Photography Styling Challenge {Morning}

I have joined a  wonderful new photography challenge held by Redesigned by M. The challenge is designed around styling your own workspace for your photoshoot and was created with two main outcomes: learning how to use your camera in its fullest capacity, and learning how to be your own stylist for a shoot.

I absolutely loved this challenge, as for me, the best part of any shoot is the styling element, where I have to move around objects to create the 'perfect' shot. Personally, when I take photographs, what I love most is the small details, the tiny bits that make up the whole. This is exactly what I get to do with this challenge. 

No editing may be done to the photographs, apart from edge cropping, and all photographs have to have been taken since the start of this challenge in June this year.

If you'd like to know more or if you want to join the challenge, pop on over toRedesigned by M.

This months theme was {Morning}

I spent a lot of time thinking about this theme, how to make it unique, trying to get all artsy farsty with it.  I really wanted to use the beautiful natural light that comes in through our bedroom window here in Korea and brainstormed how to style my shoot around that.

Here are the results. Hubby had to be very patient with me, but I quite like how the photographs came out.

What do you think?

Make sure to check out the following other bloggers and their entries for this challenge:

Redesigned By M

redlovinpixie

At The Corner Of Happy And Harried

My Food Tapestry
Inge Kathleen Photography

Pies And Puggles

A Woven Life

The Delicious World Of Chefette Spicy

Our {Love Story}

Farmboy and I have been married for just over a year now, so I thought I'd take a little time to tell you how we met and how our love story began. It's quite a long post, so grab a cup of tea before settling in.

I was in my third and final year of University, having decided that I was going to make the most of the short time I had left, I joined a campus based NGO called Galela Amanzi (which means 'pour the water' in one of South Africa's many languages). Galela Amanzi had been voted the Campus project for the year, and was aimed at setting up water tanks to collect rainfall for the local townships. So here I was; the epitome of a city girl, sparkling earrings, nail polish that matched my scarf, and perfectly done makeup...all ready and eager to get involved in something meaningful. And there he was, unshaven, barefoot, plaid wearing...ready to make the world a better place. 

Here are a few photographs to help you set the scene:

One Friday evening, after a long meeting about how we were going to manage to secure funding for our next water tank, it was time for the committee set up for the fundraiser we were having the next day. It just so happened that Dale and I were the only two available to make the t-shirts needed for the boerie roll (a South African take on the American hot dog) sale. I had no problem meeting Dale alone at his house, I did have a boyfriend at the time of nearly five years, and thought it would be absolutely fine to hang out with a rugged but all too intriguing (don't forget the barefoot part!) farm boy.

Something happened that evening, something that I could not even begin to explain. Maybe it was listening to a young man open up about the huge part that God played in his life, or listening to tales of real farm life, or maybe it was just the intensity of hearing someone not afraid to speak their mind and being open about their faith that did it, I'm not sure. Having been brought up Catholic, having a Jewish Dad, not really ever being interested in going to church, and having gone through the disintegration of my parents marriage, something happened to me that evening. I realised that I was far too attracted to Dale to spend any more time with him while having a boyfriend, and I flew home that Sunday (two days after making t-shirts) to do one of the hardest things imaginable... break up with my boyfriend. It was not an easy decision to make, I hod to break someones heart, to break something that was over five years in the making. But, although it was difficulty and there are a million different ways it could have been done, it was the right thing to do. 

I flew back the following day and began a whirlwind of a romance with Dale. In the beginning nothing mattered, it was all butteries and fairytales. But slowly, reality hit when Dale had to fly to Botswana for a research assignment, and I was left in my small University town, all alone, to think about what the last few months had meant. Had I jumped into this relationship too soon? Was I missing my ex? What did the future hold for Dale and myself? Did I need to be single to find out more about myself? Was I crazy? The only thing I never questioned, was whether I has made the right decision in ending things with my ex. Even though I missed him terribly in the beginning, our relationship had become one of deep friendship rather than romance.. I had peace about that decision, even if it was the only thing I had peace about at that stage.

A few months later I started going to church with Dale, and my eyes and heart were opened to the wonders of a living God. A god who loves and cherishes his children no matter what. All the terrible things I had done had been forgiven, I was washed cleaned of all I had been, and I was finally excited for the future and what it held for me, and my relationship with Dale. Nine months into our relationship, and Dale and I decided to move to South Korea to teach English. What an adventure. Living in a foreign country, having to adjust to a completely different culture and way of life was made all the easier by having someone special to share it with. The adventures in Cambodia and the Philippines, while managing to still find a good church to keep us grounded, was just a glimpse into life as a Foreigner in Korea.

We touched back down on South African soil in March 2011,  to the reality of life in South Africa. Dale spent six long months looking for a job, I decided to return to studying my life long dream of becoming a a teacher and we both moved to Pietermaritzburg (Dale first to live with his Grandparents) and me following later on once my University year began.

Dale propsed a year later (you can read and see all the photographs of that very special day here) and we were married six months later on Dales family dairy farm in Kwazulu Natal (click here) to see more wedding photographs).

At the beginning of this year, after much discussion, Dale left his job and we arrived in South Korea for our second adventure of teaching English here. We are in a very small town in the South West corner of Korea. Our plan is to spend the next few years here, traveling the world and saving enough money to buy a house back home. 

Adventures lie await for us, some disguised as difficult circumstances, others as interesting and new friends.   

Life is what you make of it, it's time to stop worrying about what the future will bring and whether all your ducks are in a row. Enjoy every moment of every day. If you don't like what you're doing, stop. Take a break. Go on holiday. Tell that special person how you really feel. Smile at everyone. Thank God for the small, as well as the big things in your life. 

And most importantly, take lots and lots of photographs as you go along. 

x

{Cat Cafe} in Seoul, South Korea

A little while ago, Farmboy and I visited a dog cafe in Seoul (it's not what you're thinking...click here to see more) and this time we popped by a cat cafe to give these little ones some love and attention. The idea behind these animal cafes is that people, who are unable to keep pets in their homes (usually due to lack of space here in Korea) are able to spend time with animals in a 'controlled' environment.

The place is kept very clean, with you having to remove your shoes and wash your hands thoroughly before entering. Cats are generally very hygienic anyway, and their 'bathroom' area is a secluded, walled off area in the corner so no worries about that side of things. You simply pay an entrance fee which includes a drink of your choice, and then enter the kitty den and cuddle to your hearts content. These little guys were all pretty sleepy, but when the chicken liver treats were brought out we suddenly became very interesting to everyone. A delightful way to spend an afternoon in Seoul.

There are lots of cat cafes in and around Seoul, this one in particular was in the Myeongdong district. It's pretty hard to explain how to find it, but if you wonder around the busy streets you're bound to come across a banner filled with images of cute cats.

They are usually on the third/fourth/fifth floor of buildings, so keep an eye out on the upper levels of buildings.

Snail Mail and my new PenPal from Malaysia

There are so many wonderful people to meet on Instagram (come say hello to me too @roxypearce). While perusing for pretty bits of stationery, I stumbled across the lovely @win_naa who is from Malaysia.

I instantly started following her feed and every day I am able to get my stationery fix from her lovely images. 

We have since become pen pals, and the images below are from my very first pen pal snail mail package from her. I can't wait to put together all the pretty pieces I have for her (I am after all in stationery heaven here in South Korea) pop on over to my Facebook page if you don't believe me. Everything she sent me was so thoughtfully put together, including a whole bunch of interesting facts about Malaysia.

There is something very special about receiving something in the post, isn't there?

Thank you so much for the wonderful package Win Naa, I so look forward to the many letters we will be sending across the seas to each other.

x

Portrait Session {Caitlyn de Beer Life Coaching}

A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of meeting up with a client (who has since become a lovely new friend!) who needed some branding done for her new website and blog. During the weeks leading up to our meeting we also decided she needed some new photographs for the website as well as new graphics. 

Caitltyn is also here in South Korea teaching English, but she is also a qualified life coach and helps people set and achieve goals to get them to where they want to be in life. Her aim is to make your dreams come true through her guidance (and the odd shove) in the right direction. If you're interested in hearing more about what she does, pop on over to her website CaitlynDeBeer.

Here are some of the photographs from our shoot. Caitlyn was so easy to photograph (I mean, just look at her!) and I had such a fun time doing it. 

If you are here in Korea and want some new pretty pictures for your blog/website/facebook/family, please feel free to pop me an email here citygirlsearching{at}gmail{dot}com or use the contact page above. You can also see more of my work on my Facebook page RoxyPictures.

I look forward to hearing from you.

x

The FaceShop - Arsainte EcoTherapy {review}

This is my second review of products from The Face Shop (you can read my review on the Chia Seed collection here) and the reason...I just love all of the products I've used so far from this brand of skin care  here in South Korea. 

With all my reviews I aim to be as honest as possible with the products I review. I have not been sponsored in anyway, and the views here are entirely my own.

Most skin care lines here in Korea consist of the following types of products:

Cleanser

(cream/oil/foam)

Toner

Essence/Serum

Lotion/Emulsion

Cream

This may all seem a little excessive, but Koreans (and I think I can generalise to most Asian people) have the most incredible skin. All the ladies at my school look at least 10 years younger than their actual age. They must be doing something right, and I think their skincare (and the fact that they spend NO time in the sun baking like us Westerners do) has a lot to do with it.

-Cleanser

 is your first line of cleansing the skin to remove all traces of makeup and impurities

-Toner

 is to get rid of oil & dirt left after cleaning, to moisturise & to neutralise the ph balance of the skin

-Essence/Serum

 is a light, concentrated treatment to correct skin problems. It is easily absorbed and penetrates deep into your skin. Some beauty experts advise waiting 5-10 minutes AFTER applying your essence before you apply any other moisturizer. Essence or serums are essentially clear, thick, liquid moisturizing products. Some companies tend to label their products as serums, while others label them as essences. Serums tends be slightly more concentrated than essence.

-Emulsion

 is a much lighter, daytime moisturiser 

-Cream

 is a much more rich product, usually used if your skin is very dry or in need or more moisture

Arsainte Ecotherapy Multi-Care Cleansing Foam

I've only used this cleanser a few times as I am trying to finish up the vast array of other cleansers I seem to have amassed in my short time here in Korea (I just can't be helped when it comes to products!). But it seems to do a good job of cleaning my skin without stripping it and leaving it feeling dry and leathery. The product description says that it can be used as a mask too, when left on the skin for 5 minutes. I'm looking forward to trying that out in the next few weeks. I'll let you know how it goes on my Facebook Page. 

Arsainte Ecotheraphy Extreme Moisture Tonic with essential

"An essence toner that needs to be shaken before usage to mix the aroma essential oil and golden palm oil, uses bamboo extracts instead of water"

I love the fact that I have to shake this toner to combine all of the essential oils and bamboo extract before using it as I can actually see the different levels of moiuture that will be absorbed into my skin. The fragrance  is light, fresh and very exotic, leaving my skin feeling renewed and glowing after each application. 

Being an 'essence' toner it is a multi-beneficial product, combing essence and toner in one, allowing me to save a little time on my beauty regime (ok, not a lot of time but still, those few extra seconds do count!). It prepares my skin for my moisturiser and aids in retaining moisture.

I then follow with my Olay eye cream (which I have been using and loving for the past 2 years) and finally my Chia Seed Lotion. I had been using the Chia Seed Watery Lotion and although I liked using it, I have used this toner the last time I was in Korea and wanted to try it again. Both the Chia Seed and this Arsainte toner are wonderful products, but I do feel that the Arsainte is more moisturising as it contains essential oils, and so its perfect for me here in Korea as we are heading into winter when my skin is always more dry.

With winter approaching, I am on the lookout for a new moisturiser/serum. If you have any recommendations, please pop me a comment below, I'd love to hear from you.

x

OPI *Nail Envy* {review}

I have never been a very firm believer in nail hardeners/strengtheners, and have always just defaulted to Rimmel Stronger Double Duty which works super well as a base coat. But i recently borrowed Nail Envy and was pleasantly surprised. It comes out clear, and looks almost gel like when left plain on nails. I didn't use it long enough to see if it really does strengthen nails, but when having my nails done recently I was told by the nail tech that she swears by this little goodie.

Get yours at your local Dischem for somewhere around the R200 mark (rather pricey in my opinion). 

Click here for OPI's Facebook group in South Africa

One year after saying {I do}

My dearest Farmboy made me the sweetest gift to celebrate our one-year anniversary. Click here to see the post he wrote and the video he put together after blog-napping this blog. I love him to bits for his creativity and thoughtfulness (and for a million other things that he does everyday). 

So here we are, 365 days after me walking down the aisle to meet my prince charming (click here) to see more photos of our vintage farmyard wedding which took place of Farmboy's family dairy farm in South Africa).

In the past year we have moved into our first little home together, unpacked wonderful wedding prezzies and started getting used to a daily routine and house hold chores together. Then we packed up all those wedding presents and our lives in South Africa and moved to South Korea where we are now living and teaching English. We adventured in Malaysia and have furthered our love for Korean coffee shops.  All of this in what seems to be such a short time. 

Well my dear Farmboy, the best is yet to come and I can't wait to spend the rest of my life having adventures with you.

Blog-napped by hubby. Yes this is happening

Words to self...

OK this is going to be fast, brutal and messy, she is sitting next to you and could peep over at any second.

Words to innocent bystanders...

If you guys out there, the readers, are confused about the change in tempo, tone, poor grammar and general lack of prettyness - its because this blog has been taken over, kidnapped, hi-jacked and blog-napped.

Yes you read right for one brief moment today I have managed to get the queen away from her Mac-Book-throne, and its given me the chance I have been waiting for. You might wonder why Im using the her blog for this and the truth is Im not sure but I know she will love it to bits and thats all thats important right now. And lets be honest, she is a blogger and everything that ever happens in our life eventually winds up here anyways.

Words to my princess...

Hello my dove... I figured this would be a fun way of getting your attention. Its been 365 of the best days of my life, heres to many more. You are my everything.

Our one year anniversary.

{Away in Seoul}

Farmboy and I are spending a few days in Seoul to celebrate our 1 year wedding anniversary {which is on Monday} and to see more of the sights and sounds of this fascinating city. The past 3 days have been public holidays here in Korea (Korea has a LOT of public holidays!). These holidays have been for Chuseok, Korean thanksgiving which is traditionally a time spent with family, making lots of traditional Korean dishes  and honoring ancestors. 

I won't be blogging for a little while, so if you'd like to follow along on Instagram (@roxypearce) you're sure to find lots of strange and interesting photos of our time here in Seoul.

Have a lovely weekend everyone.

x

{South Korea} the Food

Lots of friends and readers have been asking us about the food here in Korea. There are a lot of noodles, a lot of rice and a lot of meat (in-between some rather strange veggies). So here are some snaps of food here, in between one or two home cooked meals and a yummy cheese burger.

Would you buy Korean stationery from me? {A short survey}

Happy Monday everyone! I hope you all had a wonderfully relaxing weekend and that your Monday has been off to a good start so far.

After lots of requests from readers, friends and even family I have decided to seriously look into a new business venture. I have been doing lots of brainstorming and researching, and am wanting to start a small business in sending some of the gorgeous bits of Korean stationery we have over here to you, wherever you may be in the world.

I have created a little survey with 10 short questions to help me gain a better understanding of what is is you would be interested in buying, how much you would spend and how much you would be willing to spend on shipping etc. Please click the following link to take the survey:

Click here to take the survey

I am also trying to work out where to host the shop, whether it should have its own blog, whether I should go onto Etsy, or whether to open up a whole online store. If you have any experience from owning your own online store and want to give me any advice, please leave a comment below or do drop me a line citygirlsearchinggmailcom. I'd love to hear from you.

So, this is all very exciting and I hope it's exciting for you too! There is so much gorgeousness here that it's criminal not to share it with all of you.

I'm looking forward to sharing more of this project with you all soon!

x

Happy Friday and {Oh Joy!} blog love...

I love finding new blogs to follow. They leave me feeling inspired and ready to get out there and make things happen on my little blog.

While searching for a cute 'Happy Friday' graphic on Pinterest this morning for my girls (I am an English Teacher at an all girls middle school here in South Korea) I found this lovely one created by OhJoy!:

Whenever I re-post other peoples work on my blog or Facebook I always try to credit the source. This can be frustrating when people don't credit the source properly on sites like Pinterest and Facebook. So it can take a lot longer than usual to find a lovely image and of course to make sure to credit the creative properly. Anyway, to cut a long story short, this lovely image is from Joy's wonderful blog Oh Joy!

Joy Deangdeelert Cho is a graphic designer, blogger, food enthusiast, and the founder and editor of Oh Joy. Launched in September 2005, the Oh Joy blog covers inspiration and design with a focus on Joy's favorite things: design, fashion and food.

 Her blog is full of inspiring photographs, delicious eats and of course her cute little girl Ruby. Here are some wonderful photo's from her blog for you to enjoy. 

It's because of blogs like OhJoy! that I have my own space here at CityGirlSearching. I hope this little ol' blog leaves you feeling inspired when you pop by.

Lots of love 

Roxy

x

{South Korea} Frustrations

Most of the time things are just peachy here in Korea. The people are incredibly kind and genuinely mean well even when trying to force something spicy down your gullet. But sometimes, you just have to shake your head and mumble between gritted teeth the age old saying here 'Only in Korea'.

source

About a month ago (right before we left for Malaysia) Farmboy and I booked flights to Mongolia (I know!). Our plan was to spend our next holiday (well, 3 days of public holidays coming up next week here in Korea and to take 2 days of unpaid leave) with two special friends who will be leaving Korea soon. We were a little hesitant to book flights without confirming unpaid leave with our schools, but we have done it before and there had been no problems then. We went ahead with paying for our non-refundable tickets and rushed up to Seoul to get our visas sorted out. Then when school opened again a few days later I met with my co-teacher to chat about getting my unpaid leave authorized. 

Problem number 1.

"There has been new document that say Foreign Teacher cannot take unpaid leave these days", was the response I got. Our contracts are a little grey in the leave area, but as we had done it before, and I offered to make up any classes I might miss I really didn't expect to encounter any issues. Well that was a good start to my week. I even got to the point where I told her about non-refundable flights, but was met with a blank stare (language barrier? Cultural barrier? I couldn't care less barrier? Who knows). And that's how that conversation ended. 

Farmboy, armed with his most expensive looking suit and tie (appearances are oh so very important here in Korea) arranged a meeting with the education supervisor in our province to chat about our dilemma. The suit may have helped a little, but the answer he got was very vague. Not quite a 'no' but in no clear means a 'yes'. So we waited for the next 2 weeks to get a straight answer.

Problem number 2.

Meanwhile I had been frantically researching and calling the airlines and booking websites I had gone through, cancelling flights for non emergency reasons usually results in the ticket bearer being issued with a voucher for future travel only valid on the booked airline for the cancelled flight. Ah man. I'm not sure we can head anywhere else but Mongolia on Mongolian air. And our visas were only valid for the stipulated number of days applied for.

What a flop!

Problem number 3.

We finally heard back from our supervisor (by a random text message).

 "Foreign teacher in Jeonbuk Province may not go abroad during semester time". Really? Then how is it that every other teacher we know in our province is leaving Korean soil for the Thanksgiving holiday? That message should have read "Dale and Roxy Teacher may not go abroad during semester time". Our main reason for coming to Korea was the opportunity we have to travel here. Well I guess we will just have to spend the holiday here exploring more of Korea. 

Luckily I have the most persuasive husband in the whole world, who managed to charm the socks off the American call center and got us a 95% cash refund on our credit card. Other teachers in Korea suggested we take forced sick leave, others said we should just go and not say anything until we got back and then feign ignorance, but none of that quite sat right with me. I had wanted to be honest about our trip from the beginning, little lies (no matter how white) have a habit of spiraling out of control and biting you in the bum sooner or later. 

And to be completely honest, we shouldn't have actually booked flights without getting our leave sorted out first. But you know how easy it is to get carried away with excitement, and that sneaky piece of plastic called a credit card makes online shopping far to easy.

And so my dear friend Mongolia, it just wasn't meant to me this time. 

The lesson I have learned from all of this. Never assume anything. Especially here in Korea. Clarify everything (in writing is possible) before making and permanent decisions/bookings/commitments. Take deep breaths when you feel frustration building, and try to smile through it all even if you feel like punching someone in the face. 

So next week, instead of images of vast open plains and shaggy weather beaten men wrapped in wool blankets, you will be getting something a little more Asian or should I say South Korean. 

Some bright lights perhaps, cat cafes and coffee shops, high end street fashion and one or lovey dovey photographs of us as we celebrate our one year wedding anniversary in Seoul. It's not Mongolia, but it will do.

x

A love for film photography

I found these old photographs Farmboy and I took a couple of years ago after we had just got back from our first stint teaching here in Korea. It's times like these that I remember what makes film special. The fact that you can't undo the photograph. The time spent patiently waiting for the roll to end. The rush of excitement walking home from the developer clutching that white envelope. Reliving a single memory in its entirety.

Have you ever played around with film before?

x

Our Wedding in {Wedding Inspirations Magazine)

Oh this is a very exciting post for me to write. I have tried to contain my excitement for the last 6 months and now I can let it all out :)

Our wedding has been featured in the Spring Edition of the latest Wedding Inspirations magazine.

If you would like to see more wedding related things like what DIY elements we added, who did our food/hair/makeup etc click here for all our wedding related blog posts. And another thank you to our wonderful photographer Jacki Bruniquel, we loved everyone of our photographs.

If you happen to find yourself near an Exclusive Books, turn to page 150 to see us all shiny and in print :)

Boys and their Toys

So, hubby has a new hobby. 

Which is great, really, it is. 

But here in Korea our living space is pretty compact, and when the propellors and the tape come out all hell breaks loose in the kitchen/living room/lounge/dining room. 

Secretly I love to watch him as he sits and tinkers away with his glue gun and foam board. I'm really proud of him for making this little guy from scratch, wings and wheels included. He's had a bit of a rocky start, not quite making it off the ground before something inevitably snaps off, but today I have a good feeling.

Besides, its a good day to fly here in South Korea. The sky is blue, and fluffy white clouds are dancing above our heads. 

Happy Sunday everyone!

Hosting a Giveaway using Punchtab

Recently I hosted a giveaway here on the blog with the sweet Sarah of Polkadot & Stripes. It was wildly successful. Why? Part of the reason was the wonderful goodies up for grabs, but I think what made it so successful was my choice of giveaway platform.

I tried out PunchTab, which I found to be super easy (and free!) to set up, and even easier for my readers to enter. You can upgrade on the site by paying a fee, but I found my basic account to be more than adequate.

There are a number of other platforms out there which offer a similar service (such as Rafflecopter and Wildfire). I haven'r tried out these two platforms, but from the research I did, PunchTab seems to have impressed a lot of people. 

Unlike the traditional method of people commenting on your blog post to enter, with PunchTab, users have a variety of methods with which to enter. The more ways they enter, the more entries they get. You get to customize exaclty what you would like your readers to do (tweet about the giveaway, answer a question, like you on facebook etc). And the best part, you don't have to manually count and enter each entry into another server like RandomOrg to choose a winner. As soon as the giveaway is over, with the click of one button, PunchTab automatically picks a random winner. Its so easy! You can also choose to download a list of emails that your readers used to enter your giveaway to add to your monthly newsletter or to send out thank you emails etc. 

Here are some stats I thought would be worth mentioning about the giveaway I ran a little while ago:

For my little blog, my readers churned out a total of 631 entries. Ok, the total number of people who entered was 112 but that means that they each must have entered at least 2 or 3 times. The reason they were able to was because I made it easy for them. 

There's nothing more frustrating than a complicated list of instructions for entering a giveaway. Help your readers out and make it easy for them. And save yourself a lot of time in tallying up all the entries too!

Have you tried PunchTab before? Can you recommend any other platforms that have worked well for you in the past? Drop me a line below, I'd love to hear from you!

Malaysia in black and white

Here are a few  black and white photographs of our recent  trip to Malaysia in August this year. 

There's something special about black and white photography, too much and its over kill, but just the right amount and its perfect. 

I used to think black and white was the lazy photographers best friend, but I have since changed my mind. 

Sometimes, simple is best. 

Here are my favourites:

How to edit photographs for Instagram

When I first got on the Instagram train I was intimated by all the incredible images on my feed. Never in a million years did I think I would ever get more than one like (thanks hubby!) and never did I think people would comment and tell me they loved my feed. 

I'm still learning as I go, but here are a few tips that I hope you'll find useful. 

The best piece of advice anyone ever gave me was this: "If you're feeling uninspired, find images that you feel drawn to and try and recreate them". You'll stimulate your creativity and learn just how to create the images that you enjoy looking at. Then use that knowledge to create your own original material. 

I recreate images I love for my own personal use, I don't want to infringe on anyones copy write, but at the same time we all have to start somewhere, and thats a pretty good place to start.

Here are a few tips of how to take your photographs and what apps I use to edit. The photograph on the left is the original image, and the one on the right is the 'after' product.

All of the photos below were taken with my iPhone 4s.

Think carefully about what you want to photograph. Think about the different angles you can take the photograph. Think about using/not using props, as well as your background. Some of the most beautiful images I have seen have plain, white backgrounds that don't distract.

Then snap, snap snap. Take 2 photo's of the same thing, heavens go ahead and take 100! Each time try change one thing and then look at which ones you like the best.

Natural light works wonders! Try placing objects near a window for soft, natural looking images. Bright natural light when enhanced with Instagram effects, for example Valencia, will give you a similar look and feel to these two images below. 

I mainly use the wonderful A Beautiful Messapp when editing for Instagram. It's one of my favourite apps for adding text, frames and cute doodles onto photographs. A lot of the images in my Instagram feed have been edited in the A Beautiful Mess app, and then uploaded to Instagram and run through different effects until I am happy

A Beautiful Mess app can be found on the Itunes store (click here). The app itself costs $.99 and is packed full of features. You can purchase additional effects/doodles/borders/text easily through the app itself. I have the basic $.99 version and its perfect for what I need.

To see more of my photographs on Instagram, follow along @roxypearce.

I hope you've found this helpful, if you have any questions please pop me a comment below.

Happy snapping!

xxx