My 5 Favorite Food Photography Props

I think we can all agree food photography doesn't "just happen." Most images of food online are staged to make the food look as pretty as possible. If my food photography was "real" pictures of my food, you'd probably see a lot more images in bad light, on the couch with maybe a glass of wine nearby and Parks and Recreation playing in the background. Real life.

In order to make food look as delicious as possible, it helps to have some props! Props can get spendy pretty quickly, but most of my favorites are probably already in your kitchen! Of course there are tons of fun props to use, but these are the five I find myself using constantly. This post from Pinch of Yum is full of more great ideas! Also, if you're looking for some very basic food photography tips, this post might help.

Now, my top 5 food photography props!

1 // Cutting board Definitely my most used prop. My kitchen doesn't have great lighting (it's horrible actually), so taking pictures on my kitchen table doesn't really work. So in order to get the light, I photograph my food outside on my back deck. I use the cutting board to give a nice clean background, and to kinda give the allusion of a kitchen table. The bigger the cutting board the better!

White Chocolate Chip and Almond Matcha Cookies

5 Tips for Shoe Shopping with Wide Feet

My feet have been a source of frustration and insecurity for a while now. I'm not sure when it happened, but my feet have become incredibly hard to shop for. This difficulty stems from their width and the impending bunion. Yes...I said it, bunion. It's not exactly a cute word, and it doesn't really look all that cute either. But hey, it was the hand I was dealt. Could be a lot worse.

About 90 percent of shoes rub me the wrong way, and I mean that literally. Shoes are usually far too tight around the base of my toes, which has resulted in a lot of returns and lonely shoes in my closet. Sometimes they feel alright when I first try them on, but about 20 minutes into walking around my feet are killing me. It's pretty frustrating, especially because I love shoes! I would kill to simply order a pair of shoes online, and have them fit. It's the simple things, right?

It has been a struggle, but I have come to terms with my feet. "Strong castles need strong support structures," my grandma would tell me when I would complain about their size. It's a little saying I have been telling myself more lately. Anyway, I know there are a lot of wide footed people out there, and I want to offer a few tips I have learned when it comes to buying shoes for my difficult feet.

1. Always shop the "wide" selection first. The worst part of having wide, difficult feet is there are some shoes you simply will never wear. It's just not gonna happen, unless you feel like hobbling around all day due to the pain (don't do it!). Luckily, finding shoes for wide feet is pretty easy thanks to the internet. I always shop this category first, that way if I find a pair I like, I won't be as tempted by the other cute, non-wide pair I find later in the general section. If I'm shopping at an actual store and there is somebody who can help me, I will ask them if they have any wide shoes in the style I'm looking for.

2. If they feel a little "iffy," walk away from them. I have wasted so much money on shoes that I really wanted to work for my feet. But my wanting didn't make them any wider, or my feet more narrow. If you try a pair of shoes on and they feel like they are rubbing the wrong way, don't buy them. It's true that most shoes stretch and become more comfortable, but this can take months. And if you're in pain for more than a few days, I'm beting you are not going to wear them for a few months. They are going to sit in your closet, unless you bought them from a store with an awesome return policy. If you think they are gonna hurt, they probably will.

3. Find a brand that works for you. For me, I find that Naturalizer works pretty well. I have also had decent luck with Aldo flats, which is kinda surprising. If you find a pair of shoes that make your feet sing with glee, stalk that company's website and buy from there! Most likely other styles will work as well.

4. Invest in good shoes. This is something that I still need to work on. When I buck up and spend a little more on shoes that are quality, they usually don't bug my feet. Those cute flats at Forever21on the other hand? I wore them once and my feet died a little. It's so hard to resist a cute pair of shoes at a good price, but if you are not going to wear them, what's the point? Sure, they look cute in your closet, but you know what looks even better? Money in your wallet! Or a cute pair of shoes on your feet. All that being said, if you find a pair of cute,  cheap and comfortable shoes...buy a pair in every color!

5. Love your feet. Yes, your feet are wide, but they are pretty good to you. They carry you around all day, and put up with being stuffed into shoes that are probably too small. They help you run, skip, swim, dance and do cart wheels. Paint your toes, convince somebody you like to give you a foot rub, scrub off that dead skin, and show them some appreciation!

5 Tips for Cosmetic Shopping in a Department Store

Buying makeup can be a lot of fun, but it can also be a little overwhelming. This is especially true when shopping in a department store full of options! After working in this environment for two years, I have learned a few really simple tips for making this experience much easier and enjoyable. Because at the end of the day, shopping for makeup should be fun!

1. Find your beauty-expert spirit-animal Huh? Yes, your beauty-expert spirit-animal. What I mean by this is try to find a beauty consultant (at your favorite brand, preferably) who you feel comfortable with and want to go back to again and again. This can make your experience so much more fun and easy! When you have a go-to person they will start to learn what you like and don't like, call you when products you might be interested in arrive, and (most likely) hook you up with samples :). It's just like building a relationship with a hairdresser or even your doctor (yeah, bit of a stretch there, but you know what I mean).

PS: I was quick to mention favorite brand because each brand hires and trains their own consultants. These consultants know most about their brand and will want to sell it to you. This is not because they are malicious sales people, but because they have the most knowledge and personal experience about this brand in particular. Do not expect every beauty consultant to be an expert on every brand, that's a lot of products!

2. Think about what you are looking for before you head to the store Shopping for makeup can be really overwhelming because there are so many options! I recommend going in with a rough idea of what you're looking for. I say "rough idea" because it's important to be open to other things. Are you looking for eyeshadow, lipstick, skincare, or all the above? If looking for an eyeshadow for example, consider what color, texture, or effect you'd like it to have. Are you looking for something everyday, or more special occasion?

If you have no idea that's okay, but these are questions you will probably be asked. When a customer comes in with absolutely no clue of what they are looking for, it can be really hard to give them the best experience! Sometimes when people are not comfortable with makeup lingo, it's easier to articulate what they want with a picture.

3. Do some research online This ties in with the last tip because sometimes it can be easier to narrow down your search by doing a little research online first. I don't really recommend buying makeup online because the colors represented are usually way off, but researching products online can be helpful to learn about different brands, read reviews, and watch tutorials. There is so much knowledge regarding beauty products online, definitely take advantage! That way, when you go to the store, you won't feel overwhelmed because you have already learned about some products and the consultants can then help you decide.

4. Don't be afraid to try things on This is probably the most important tip. One of the major perks about buying beauty products from a department store if that you can try them on first! This is especially important when buying foundation or lipstick because it's so hard to tell what the color in the bottle will look like on you. So do yourself a favor, try it on first! Can't stress it enough. It takes about five minutes to get a foundation match and even less to try on a few lipsticks. Believe me, it's worth it, and that's what makeup consultants are there for!

Oh, and if you want to try something on, ask. Not because the salespeople don't trust you with the product, but because it needs to be cleaned first! I cringe a little (or a lot) when I see people pick up a tester and put it straight on their eyes or lips. You never know who might have used it before you.

5. Yes, you can have a sample (but not ten) Trying a sample of a product first is another perk of shopping in a department store versus a drug store. If you try something on in store and are not sure about it, it's okay to ask for a sample. Just keep in mind that not every product can be sampled out, such as lipstick or eyeshadow. Also, keep in mind that most skincare samples will give you an idea of how your skin reacts to it, but you won't see the longterm results from the product (particularly true for serums). Oh, and it might seem like common sense, but people sometimes forget that samples are given with the hope that you will love the product and then buy it (not return again and again for more samples.)

Hope these help you! Do you have any tips or strategies for when you go makeup shopping? I would love to hear them!

Five Simple Food Photography Tips

When I started this blog, I planned on it being primarily a style blog. Since then, I have found it slowly growing into more of a food blog with style and other topics on the side. It's funny how blogging changes and transforms along with you!

I have learned a lot when it comes to taking pictures of my food, but I am by no means an expert. There are so many gorgeous food blogs out there, and I hope one day my photos might look similar! But there are some really easy tips I wish I had known when I first started taking pictures of my recipes. I hope these help you when it comes to capturing your culinary creations!

1. Shoot your food during the day (golden hour if possible!). The most important thing when taking any kind of picture is the lighting. In general, the more light the better. Even though your food isn't in motion (probably) it's important that your photos look crisp and a high shutter speed is crucial. Placing your food next to a window with lots of natural light will provide a natural, sharp, and bright look to your photos.

This can sometimes be difficult when you want to share pictures of dinner because your light is often little to none. Unfortunately, my advice is to make your dish earlier in the day and reheat it for dinner. Yeah, it sucks. I have tried so many times to take photos of a dinner dish only to have turn out really blurry, shadowy and icky. Bottom line, it doesn't work unless it's summer. My Eggplant Parm recipe was the first dinner recipe I could share for a long time because it was still light out when I made it!

2. Take it outside! What's the best way to get lots of natural light? Get outside! I take most of my pictures on my front porch. I don't have any windows in my house that provide enough light, so outside I go! I live right on a busy road, so this often means people can see me taking pictures of things like Nutella Mini Pies in mismatched socks and sweatpants. Whateva. Outside is where all my favorite pictures happen. I recommend a shady, but still well lit area. We don't want direct sunlight! This will result in harsh shadows and over exposed areas.

3. Invest in a few props. My must haves? A large wood cutting board, white dishes, a few cute dishtowels and a large piece of a neutral (I like white) fabric. I recommend only using these props for pictures (except for the dishes) because once you stain your dishtowels or muck up your cutting board...they are done. Stained towels and a well used cutting board just don't make for pretty food pictures. It's not just about the food, it's about the different layers, textures, and colors around the food. In the photo below I used a large piece of textured fabric, cutting board, cute little white plate and a white bowl.

4. Shoot a lot of photos with different angles and depth of focus. I take a lot of photos for every post I do. There is nothing worse than going through all that work of setting up your picture, taking the shots and then not coming up with a picture you love! In general, I like to show at least two pictures of the finished product (one close up, one showing the entire dish) and one shot showing the process. This can mean taking around 100 photos and having to narrow it down to three or four. I feel it's always better to have lots of options rather than not enough!

5. Not every cookie is a supermodel. You know how sometimes when you make cookies, and one batch is perfect, one is undercooked, and one might be kinda burned? Yeaahh, it happens, but you don't have to photograph all the cookies...choose the prettiest! Not every cookie is worthy of internet fame, even if it is just as delicious as the others. Put your best cookie forward.

 I hope these simple tips might help you in the future! If you have any additional tips or tricks, I would love to hear them!