"I'm behind the time, but in my own fashion world." -Stevie Nicks
Fleetwood Mac has been on repeat the past couple of months and I've been overwhelmingly inspired by the gypsy herself, Stevie Nicks. Rhiannon is one of my favorite songs, so I wanted to style a photoshoot around her witchy/gypsy/boho vibes. It seems simple on paper, but finding a location to complement the look was a task and a half.
Being a blogger/influencer/content creator in a small town has it's obstacles. Unlike those lucky enough to live in beautiful places and cities, I don't have the advantage of aesthetically pleasing photoshoot locations.
Living in such a small-town environment makes me prouder of the things my photographers and I create. While exciting, it's also challenging to turn places like Staunton, Harrisonburg, and Stephens City, VA into creative content. If you've been following my blog/instagram, you know that Hannah Dekle and I are somewhat of a dream team at making this happen. She is so talented when it comes to making something out of nothing. We often find ourselves in strange places like the isles of Kroger, deserted restaurants, or random hot dog stands to try and stand out from the other content creators and photographers in the area.
Recently, we planned a shoot at what the locals call the Flower House. When we got to the location, the house had lost much of it's essence. It was originally a little blue house covered from head to toe in fake flowers and plants. It's sounds tacky, but it was quite unique when it was covered. By the time we got there, over half the flowers had been taken down and it threw our plan a bit of a curveball. We still made it work, but our thirst for the perfect shot still needed to be quenched.
From there, we drove around Staunton trying to find the perfect location for my Rhiannon-inspired outfit. Hannah took us to a beautiful home on a random street and created absolute magic. I'm wearing a starry maxi dress from Nasty Gal, a stone-embellished wide-brim fedora from Urban Outfitters, large round sunnies from Polaroid Eyewear, a silver statement necklace from H&M, and metallic heeled booties from Forever 21. To keep red as the accent color from the hat, I rocked my favorite red lip in the color Spicy from Anastasia Beverly Hills.
I have so much respect for photographers and influencers who consistently use their talent and creativity to make beautiful content. Instagram blows my mind every day with the amount of people in this world with the eye for art. Take the time to appreciate these artists and their hard work. Comment on their photos to let them know that you like what they're doing and to keep it up. Small words of wisdom and kindness go a long way when it comes to motivating creatives who are often perfectionists and harsh critics of themselves. Making a small town look aesthetically pleasing is one of those things that people like Hannah do every day. If you're interested in seeing more of our "ugly locations" we made into some rad photos, let me know in the comments below!
Until next time,
Jordan. xoxo
All photos by Hannah Dekle. Check her out at http://hannahdeklephotography.com/ or http://www.instagram.com/hannahdeklephoto/