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09.03.15

A Day in the Life: Crystalin + Natalie Shoot Days

a day in the life- shoot days

Behind the scenes of blog photos 1

Behind the scenes of blog photos 2

Crystalin’s outfit: Gap tee // Calypso St Barth cardigan (old, similar and on sale!) // DL 1961 jeans // DVF pumps // Brooklyn Designs necklace //  Ray-Ban original aviators // vintage Coach bag (similar)

Natalie’s outfit: Gap denim jacket // DL 1961 jeans //  Nine West pumps // vegan tote // DV Dolce Vita loafers (old, similar here and here)

Behind the scenes of blog photos 3

Behind the scenes of blog photos 6

For the last year or so I’ve had the pleasure of shooting blog photos with my good friend Natalie, who also happens to be a blogger. Last year around this time, I randomly messaged her asking if she would be interested in shooting together. I could take her photos and she could take mine. We could spend as long as we wanted on getting the right shots and we could have fun while doing it. Flash forward to today and let me tell you, this whole partnership has been a huge blessing. Yes, we shoot each other’s photos, but we’ve also become so close and have shared so many stories. There’s nothing better than being able to bounce ideas off another blogger or share similar experiences that no else understands. This blog world is different (and I mean that in a good way), and it’s not always the easiest topic to relate to with family or non-blog friends. As you hear from many other bloggers, meeting other like-minded women who share the same passions as you is one the best things about this industry.

Behind the scenes of blog photos 8

Behind the scenes of blog photos 9

a day in the life of a bloggers photoshoot day

Blog photos are a huge part of blogging and everyone does them differently. Whether you’re new to the industry or have been doing this for years, it’s always interesting to find out how other bloggers do it. We recently got to work together on a collaboration, so we thought we’d use that time to document a day in the life, shoot edition.

Verve Coffee

Crystalin Marie Natalie Dressed

Crystalin marie Natalie Dressed Verve coffee

S C H E D U L E

2:00pm – Meet up at the location of choice. We go back and forth between Santa Cruz and San Jose, but on occasion we’ll shoot in San Francisco or Palo Alto.

2:15 pm- Shoot first looks.

3:00- 3:15 pm – Move locations (somewhere nearby) and shoot our second looks.

4:00- 4:15 pm – Break for coffee or a snack. Sometimes we don’t even get to this and by the end of the day we’re starving, like ravenous.

4:45 pm- Shoot third looks.

5:45-6:00 pm – Move locations (somewhere nearby) and shoot our final looks.

6:15-7:00 pm – We’ll call it a day and head to dinner.

This is just a rough layout of the schedule, it can be different every week and changes based on different lighting throughout the year.

Verve Coffee Roasters

Verve Santa Cruz

Crystalin Marie behind the scenes

F U N  T I D B I T  &  F A C T S

– Since we have limited time with each other throughout the week, we take 4 sets of photos during one shoot day. That’s a total of 8 looks, people!

– Since we shoot 4 looks at a time, we typically will reshoot what we’ve already worn a week or two before.

– Yes, we change in the car. By now, we’ve definitely mastered it.

– Finding the perfect wall is HARD. The struggle is real. We have our go-to spots, but depending on the lighting and outfit, it could be a hit or miss.

– We use one camera and change the memory card, so that each person has their individual photos to take home.

– Since we’re both looking for similar images, we’re able to help each other out with poses, styling, and angles.

– We deal with random people talking and staring all the time. For the most part we’ve gotten used to it, but there have been some creepos.

Verve Coffee Santa Cruz downtown

Verve Crystalin Marie

Crystalin Marie DL1961 denimPhotos by Carlie Statsky

Some days we have to reshoot a look because the shirt wasn’t tucked right. Oftentimes the wind destroys our hair. Other times the outfit doesn’t photograph well and you don’t end up using the photos. We’ve both also taken turns deleting our entire memory card. Shooting blog photos is hard work, but at the end of the day, we have a blast working together. Having another blogger shoot your blog photos has been a huge blessing, but having it be a friend makes it fun and all worth it. The margaritas and wine haven’t been too bad either ;)