The Basics; Staging Photo Shoots

Wow. That was a lot of work. When thinking about photo shoots, I seem to only remember the result; photography on my website. But there are LOTS of other parts to them too.

Thinking about cohesiveness, ambiguity and my own aesthetic is the PITS. I'm still working on this. It's a real struggle for me to want to have a "look", and yet not be defined by that. I love vintage silhouettes AND the tribal prints AND neon colors AND asymmetric lines. I'm sorry. I'm having my cake and I'm eating it. That's the point of cake.

So, where I've landed on this is that if I'm going to go throwing everything out there at once, I might as well help out my viewers by keeping it simple. Someday I will be decisive enough to end this design dilemma. But today is not that day.

For now I chose a blank wall in my apartment for ease, comfort and simplicity. I used a friend who is a much smaller size than me to model because I wanted to show that a variety of sizes can call look awesome in the same design. And I styled the items simply. It's important to allow a girl to pair her own wardrobe with what you're making; allow her mind to add the statement piece.

Anyway, this is what being an indie clothing designer has been like for me. It's hard to not be swayed to think that I must have a strong point of view. There are loads of successful businesses who swear by it; saying the only way to succeed in business is having your crap together before you show it off. But I don't have my crap together. I know what I would wear and I make it.

I was fearful about starting a business with no experience and a somewhat weird fashion sense. But you know what? Here I am. I'm nearly 3 years and over 700 garments in and it's okay. Learning is a success that's fulfilling even in failures.

I suppose my point is this: Be okay with slow growth and unsure steps. It hasn't failed me yet.