Happy New Year! (Better late than never?) 2018 Under Construction
Okay, 2018 has been in effect for two full weeks and I'm JUST getting around to a New Year's post on this blog. A lot has happened and it all seems like a blur, but let me catch up a bit. After Christmas day, I began working fast and furiously to get my first fashion Lookbook filmed and edited for YouTube. It was my first time doing this type of video and after weeks of prep familiarizing myself with the editing software pre-loaded on my laptop, things still went awry. To say the least, it was quite the learning experience, but in a good way!
First of all, the Lookbook was to be centered around last-minute New Year's Eve outfits. Who's not had plans for NYE, but, suddenly, there you were with an invite and no idea what to wear? Anyway, the completed video was to have gone up a couple of days after Christmas, but not having my own place had limits on what I could accomplish without a lot of interruption or complications. After finally being able to film my many MANY outfits, I ran into technical issues with my digital camera. Battery issues, poor lighting, inconsistent focus and running out of space on my memory card led me to turn to the camera on my phone...which wasn't much better in quality. Eventually, I also ran out of memory on my phone (internal AND SD card) near the end. The stress of it all!
My digital camera and I have had an off and on relationship for quite some time. Ever since I started this lifestyle blog, I've been meaning to replace it, but then it'll start capturing amazing pictures and footage when I'm just goofing around, so then I kid myself into thinking replacing it is unnecessary. However, when I need it come through in a professional capacity it has a tendency to let me down. So, we're officially getting a digital divorce! It has disappointed me one to many times. I am done. My nephew is interested in doing YouTube, so maybe I'll give it to him. He's a bit of a gamer and, most likely, only needs it for talking, not full-body shots and focusing on intricate details like fabric texture or jewelry.
Meet my new camera boo! I think we're going to do great things together.
Also, even though I didn't think I'd need to, I've invested in lighting (2 umbrella lights and a circular ring light).
The lighting in my space seemed well enough, especially with full sunlight, but it's not very even -- resulting in annoying shadows. Once the sun goes down, the lighting just isn't adequate at all enough for filming or taking quality photos at all. These are the details I've been working on during my brief blog absence. I'm sure other issues will pop up and I'll figure it out as I go, but for now, it's all coming together. I fully understand why serious bloggers and YouTubers have so much equipment. It really does make a difference. I honestly can't wait to have my own place and space, again, to have a proper set-up. To say I miss my old dressing room, would be an understatement. It was the perfect set-up for what I'm trying to do, now.
In any case, the NYE Lookbook was shot and painstakingly edited to a finish. And another lesson learned is I was doing entirely too much while filming. Just get the shots you need and move on. There's really no reason to have 3 shots of the shoes or the same angle on a jacket, etc. Get the shot and on to the next. I consider the video a trial/practice run since it was, literally, uploaded the day before New Year's Eve, meaning it really wouldn't have served a purpose for anyone at that point. It took 3 days to do because I had too many outfits and, ultimately, had to make the decision to leave some on the editing room floor, figuratively.
Offline duties also got in the way of timing. There was NYE cooking, cleaning and errands to do on NYE day before actually going out on NYE night. And then I enjoyed New Year's Day with a friend.
There wasn't much downtime afterwards because I returned to my full-time job the next day. For as stressful as it was putting the Lookbook together in such a short time, I had fun and wasn't too mad when the video was finished. I look at it and imagine how much more I'll be able to accomplish with a new camera, good lighting and keeping things to a minimum. Honing my skills is what I'm working on most, along with getting hyper organized. It's amazing the amount of details that go into putting videos together. Photos, thumbnails, music, links to items, etc.. It's a time consuming amount of effort. I totally see how and why many YouTubers end up quitting their jobs to do this full-time. I spent 3 whole days focused on nothing else but putting this video together and STILL ran out of time for links and other details during the upload. You really CAN fill an entire week with work dedicated to putting out one or two videos. Now, that am I'm no longer on vacation, hyper-organization is the only way I'll be able to do this while working during the day.
In closing, the reason it's taken me so long to even blog about any of this is because I returned to work on Jan. 2nd. Two weeks of holiday vacation (staycation) left my body and sleep pattern out of whack. It's taken some time to get back into the groove of getting up at the crack of dawn and getting back home at nearly 8pm. Most nights, I've nodded off after dinner like an old lady. Two weeks in and, finally, I feel like things are getting back on track. It's all about merging my life offline and my new life online so things flow seamlessly. Today, Jan. 14th, feels like the official New Year for Bree's Lifestyle. Helloooo 2018!
If you're curious about the finished Lookbook, feel free to check it out below and leave a comment. It's not perfect, but I can see all the ways in which these things can only get better. I'm super-excited to continue!
Credits:
Umbrella light 2x33" Photo Video Studio Umbrella Reflector Photography Stand Lighting Kit in White, $29.20 (free shipping) via Ebay seller power_market2015
Bright 18" Dimmable Photo Video Continuous Ring Light Kit Stand w/Carry Bag, $64.50 (free shipping) via Ebay seller lightsaving