How To Create Amazing Styled Photos + HUGE SALE! (today only)

Hey guys! I don’t know about you, but I’ve always wondered how people just get those Pinterest perfect styled photos. I’ve really been working on trying to improve my styled photography (for featured images and such) and so I did some research and figured out some tricks of my own. I’ve figured out that with a few camera and editing tricks, it’s actually quite easy to nail those Pinterest perfect photos!

If you read the title (which you most likely did) then you’re likely wondering what on earth is on sale, and I’m quite excited to tell you.

In the recent survey I did a lot of you said how much you disliked the high prices of t-shirts on Etsy. I decided to try to do something about it. I reached out to this shop’s amazing owner about sending me a t-shirt and hosting a sale.

She agreed to give all my readers 50% off of all of her t-shirts for TODAY AND TODAY ONLY. (use the code SP50SHIRT at checkout 🙂 )

So before you read this post head over to her shop, grab a t-shirt and then come back and read this post. 😉

Now onto the post:

Note: Just for clarification, if you were wondering what the difference between a styled photo and a candid photo is, a styled photo is when you pose / set up items / people to be photograph and basically “style” the photo. A candid photo is when you photograph a moment in life, without posing or styling anyone.

I took this photo on a wim the other night while I was setting up these lights in my bedroom (I’ll share photos of what I did soon 🙂 ) and I love how it turned out. I think the hardest thing with taking photos in low lighting is the fear of them turning out grainy. The good news is that when you edit low-lit photos you can easily make them darker, which often helps with the graininess.

Setup: LED lights tangled together on a pillowcase in very low lighting (not completely pitch black though).

Editing: Background darkened and LED lights brightened.

This has to be one of my all time favorite pictures. The letter-board is very uniform and well square. ( 😛 ) Adding the scrunchies adds some interest, color and texture to the picture making it much more aesthetically pleasing. 🙂

Setup: A letterboard with a quote, multiple colors / styles of scrunchies placed around it on white sheet. Cloudy overhead natural lighting.

Editing: Very minimal, just brightened slightly.

I took this photo for my unboxing of The Crafter Challenge Box and I really love how it came out. I love holding items in my hand for styled photos (especially if there’s a great background 😉 ) I just think it makes them look more personable, if you know what I mean. 🙂

Setup: Box in background and item from box in my hand. Cloudy overhead natural lighting.

Editing: Minimal editing, slight upping of exposure.

Isn’t this t-shirt literally so pretty!? It’s my new favorite! I love how soft and comfy it is! And the color! This outfit really makes me want to lounge. (😂)

Setup: A t-shirt, sweatpants and accessories laid out on white backdrop. Cloudy overhead natural lighting.

Editing: Super minimal, just upped the exposure slightly.

I took this months ago, and I still think this looks like a typical senior photo. 😂 I do like how it turned out though (and the lighting guys! 😍) I think the real key to getting lighting like this is to either 1) Shoot on a cloudy day or 2) shoot in the shade. (like under a tree, in this picture) I also like to under-expose a little bit, than bring it up a bit.

Setup: Person (my sister) peeking around a tree. It was taken around midday, and I under-exposed slightly.

Editing: Minimal editing, just brought up the exposure a little bit.

I love shooting on white backgrounds, but it can be tricky to get those backgrounds to look white. (if you’ve ever tried you know what I mean) For my white backgrounds I like to shoot on a cloudy day, and use a white sheet. Then I’ll go into Lightroom and brighten the background.

Setup: Scrunchies piled on white sheet.

Editing: Whitening of background, and upping of exposure.

This might be one of my favorite photoshoots my sister and I have done. THE LIGHTING! Guys, probably my best photography lighting tip is to shoot outside on a cloudy day. The lighting is always super even and bright, which makes for so much less editing work later!

Setup: Person (my sister 😛 ) sitting in a field of wildflowers. Cloudy natural lighting.

Editing: Minimal to none.

---

I hope that this post was helpful, and even if you’re not a blogger or don’t have an expensive camera, you can definitely still use these tips if you want to do a photoshoot with friends, or for your Insta!

If you haven’t already, I’d really appreciate if you took our survey. And if you already have, thank you so much, your feedback is so helpful! 😉

What’s your favorite lighting to shoot in? What type of camera do you have? Candid or styled photography?

💙 Hannah