Is Photography The Numero Uno to Achieve a Successful Fashion Blog?

Alix Bancourt, Bryan Boy and Alexandra Spencer. 

They are the three fashion bloggers from France, USA and Australia consecutively that have gained the celebrity status amongst the virtual sphere. Aside from having the celebrity status, what does all of these fashion bloggers have in common? After looking through pages and pages of blogs by celebrity fashion bloggers, I have finally wrapped my head and firmly believe that one of the main keys behind a success of a fashion blog relies on its high aesthetic quality of their blog, particularly their photography.

(Image Source: Alix Bancourt's Blog, The Cherry Blossom Girl)

(Image Source: Bryan Boy's Blog)

(Image Source: Alexandra Spencer's Blog, 4th and Bleeker)

Of course, a great picture isn't the only factor that constitutes a successful fashion blog, but it is indeed one of the most important thing. Take a closer look at most fashion blogger's blog and you would agree that most of them are photo-heavy blogs. In an industry where looks and aesthetic appearance are the ultimate goals, pictures serves as a medium whereas fashion blogger can experiment in how they represent themselves in their outfit of the day. The different photography style that each fashion blogger carries also distinguishes their personal style, which makes them look appealing to certain niche of readership. For instance, Alix's blog tends to have photograph that has a softer color tone, which then emphasize her feminine and pastel-colored fashion style. While the photograph in Alexandra Spencer's blog tends to use a rusty-looking and high constrast effect, which then emphasize her edgy sense of style.

Looking back at the history of fashion blogger, The Sartorialist is the blog that kicks off the fashion blogging phenomenon. The man behind The Sartorialist, Scott Schuman is a street fashion photographer that became the pioneer of fashion blogging. Ever since he carried his canon 5D around New York City, he has captured ordinary people with a remarkable fashion sense and posted these pictures in his personal blog. From that on, once fashion street style that is looked upon as a specialized service carried out by magazine and other print publication has disrupted. Now, avid fashion reader is just one click away to seek for fashion advice or even become a fashion guru, which is how the fashion blogging phenomenon is born. 

(Image Source from The Sartorialist)

However, a photograph in fashion blogger's blog goes beyond on showing the reader what they wear and how they wear it, but it is also serves as a window to the fashion blogger's fabulous lives, and readers get to see their favorite fashion blogger gets listed into the VIP and front row to the hottest fashion show. Afterall, a picture says it all. 

So then, there are few questions that I would like to investigate further that could be potentially interesting for our feature:

• To what extent does photography enhanced the success of fashion blogging? How much budget and effort does fashion blogger put in their photography? 
• What constitutes a good photography in fashion blog? Is it purely the quality of the image? The color? The way the blogger poses? 
• How does photography helps to establish the blogger's identity / style?
• How much impact does the aesthetic of fashion blog have to the reader? It could be an interesting if we have one feature on the reader's perspective. We can establish this feature by using multiple forms, such as video. What makes the reader keep reading the fashion blog? What fascinates them? Which fashion blog that they follow? And why? 

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Here's some fashion-blogger related musical entertainment. Oh, and you might want to keep the volume down before you watch the video!