News: Mostly Sunny Project New & Improved! Operation 1: Better Pictures

, , 13 Comments

Hey everyone,

I have a confession to make: up until very very recently (say within a week or so), I didn’t know I can (and should) a) size my photos down for the blog b) choose to show them large or full size and c) tweak the colors of the pictures so that they are more color-accurate.

*runs into hiding lest she is pelted with stones*

I’m really not the most tech-savvy person you will ever know, and I don’t have a lot of previous experience in terms of handling pictures (or a blog). Since I have finally figured this much out however, I am embarking on the first operation of Mostly Sunny Project New & Improved!

What does this mean? You will be seeing better pictures around the site. I will start showing them in bigger sizes, I will crop/adjust them when I should. I will not Photoshop the hell of the pictures, I promise. For FOTDs for example, I will not conceal imperfections that are visible. However, I will adjust the colors (mostly color temperature, as the ambient lighting is generally very cool here unless I’m lucky enough to get a lot of sunlight) so that they would appear more true-to-life.

For example, this is the before & after of my last FOTD.

I will also crop photos properly, retake some product photos, and add lip swatches to all the lip products that I have not provided lip swatches for (I only figured out how to do it properly very recently too).

I thought about leaving the old posts there as they are, just so that they would serve as a marker of the progress I’ve made in these four months. However, lo’ and behold:

I must have been on crack to think it is a “product photo!” (Yes, you can laugh at me. It’s OK!)

This implies that I will have to spend a considerable amount of time working on correcting past posts, and new ones might come out a little slower. I apologize to long-time readers. I really appreciate having you guys around, and please understand this is temporary and all for the best! Just bear with me for a week while I fix things pretty please ;)

I am also planning on giving the blog a face-lift, designing a proper header, and starting a Facebook page. I started this blog a little more than 4 months ago, not knowing I’d meet so many lovely people who keep me going, and I am determined to provide you with the best I have!

Some exciting news: I’ll be getting ready to go to Vilvoorde when this post goes up for my first ever press event at ICI PARIS XL! I will have the chance to discover many new and exciting brands. I will definitely share what I found out with you guys soon!

Thanks so much for sticking around, peeps! I have gone back to some posts and worked on the pictures. Could you guys please take a look at a couple of them and let me know what you think?

Sunny xx

  • http://mybeautyhoard.blogspot.com/ Jacqueline

    I’m looking forward to seeing the new and improved pictures and to learn from you too.

  • http://www.bellachique.be/ Bellachique

    I think you are doing really great Sunny, blogging is a bit experimenting at the start and discovering things every day :) . You are very brave to update all your previous posts, I would be waaaay too lazy for that, lol :) .

  • http://www.lenallure.com lena

    i had no problem with your pictures, but i do think new ones look great!
    i wouldn’t fix the old ones for your previous posts, though.
    i’ve only blogged for less than 6 months now, but i do see a big diffrence in my pictures and sometimes i wanna do the whole thing over, but it seems more important to blog on and improve in new posts to come.
    this is just my opinion, of course. ;)

    i am very excited about your new outlook for your blog and facebook page.
    and hope you have a great time and achieve alot in your press event! xoxo

    • http://mostlysunnybunny.wordpress.com Sunny

      Hey Lena, thanks so much! Part of the reason why I’d like to do this is also to save some precious space. I understand what you mean by improving in new posts, too. I won’t be doing this ever again, and I promise I’ll hold on to the ridiculous pictures so we can all have a laugh when this blog turns 1 or something :p

  • http://pearlessence.wordpress.com pearlessence

    I’m intrigued – please share your new-found knowledge! What do you mean by “product photo” and are you using any specific programs/software for your editing? I would love to learn :)

    • http://mostlysunnybunny.wordpress.com Sunny

      Well my new-found knowledge is just basic like that lol. Product photos are photos that show the products. I want to at least make them color-accurate (especially when it’s makeup). I just edit in Picasa, so NOTHING fancy! I wouldn’t know how to Photoshop to save my life!

      • http://pearlessence.wordpress.com pearlessence

        Well, I don’t own Photoshop and I’ve never even heard of Picasa… so you’re still one step ahead! Looking forward to the new posts, perhaps they can help inspire me too :)

  • http://projectswatch.blogspot.com/ Emi at Project Swatch

    I’m glad that you’ll be posting bigger photos – I think that’s the one thing that will really make a big difference to your blog (I’m usually too lazy to click on the little photos). I’m not sure that there’s a reason to go back very far in to the archives though, except maybe for your most popular posts?

    I took a look at some of your older posts, and the larger photos look fantastic. Yay! Along with your new clean / white backgrounds, I think you really have it down :)

    The one tip I have is to take your photos in natural light – I take all my swatch photos during the middle of the day (sometimes I have to do a whole week’s worth on the weekend), and I walk around my house and take photos in various locations. Then, when I’m on the computer, I can pick the best, most color accurate shots to post to the blog.

    Also – if you have any feedback for me on my photos or blog design or my posts or anything at all, I’d love to hear it! Sometimes we overlook things other people see. Email me anytime :)

    • http://mostlysunnybunny.wordpress.com Sunny

      Hey Emi, I won’t redo pictures for everything, but some are so bad and I don’t want people who are looking for swatch pictures to be disappointed!

      I do take most of my product photos in natural daylight (not in the very beginning, but I figured that out fast enough), and I go thorough a similar selection process. For FOTDs sometimes I can’t help it because I don’t have to go out till nighttime!

      Thanks so much for your precious opinions :) I’ll take a good look at yours soon!

  • http://lescreationsdenanni.blogspot.com/ Nanni

    I completely understand :D It really is a big discovery in the beginning… While have to think that through for my own blog. BUT: WHEN I have TIME ;) Not very soon it seems :)

    Good luck!

    • http://mostlysunnybunny.wordpress.com Sunny

      Thanks Nanni! I’ll probably be spending all my free time working on this for a while :p

  • http://www.mywomenstuff.com Paris B

    Good job learning this early Sunny! I learnt my lessons only way way down the road and tech stuff was quite a steep learning curve but I love it :D Personally, I don’t think you should tinker too much with your older posts but focus more on the new ones. This way you have something to mark your progress and besides your older pictures weren’t awful :D

    • http://mostlysunnybunny.wordpress.com Sunny

      Hey Paris, thanks so much for the encouragement! I really have you seasoned star bloggers to thank when it comes to all the details! I will dedicate more time working on new posts then, but maybe slowly slowly I’ll make sure the older ones are more up to scratch xx