How I Finally Decided On An Aesthetic

I feel like the title I chose for today’s post is so LA. Like…who really cares about choosing an “aesthetic?” Who am I? Well…turns out it really IS a huge deal, so I decided to walk you guys through my (somewhat grueling) process today!

Ohhh, Instagram aesthetics *sigh*

You know you’ve scrolled through an account and IMMEDIATELY decided you did or did not want to follow them literally based on the first few images you saw.

Their aesthetic just didn’t vibe with you.

Or maybe it did, and you now have a new style icon to obsess over in your saved pics section. Anyone else do that? Just me?

Either way, the aesthetic mattered.

If you have been following me since the beginning, then I don’t have to walk you through how painfully difficult it’s been for me to finally settle on one.

It all started with my Kate Spade days (RIP to the hot pink lipstick, green pants and navy blazers), then when I finally moved up to LA I went straight to black and white ONLY,  got a little bit lost and confused and couldn’t figure out WHAT the heck I wanted for a hot second…to finally land on what you see here in this post today. Warm and beachy feels, mixed with a little desert vibes.

Keep in mind, this aesthetic literally happened this week. Which is why I’m jumping at the chance to talk about it.

I’m lucky enough to work with a brilliant photographer who is a genius in his field. He knows so much about social media, photography, editing, LIFE (literally he walked me through first-time home buying LOL) and we finally figured out what is truly inspiring me these days.

What it came down to was SO SIMPLE.

I don’t know why it’s taken me this long to even figure it out, but I guess that’s what “growing up” is, right? Figuring out who you are, and what you like.

Once we finally put it into words (or, pictures rather) it just clicked.

On a whim, I sent him an IG profile I’ve been loving lately…simply stating how great her photos were. He followed that up by asking what is actually inspiring you these days?

I sat there for a second trying to figure out how to answer, and ended up just sending him key words because I couldn’t actually put what I was thinking into sentences.

Warm neutrals. The beach, the sand, the ocean. Sunshine. Tan skin. Cactus. Palm trees. Vacation. Dreamy escapes. Seashells. 

And the list just kind of went on from there.

As soon as I put it into words, it clicked for us both.

We realized how, and where we need to shoot – and how we need to edit.

We narrowed down our shot list (as opposed to sorting through 300 pictures per outfit just to get 8-10 shots after hours of work) and focused on getting 5 really great shots, in 30 minutes or less.

He developed a preset to automatically transform each photo to be cohesive, regardless of the outfit being shot. *KEY TO DEVELOPING A CONSISTENT AESTHETIC, IF THAT’S WHAT YOU’RE AFTER*

And we just kept communicating on what needed to be tweaked here and there.

Why am I telling you these little facts? It may not be a game changer for you, but it was for me!

I’ve been feeling so uninspired with my IG feed lately, which was so frustrating because it is one of my favorite parts of creating and blogging. I wasn’t sure what needed to be changed…I just knew something needed to be done.

On a similar note, I was listening to a podcast this morning and they were talking about eliminating excuses in regards to why you haven’t met whatever goal you’re after.

Get scrappy…be resourceful…figure it out.

If you can’t afford to have someone completely redo your site, sit down and write down everything you like about your site, what you think you’re missing, what you like about other people’s blogs, etc. Use markers to envision what colors you want to see. Create a collage of inspiring words or images that portray the vibe you’re after. Use that creative side that you haven’t had to dig up since your school project days that actually required cutting, gluing, searching for what was visually appealing to you.

There is SO MUCH pent up energy and creativity inside of us just dying to get out, but I think we’re forgetting how to channel that sometimes.

At least, I definitely was.

Which is why I’m word-vomitting all of this to you guys, as per usual. (I talk too much in-person too, so, this is just par for the course really).

I LOVE talking about social media / website design / basically anything having to do with the internet in general…so if you’re feeling stuck with your personal brand, or haven’t even started one yet because you’re not sure where to start…email me! Let’s chat 🙂

Dress, c/o Black Swan Clothing

Photography by Clinetography