Hi pretties!

For those of you who follow my Instagram (which you definitely should –@prettyforplussize), you will have noticed that we did our very first photo shoot yesterday! I use the term photo shoot very lightly because a) I had no idea what I was doing and b) I have no other name for what went on. So for the purpose of this blog; please refocus your perception of the word ‘photo shoot’ where here, it applies to me awkwardly swinging my arms around in front of a camera while my poor photographer attempts to make the best of my flailing limbs.

Basically, the point of going and getting some real life professional photographs was to try and capture and highlight some of my absolute favourite brands. Don’t fear! Most thing you see on my IG will feature terrible lighting, awkward poses, bad self timer set ups and dark shadows, but there will be the odd occasion that I’ll be attempting a brand spotlight and showing you my curvy clothes in the best possible way.

We set off yesterday on our photo shoot adventure on the Gold Coast, with the most perfect day on display. I had the huge honour and pleasure of working with a local photographer – David Rowe. You can check out his IG @im_rowey and keep your eyes peeled on his upcoming website http://davidrowephotography.com.au/ David was absolutely incredible to work with for my first time in front of the camera, he provided just enough encouragement to make me feel comfortable and just enough direction to help me get the best photos – without making me feel like the awkward model I am!

As a plus size girl, I find myself taking A LOT of selfies (which yes, many of my friends mock me for), but when it comes down to it – I take selfies because that’s the only way I can control the photo: by picking the best angle and hiding all my lumps and bumps that I don’t like with a good filter. I find myself looking at photos taken by other people of me and being so mortified at the angle, or the way I was standing, or how big I look in comparison to my friends, that usually I avoid photos at gatherings and I am quick to ‘un tag’ many unflattering photos on Facebook. So to do this shoot was basically just as big of a step for me personally, as it was an achievement for the blog!

One of the biggest things I found throughout the day was how to use my best angles and assets to generate photographs that I actually liked the way my body looked in them! Not to mention show off all the dreamy clothes I had. We probably spent about 4 hours in total shooting different outfits and by the end of it I definitely had a little bit of ‘model’ sass happening.

Knowing that I have had these body dilemma’s on my own, I can only assume that I am not alone out there! So girls, I am voting GET IN THE PHOTO! Work out what angle you like your face on, that your left hand looks best on your waist and your right ankle should be tucked behind your left; because at the end of the day we all want those photos, we all want those memories. One of the best thing you can portray in a photo is confidence, and your personality, you will definitely find that my photos lack a certain sexy or serious vibe; I laugh a lot, I smile a lot, and there is a lot of hair flicking and showing off my nails, I do things that make me feel good about myself.

I spent a lot of the day laughing at myself, and how ridiculous I am sure I looked, but at the end of it we actually managed to get some cool photos! Through the next few weeks I will be sharing my featured outfits from this shoot, with clothing pieces from Little Party Dress, City Chic, Target and accessory features from Novo, Lovisa, Myer and more!

I’ve really aimed to share styles and outfits for every budget and size, and of course show off how we can be #prettyandplussize