on monday, i wrote my third of four guest posts for kids clothes week.  this week all of the contributors are talking about sewing-related mistakes. my post was about challenges i face when selecting fabric, and how hard getting consistently good photos has been.

as a follow-up to this post, i thought i’d share with you what i think is actually my number one biggest challenge (though not at all kids clothes related): taking pictures of myself! i’m taking a risk here guys. this is seriously embarrassing stuff that i’m sharing. please be kind.

let me start by telling you that i do not take a good picture. truly. i am chandler bing. i always have a weird face, or am in some ridiculous pose. so on top of all the usual challenges with photography, like the lighting and the background and the camera settings, ADD framing the picture so that i’m actually in it and using the timer (because my camera can’t accept a remote). then i have to contend with my awkwardness.

i’ve sewn a lot for myself over the past year, but i haven’t shared any of it. i’ve made great strides in the “choosing the right fabric” department, but you don’t know anything about that! i want to share those projects with you, my friends, but i try to take pictures and my entire shoot turns into outtakes. i feel frustrated and disappointed, and all that great sharing and content flies right out the window. i’m bummed. and that’s a bummer.

i know that what i need to do it practice. practice, practice, practice. and i need to invest the time and energy into finding a spot or two that works for me. my little wall space that i use to photograph the bee doesn’t work because i’m too tall in relation to the space for the camera – i can’t move it far enough back to fit my entire me. i’ve pinned a couple of great blog posts about location and poses for selfies and i really need to just dig in and do the work. but frankly, i’d rather be sewing!

so to prove it, i’m going to share a project with you, including the badly lit and weirdly posed photos with a terrible background. i’ve actually picked this project because the photos are kind of the worst. their blown-out and weirdly tinted and i’m being weird. if i’m going to do this then i’m going all in!

(and oh yeah, heads up: i took these pictures in the summer. if you’re living somewhere that is located well below freezing, like here, then prepare to be jealous.)

why would any sane person stand like this during a photo shoot? i like to think that i’m showing off my swagger, but i actually doubt that. and is this the picture that is showing up on bloglovin, or whatever reader you use? yikes!

this is the ubiquitous washi dress. i’ve made two so far – the first from a linen/cotton blend in grey with white polka dots. (it’s a really cute fabric, but it looks soooo blah on me.) this green is shot cotton in moss by kaffe fassett. i was afraid the fabric would be too light-weight, but it’s actually perfect for summer. (yay me for selecting the right fabric!!!) i’ve gotten a lot of compliments on this color (and this dress), which is nice. i love green!

if you’re not familiar with shot cotton, here’s a close-up. it’s a yarn-dyed fabric, woven with one color in the warp and another in the weft. some colors look a bit iridescent, and they all have some depth. they also have some irregularity, which you can see here. i think shot cotton might be used primarily for quilting, which had me concerned, but it all worked out.

the washi dress straight out of the box doesn’t fit awesome – the shoulders are set too wide for me. in each version i’ve taken it in a bit more, and i’m sure that the third will fit perfectly. i’m not in love with it, but it’s a quick sew, i think it flatters my body shape, and it will be a great summer staple.

cut my head off! i think i’m trying to illustrate the gaping here, but who knows.  my face says it all i think.

so, there you have it. i know that in the big, grand scheme of things, crappy pictures of myself is not a big deal. my family is healthy. we have food on the table every day. i can afford to have sewing as a hobby. but in this world of ubiquitous social media that i’ve willingly chosen to enter, i want to control my image. put my best foot forward and all that, you know? and so i’ll probably hold off on sharing more pictures of my own garments i’ve sewn until i get in some good practice and get all that technical stuff worked out. i hope if this is a challenge you face, you feel less alone!

do any of you struggle with taking a good selfie? have any tips you’d care to share?