THE PROBLEM WITH INSTAGRAM

Interesting topic right?? I have been using Instagram for over 4 years... I used to use it for health and fitness and then it became my photography. It was cool in the beginning. Posting photos of my travels, doing the hashtags, working with top bloggers in Germany and also having a free holiday around Europe being an Insta famous Bloggers Photographer. Free breakfasts, free hotels and incredible experiences. I used to spend over 2 hour's on Instagram a day. Worrying about how many like's a photo would get, if my followers were going up at a good pace and if my videos were getting enough views. If not, i would just delete it and try again at a later time of the day..

I was speaking to a friend who models, and she said she is over Instagram. She was doing what I did. Spending hours a day making sure posts "looked good" and how many likes and followers she got. She said she could feel how bad it was for her health! Instagram is so amazing, how we are able to watch people so closely. I love all the fitness girls I follow and able to see what workouts they do and then do the same when I go to gym. They also inspire me so much with the photos of food they post. Now i know that you can post whatever you want but I feel that some of the fitness girls are more real..posting photos slouched over,food babies and their " imperfections". People now have the opportunity to be seen more than ever and people are using Instagram more than Facebook and Twitter now. No one is posting feeling sad or lonely or cleaning their house or about the low times of their lives...which we all have. Its all about an illusion that people are creating! You see people buying their 10th car and you like i just budgeted my groceries for the week this is so sad.... 

What is the end goal with Instagram? I was excited when i got 10k followers and then 15k , 20k and then 25k followers. What is the final goal? It will never end. I had family down from Israel and for a lot of the lunch i was on my phone. I can tell you right now on your death bed you will never wish you had more followers or were more popular on Instagram.. It always seems like everyone else is doing better than you when everyone posts the best parts of their lives. I am guilty of looking at others Instagram pages and thinking why does everyone else seem to be having an amazing time when you have no idea what is going on in their lives. Alexis Ren once had a live video where she was crying saying that she is a human being too who gets sad and she missed her mother and people must realise that we are all human and we all have ups and downs.

Sure I still use Instagram but Instagram was making me actually sad and mostly frustrated.. Seeing photographers in Europe shooting and then wanting to be there too.. Seeing photographers posting work and then hating my own work and of course the banging fit bodies of girls who have had stuff removed and surgery to look like that..unrealistic right??

I want to spend more of my time talking to my friends and family, going for walks and reading a book. Everyone is trying to prove something. Whether that is having money, having fun or eating at a restaurant..

The fact that social media cause's depression is proven scientifically. The mechanism is very simple on Facebook, Instagram, etc., people tend to post only the highlights of their lives. Everyone is posting picture of fun times, vacations, good times with friends etc., while no one is posting the miserable aspects of everyday life. . Life is complex, everyone's life is rich of sad and happy moments. Some big moments, a lot of minor, less important moments.

So if you take a platform where anyone can self promote himself and post only the highlights of his life, do you understand what kind of distorted reality such a platform can depict?

There are more important things to spend your time on in the day and waking up and just having breakfast instead of taking in everyones posts every day. So give up being on Instagram so much and see family and friends or take a walk outside. Even make a list of the things you are grateful for. Remember that you are unique!No one is YOU! And stop comparing yourself to other's and cheer yourself on! Cut social media out and boom...cut out stress , anxiety and sadness..  Focus on your own success... Focus on the things that make you a better person..Focus on where you are going! Focus on the people in your life!

Big hugs!! 

Behind the Shoot for Sand Copenhagen and The Book Magazine

This is an Editorial for The Book Magazine with all clothing by Sand Copenhagen.

I was in Copenhagen for two weeks with my dear friend Lena Lademann (blogger from Hamburg- http://lenalademann.com/) and between the fashion week schedule i thought i would squeeze a fashion shoot in. 

Its so amazing to be away from home and plan a shoot as you have to find new locations where you would want to shoot. When i shoot at home in Cape Town i have "comfort zone locations" like the beach or on the streets but when going to Copenhagen i literally went onto Google Maps and went up and down all the streets and wrote down some street names. After being there for a few days i knew i would prefer to do the shoot inside as it was just way too cold and i would feel bad complaining about the cold in 3 jackets when the models would be in a suit with bare skin. I decided we would do the shoot at the hotel we were staying in as the room was modern with decent furniture.

One hour before the shoot i decided it would be a good idea to walk 2km to get the clothing from the Sand store instead of just going on the train..really a stupid idea. My hands were literally like claws from the cold. So i made my mission back to the hotel carrying all the clothing over my shoulders.

The team arrived and i put some music on and we got everything ready to start the shoot. Of course my external flash was not working, it would work about 30% of the time otherwise it wouldn't fire..the joys of technology.

I am happy with the results of the shoot but wish i picked out some more clothing to choose from as we were quite limited.. i think the 4km walk with claws for hands made me just get 4 outfits for each model and nothing more.

Photos from the shoot are now on my website www.tornevelk.com

TIPS l HOW TO SHOOT FEMALE MODELS IN BIKINI'S

This is a post about shooting female models on the beach and what issues i have faced. Like in my last post i mentioned the model is everything so if she is confident and has a rocking body this is 90% of the image.

When its just myself and the model and i have arranged styling then the photo-shoot will maximum take one hour to complete.

TIPS FOR SHOOTING FEMALE MODELS IN BIKINIS

• This is a given..but the model having a good body kinda makes the image so its more of a challenge when the model is not exercising or in shape. Now i am not saying that if you are not a model going to gym that you cant post in a bikini all I'm saying is that the model is the main focus of the image and it will be easier to shoot someone who is well defined/toned. If the model doesn't feel she is in shape then its probably better to have her shoot in a monokini as they are less revealing. 

• If the model is a bit shy/new its better to shoot a more commercial vibe than a ""hot/sexy" shoot because you will immediately see the model is not fully into the mood and cant pull off the look you want. 

• BODY OIL/BABY OIL/COCONUT OIL..ANY OIL.Oil is so important for shoots or a lotion that glows/shines as the sun will give a beautiful glow on the skin 

• We all know the good old "hand on the hip" pose.. now everyone does it because it really does the trick with making arms look more toned.. There are many ways to do this without that over done hand on hip pose. You can get the model to turn her hand around on her hip (like the image in this post). You can have one arm going out with her elbow on her hip and the other hand holding the arm. Usually when a model has her arms against her body it gives the impression that her arm is bigger than it is just because her arm is actually pushing against her body.  When using your arms you need to make sure when you hold your body that your hands are on your hips and have your body 3/4 to the camera. 

• Self tanner or bronzer as no one wants to hurt there eyes and plus.. a good tan makes any one look good ;)

• The light... I once did a photo-shoot at 10:30am because the model was 2 hours late (cant believe i waited). I cant even explain to you how bad the light will look on any model in this situation. The light is making black shows and this is very unflattering. You want light coming from the side which would mean a morning shoot or an afternoon shoot. I have done a shoot at midday with a stunning model named Lera but we couldn't just shoot at any angle on the beach, we would find shaded areas with a little bit of light hitting the back of her head.

• make sure there are no people walking behind the model as thats extra work and that being said.. find a beach that is more quiet. There is nothing worse than a packed beach trying to find a gap and people making childish comments and then the model feeling uncomfortable.

• Making the model standing on her toes to elongate her legs and shows muscle definition

• The models face should be more up than facing down because of shadows that will show under the eyes and no woman wants that!

• Having a swimsuit that fits is also a biggy! You dont want the model wearing a bikini that is 10 times too small and things going wild!

• Its never the best idea to shoot the model from above as you are making her look short and just..unflattering

• If the model is having issues looking towards the bright sun, have her look away, down or close her eyes every other shot or so, until she can get used to the brightness of the sun. The closer the sun is to the horizon, the easier it is for the model to look towards the light (not into the light directly mind you!)

• if you can take props with then that is also cool! Like a Coke bottle with a funky straw, a towel to wrap around her head or a cool watch.

And lastly.. Stick your booty out to accentuate your curves. Be conscious of the 'S' shape you want to be producing. 

Im so happy we went to Italy for a few days. I really wanted to go to Greece or Italy this month and we decided to drive to Italy to Milan and Venice. Nothing better than good company, sunshine and a beautiful location.

WEST COAST ROAD TRIP

Some of our photos from the West Coast on the way to Langebaan and back trying not to get blown away..
Nothing better than the sunset on the West-Coast and the feeling of being free

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