the one where I obsess over Instagram influencers and try to take pics like one

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Afterall, I am a photographer. How hard can this lifestyle picture taking thing be?  Of course I have no experience whatsoever in selfies much. I mean I photograph people, not myself. Hello!  I’m BEHIND the camera. But I do like getting ideas about what to wear and I learn so much from these accounts! It’s like a community of people that work from home and share a part of their life. So, I decided for about the last 30 days to photograph what I’m wearing. It’s all about the effort, right?

Here’s some things I’ve learned after following several influencers for a while.

  • They are mostly young moms. Many have young kids and this is their life. So, while I’d love to follow older lifestyle bloggers, many of my generation just aren’t sharing their lives like that. And if they do, they don’t buy the clothes I buy. They are much more about the prints and the florals and just weird stuff I could NEVER pull off. (Although there is one I’m sharing below that I follow for her hair alone.)

  • They love to video themselves trying on clothes. I think they call them “style sessions”. This is where they share one staple from their closet, like white skinny jeans and literally show you 5 ways to style them. It’s a thing people. And at first I thought it was “cray cray” and narcissistic, but now? Not so much. When these girls share a deal, it’s a MAJOR deal. You get ideas on how to wear things and what works and what’s good. One time a girl tried on ALL the skinny white jeans that are out there in the universe and rated her top favs. That’s a time saver folks.

  • They share more than just clothes. They share what they buy for their home, what they cook, what they drink, etc. It’s a bit obsessive yes, bur remember folks, I work from home. With a dog, by myself. These are my work mates.

  • They know about good lighting. YEP! Some of them do anyway. They look for the clean backgrounds, good natural light, and definitely know about the good angles and what to bend on their bodies to create a good clean line. LOVE this about following them.

  • Most share way too much make-up and hair care products then I’d ever need or want in years and years, but I think they get a lot of crap for free so this is how they get paid. Maybe? I do know every time you purchase something they share through a link, they get paid. I don’t really care, everyone deserves to get paid for their job. Right?

  • Most lifestyle influencers love dogs. Yep. They do. And you guys know how I feel about my Kanga. It’s a love/hate relationship, and I think it is with lifestyle influencers as well.

So, here's my top 10 accounts I follow on Instagram.

Natalie Borton
She’s my fav by far! I love her style and just how simple it is. Of course, she’s young, most of these girls are, but the clothes and outfits she’s share are more my speed. Nothing too fancy, very good quality and her color schemes are kind of my color schemes as well.

Jesse Coulter
This TEXAS girls is a working mom of 3 and has a sarcastic funny sense of humor that I can totally relate to. She lives in Austin, so much of what she shares clothing wise is geared for Austin Life. I seriously want her curly hair and obsess over what she wears all the time.

Jenn Reed
She’s quickly become one of my most favorite! She shares total deals on amazon and even though she’s the size of my thigh, I love what she shares! Some of it’s way too young for me and some of it totally works. She also shares good finds at Target and home stuff she finds for their remodel.

Maddy Guiterrez 
Maddy is a plus size influencer from NY and is AWESOME! She shares great finds and isn’t afraid to put herself out there int he world. If you are a large person like me, go follow her and get an idea of what works on your body type and what doesn’t. She’s one that shows makeup tutorials and hair more then I care for, but I just tap past that in the stories.

Caitlyn Kruse
She' shares a lot about her kids, her food and her clothes! LOTS. But I love her style and she’s into pink which is one of my favorite colors to wear. When you rock short hair like me, and you love PINK’s music, PINK is a staple in my wardrobe.

Kismet House
Erin and her husband are so dang funny. They are currently working on a kitchen remodel and covering this well in their insta story. I obsess over everything in their house people!!! It’s so pretty and so well done. She doesn’t share much in the way of clothes, but if you are a Bachelor Fan, follow her stories for their play by play commentary alone. IT IS SO GOOD. Her hubby and her sit on their fabulous couch in their fabulous living room and watch and comment and it’s witty terrific and addicting.

John and Sherry
Young House Love is a long time “insta friend” for me. I have both their books, I’ve followed their blog for YEARS people, like 10, and they are total nerdy good people that have a great feed. Sherry is a child of the MTV generation, as am I and I get the jokes and puns she shares on her stories. They also have a podcast that comes on every Monday and it’s awesome as well.

Ashley Petrone
Arrows and Bows I found through the tiny home addiction on you tube I currently have. Remember I warned you about working from home ALONE. Yep. I’m Kristin and I have a tiny home addiction. It’s real folks. So, they used to live in a tiny home with 3 kids but recently bought a house and have remodel it to perfection. So, go follow and let me know if you figure out how they do their dance party videos. I’m dying to do one! I don’t dance worth a crap but hey, it’s fun and who cares. Life is short, LIVE IT.

Natalie Kolter/Vintage Porch
I found Natalie after researching AIP diets somehow. AND she’s HILARIOUS. She keeps it real. Sometimes very real which I love and appreciate because REAL is dang funny. She’s got a great attitude about life and kids and husbands and even though her style is way more vintage then me, I love her home and her dog Chester.

Shauna
Chic Over 50 is pretty darn cool. Way cooler then me and rocking a better bod than me. But goals, people. Goals. Everyone needs them. And I love her hair. She’s super cute and shares more in her feed then she does in her stories, but I love her style just the same.

Who do you follow? Let me know and I’ll see you on the “socials”.

the one with Mary Catherine

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Mary Catherine lives in one of the neighborhoods that I photograph for a local magazine. It’s super rewarding work that gets me out of the house and involved in people’s communities. I’ve met so many wonderful people that I never would have known unless I had this opportunity! I LOVE IT!

One of the segments in the magazine is called Achievers. It’s local kids that are go getters, cool kids, someone other kids could look up to. This girl is definitely one of those! I won’t say much, because her article hasn’t released yet and I don’t want to give anything away. I want you to actually read your magazine! That is the purpose, after all.

Thank you, MC! I loved working with you!!!

Love does,
Kristin