets scheduled and less like my twitter is just sitting there not reaching it's full potential. Although scheduling is not the most entertaining job to do, I am starting to get the hang of it and finding the most effective uses for it; hopefully I can keep going at this and make that improvement happen.
I am so excited to make my improvements as soon as possible so that my blog can finally be to a standard that I will feel content with. Watch this space, it’s going to be getting a whole lot better.
What improvements are you wishing to make?
As a Blogger, you often find your self acquainting with the odd 'flatlay'. You'll know that it's a photography technique in which you lay your subject(s) down, alongside lots of other props, and take an image - usually from above, or at a high-ish angle. Those that do them well make us droll. We could endlessly scroll down their Instagram pages crying into a tub of ice cream at how immaculate their composition is. But, nevertheless, we all persevere and give them a go. And, of course, no flatlay is perefect, and a lot of hard work (and sometimes money) can go into making the best looking ones.
So as far as our friendship with flatlays go: us bloggers adore taking them and are forever aspiring to take the best ones. But, that's mostly what non-bloggers think. We know the truth about that deadly, back-breaking, aspiration-crushing, demotivating, evil photography method.
Here is the truth about flatlays...
Fancy a game of Twister?
I lay on the floor with my left leg stretched out, my right leg behind my head, one arm folded in, and one arm under my leg. I get tangled up on a mess of brown hair, limbs and a camera just to get the right angle.
Natural light.
On a glorious sunny day, the shadows can be intense so you have to make sure that your 'natural light' isn't cursed with that. Then, on a rainy day, everything is just too gloomy. Now, don't even get me started on the 3 minutes of natural daylight that we get in the winter.
Imagine having a mark-free background.
I use a white wallpaper roll and I find myself rolling out about 3 metres before I find a section that hasn't been scarred by previous flatlay attempts.
Carrying your entire bedroom into your best photography 'spot'.
I have actually started collecting things into an overnight bag now and shipping them downstairs.
Taking amazing pictures then realising that one thing is annoyingly out of place
Check out this blog post from back in 2015. This is one of my favourite, most aesthetically pleasing photos that I've ever taken, but there's one thing out of place that REALLY bugs me. Can you tell what it is?
Getting irritated by auto focus and switching to manual.
Focusing - in fact, any camera setting - is the bane of my life.
Getting the perfect focus then slipping and bodging it all up.
Is this just me? Am I just stupidly clumsy?
Feeling proud of yourself for using gorgeous fresh flowers then realising that they've leaked water all over your backdrop.
Going back to having a 'mark-free backdrop', this doesn't do me any favours.
Trying to take photos of something reflective then realising you can see your goofy face and camera in the 'final' edit.
I can guarantee that, when I'm taking flatlays, nearly 100% of the time I will have no-makeup on, my hair shoved up into a messy bun, and probably will be wearing pyjamas, so seeing my face in a reflective object is something that no one wants to see.
Where is that orange tone coming from and how do I get rid of it?
Again: I hate camera settings.
The glamorous camera shadow.
I find this one particularly annoying when you're taking pictures on your mobile phone. That E.T.-like arm, stretched out holding a big rectangle - or at least that's what the shadow ends up looking like.
Trying to make those fake flowers look real.
Yep, real flowers most definitely have no leaves, straight stems, glitter on their petals and a label saying 'fake flowers' on them.
Wondering how the hell people do this?!
It's difficult and the people who do it well and blow our minds are forever admired by me. But, I can imagine that those people also have their moments of self-doubt. Don't ever feel deterred by these irritating flat-lay nags, you're not the only one and we must defeat them.
What are your truths about flatlays?
IT'S ALL ABOUT YOU
Yep, that's right - whip out your inner Sharpay Evans and let everyne know how fabulous you are. Don't get me wrong, no one wants to here you brag on and on about yourself like an angelic goddess, but if that person is reading your blog, they are most likely there to know what you're getting up to or find out your opinions. Embrace it and indulge in the fact that people are interested in you. Don't be afraid to think about Number One sometimes.
IT LOOKS GOOD ON YOUR CV
My CV had a section about my blog, explaining the skills that I have achieved from the experience. Think about it; you gain communication, computer, creative, independent, analytical/statistical, and for the lucky ones, business skills. Employers might really like the idea that you have a modern, creative hobby. The same goes for Personal Statements for Unis. My college encouraged info about blogs to be stated on our PS because, as well as showing skills, it proves that you do more than sit on the bed all day playing on your Nintendo (heh, sometimes).
A PROBLEM SHARED IS A PROBLEM HALVED
Feeling down? Write about it. It doesn't have to be published if you don't want it to. Blogging is a great way to pour your heart out and, as I said, share your opinions. Understandably, sharing your opinions usually has to remain PC but, if you have a problem that you reckon others might be able to help you with, grab your keyboard and get writing because, chances are, someone will do the same for you in the comments section.
YOU LEARN
Believe it or not, you can learn sh*t from blogging. As well as learning how to build a sentence that looks intelligible to readers, you can even get the chance to learn buisness-y stuff. Plus, even if your blog isn't a piggy-bank, you might EVEN end up learning a thing or two about yourself.
IT ISN'T EASY
I'm aware, no advert or persuasive text is ever going to tell you that their product is crap but, with blogging, it's the challenge that sometimes brings a thrill. I definitely feel a sense of pride when I post a blog post because writing a post takes brain work, planning, creativity, the long hard stare at the page when your mind blanks, and the re-read after re-read before you press that little orange 'publish' button. Yes, you're faced with a challenge but it's worth it.
What are the reasons that you blog?
Most people who are struggling with grief have experienced the loss of someone very close to them. I guess, in a way, I'm lucky because the grief that I experience regards the loss of someone that I've never met. But that doesn't make it any easier.
It's a Monday night and a TV show has just premiered on ITV: Diana, Our Mother. Prince Harry and Prince William say the most touching things about their mother, videos play of her legacy, and images of her and the boys. One of the things that really touched me was when Prince Harry said: 'not knowing that it was the last time I'd speak to my mum, how differently that conversation would have panned out'. Despite Diana's death being before my lifetime and not really knowing much about her, she is a wonderful woman, but it's not her that I'm grieving for.
Because, throughout the TV show my eyes continued to glance over to my mum. Every few seconds. Is she okay?
My mum's mother died when my mum was only 17 and for my whole lifetime I've known my mum as in grief. She's strong, determined and independent but, every year, when October (the month her mother passed away) rolls around, things can sometimes feel a bit low. As a result of this, my mum and I have an extremely close relationship and we're both sensitive, meaning we often share each others emotions and can be very empathetic towards one another. This is exactly the reason why I don't go a day without thinking of my grandmother.
I may have never met her and not know much about her, but I guess that just makes it harder. As you could probably imagine, my mum doesn't speak much about her and, while part of me understands that that is just a coping method, I do wish I could learn all about her.
Grief is a sad topic. A taboo. A conversation to be avoided. No body really wants to talk about it and certainly not experience it. But I think that there is one really important message that has came out of my grief: You must respect those closest to you.
Anyone who knows me knows that I am a strong believer in showing respect for your mother. While other people may have valid reasons to think otherwise, it is a big part of my life. I've seen people my own age talk bad of their mothers, either behind their backs or to their face and each time it hurts me so much. 'We're so lucky to have our mothers. You don't understand how lucky' I think.
I'm 100% certain that, if my mum could turn back time and keep her mother with us, she would in a heartbeat because her life has been so affected by that loss. And, as Prince Harry said, you don't realise how little time you get until it's over.
So whether you have a close friend, uncle, mother or father, don't waste time being angry, distant or reserved from one another - it does sound brutal, but we never know what is going to happen and when. So we have to make that difference now.
Make memories. Please. Because I was never able to make memories with my grandmother, and that is something that hurts me every day.
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