(on pictures: myself and my friends Hannah, Atosa, Barbora, Monikh)

Bloggers always try to get that perfect shot and not every time we get the top results. It is about practice, patience (which I have practically 0) and time. However, there are definitely few key things to focus on that could help you to achieve great results.

1. Get the light right – Light is one of the key things. Before you start test the light as there is really no point of taking 50 shots and then realising they are all wrong.
2. More is better – You need options. I am always in a rush and a many times I left with 20 shots sadly realising later I can only use one. Just take that extra few shots so you have a choice.
3. Move – Walk, jump, turn … whatever it is. My experience is that the best pictures come from capturing that right moment. This can be matter of luck to capture it but if you have time try different things.
4. The importance of the background – we all have different perceptions but I love to shoot in open spaces – streets, big open court yards and have rather clearer background. I personally love walking shots over the zebra crossing or pavement. There is just something about them.
5. Patience and time – Take your time. You may be the next Mario Testino and get all 5 shots perfect but my experience says patience and time are the key things. Unfortunately, I have neither so it can be hard. I am though very lucky I have friends who are so much better and always push me to take more pictures in order to achieve better results.

And I picked few shots I took (obviously not the first one as that is me) of my friends. I tried to go for different styles – crossing the street, movement and the details, straight full body shot so you get an idea of what I am talking about.

So take your camera and get that perfect shot this weekend.

Blogeri se neustale snazi zachytit svuj outfit v tom nejlepsim svetle. Ale ne vzdy se nam to podari. Je to vylozene o praxi, trpelivosti (kterou ja mam nulovou) a take case. Ale urcite je par veci, na ktere je treba se soustredit a kdyz je zmaknete, tak se vysledky budou jen a jen zlepsovat.

1. Svetlo – Nez zacnete fotit, tak se ujistete, ze se vam libi nastaveni svetla na vasem fotaku. Nejhorsi je udelat set padesati fotografii a pak je delat znovu, protoze svetlo vam napriklad nelichoti, nebo jsou fotografie moc tmave. Svetlo je jedna z nejdulezitejsich aspektu. 
2. Kvantita – Myslim, ze plati vice je lepe. Je vzdy dobre mit z ceho vybirat a i kdyz se vam na fotaku zda, ze mate pet dobrych fotografii, tak doma zjistite, ze je to trosku jinak. Jedna je rozmazana, na jedne mate divne ruku atd. Ujistete se, ze vas vyber je dostatecny a najdete alespon 4 dobre fotografie, ktere muzete pouzit. 
3. Hybejte se – Ja osobne miluju fotky zachycene v pohybu, nebo kdyz clovek ani nevi, ze ho fotim. Neco na nich je. A proto doporucuji chodit, skakat, tocit se, hazet vlasy. Je to sice hodne o stesti, ale staci jedna skvela fotka, ktera doda vasemu postu uplne jiny nadech. 
4. Prostredi a pozadi – Tady asi plati, ze kazdemu se libi neco jineho. Ja miluju otevrene prostory. Nejradeji mam fotky, kdy prechazim ulici, fotky uprostred ulice ci na velkem na dvori. A hlavne fotky, ktere jsou minimalne rusene. 
5. Trpelivost a cas – Ja nemam ani jedno, ale mam kamaradky, ktere me vzdy premluvi vyfotit vice fotek, at mam z ceho vybirat. A i kdyz vim, ze neni dobre foceni uspechat, tak obcas hresim. Ale opravdu se snazte mit nekolik variant a radsi kdyz uz to chcete zabalit udelat jeste par cvaknuti. Doma pak nemusite litovat. 

Vybrala jsem par prikladu fotografii, ktere jsem nafotila pro kamaradky. Samozrejme na te prvni jsem ja, ta se nepocita.

Takze vyrazte do terenu a s chuti do toho. 

Love Glamazon xoxo 

Continue reading →

(pic source – ww.athoughtandahalf.com)

“Invest money to make money” is something we always hear from the most successful people in any area of work and expertise. When you start blogging you do not need much however if you are serious about growing and improving your blog you will have to spend money. However, the outcome can be more than just free lipstick or a pair of shoes. You can turn your hobby into a serious business. And in business you have to spend to earn!!! Some top bloggers managed to turn their small blogs in to business with turnovers reaching several million dollars. And they probably did not do it without spending a penny!!!

So I decided to put together a basic list of where you may have to spend money in order to get better, to grow and get some return!

1. Design and IT help – you may be able to do this yourself however for me this was one thing I had to invest in and probably will have to do it again! There are even trends in blog designs and you have to keep developing yours. No point of staying behind. Make your blog easy to read and attractive for readers. It also has to stand out from the competition.
2. Marketing materials – Media packs or business cards are the most common. You may need to pay a third party to help you with these. Again these things represent you and your blog! It can be very crucial during first contact with a any company or an individual.
3. Advertising – I have seen different things including advertising videos circulating online to Facebook adverts. Many of the big bloggers have got constant Facebook adverts on otherwise it would be hard to grow that fast. However, this is absolutely normal in business. Even large multinationals like Coca-Cola spend most of their budget on advertising although everybody knows them. You just have to be out there.
4. Camera and other other equipment –  I am not a vlogger however I noticed some of them have got seriously good and extensive equipment. Even personal style bloggers need great quality cameras and lenses. The issue is this never stops. Once you get your DSLR camera you realise it may not be practical and you start to look for a smaller but great quality camera. Whatever the intention is – Do not save money here. Quality pictures are one of the most important things in blogging.
5. Invest into content – this is very broad however  bloggers do need to invest in new clothes, shoes, bags, house, food and whatever they blog about it. They need to keep variety on the blog. In some cases you may have to even pay other guest bloggers to write for you. It really depends what kind of blog you have and how much you are willing to invest. Things that are worth a while usually do not come for free.
6. Office rent – Your blog may grow so much you may have to invest in to office space. There are also cases where you will work on a collaboration and you will have to rent a studio for your photographs.
7. Education and Educational material – Blogging is hard work and we need to learn as we go. Some people prefer to read books and some people prefer to invest in courses and webinars. These things do not come for free. Companies and other people can charge some serious money for sharing their knowledge. It is up to you to decide whether it’s worth it or not.
8. Employees or freelance help – Interns, assistants, photographers or full teams. These are all people that can become part of your brand. You may be lucky and find intern that would work for free however as the time goes you may grow and you may need actual employees or highly professional photographers that will charge you.
9. Agency Fees – You may get to the point where you will be represented by an agency. And agencies will charge you usually around 20 % of the fee the brand will pay you. Luckily, if you have a good agency they will find you work and this 20 % will be worth it. However, it is always hard to see your money go away. Use your own judgment if you are at that point of your career that you want to have dedicated agent.
10. Your own image changes – Invest in your image!!! Perhaps you are thinking about losing weight, improving your skin, plastic surgery or just changing hair colour. Personal trainers, doctors, beauticians, hairdressers will cost you money but they can all achieve great results!
11. Entertainment – I almost forgot this one however that is one thing you can even put into your business costs. And you find this in any industry. You have to meet people you are working with. Take your clients for lunch and coffee. Meet other bloggers and go out and network. These things cost something however nothing can beat face to face contact.

“Invest money to make money” neboli investuj penize, abys vydelal vice je casto slychana fraze ve spouste sferach. Kdyz zacne clovek blogovat, tak opravdu nepotrebuje moc. Staci vam pocitat a wifi, ale pokud vas blogovani chytne a budete se chtit zlepsovat, tak se tak nejak presunete do faze, kdy bohuzel ci bohudik budete muset na urcitych vecech utratit penize z vlastni kapsy. Z vaseho maleho online denicku se mozna jednoho dne stane velky business a v businesse je treba investovat. Roste jak vas blog tak i vy. Je to prirozena evoluce. Nektere top blogerky dokazaly ze svych pokojicku vybudovat blogy, ktere maji obrat v hodnote desitek milionu dolaru. Nerikam, ze tohle ceka kazdeho, ale pokud existuje potencial a prestanou vam stacit darky jako boty a rtenky, tak se nebojte investovat. Je treba se neustale zlepsovat. Ony mega uspesne top blogerky se take nedostaly tam kde jsou bez investic at uz jsou to reklamy na facebooku, jine formy reklam, placeni fotografum, investovani do obleceni apod. 

A tak jsem se pokusila sepsat par bodu, ktere vam napovi, kde mozna budete muset investovat. Moznosti je samozrejme vice, ale pokud chcete vas blog dostat na dalsi uroven, tohle vas asi ceka! 

1. Design a IT – I v designech blogu existuji trendy a ty se neustale meni a vyviji. A proto to co frcelo pred peti lety uz nemusi byt in. Je dulezite si udrzovat ctenare i diky designu, ktery musi byt lakavy, jednoduchy na orientaci ci treba odlisny od konkurence. A pokud si tohle nezvladnete udelat samy, tak bohuzel budete muset nekomu za tyhle sluzby zaplatit.
2. Marketingove materialy – Mezi zakladni asi patri vizitky a media pack. A do techto veci je dobre investovat, protoze to odrazi vasi image a vas blog. Je to takova prvni komunikace mezi vami a firmou ci osobou. A nikdo se nechce presentovat neprofesionalne. Predstavte si samy jaky dojem na vas udela hezka vizitka, nebo kdyz si budete procitat zajimavy media pack. Je dulezite, aby si vas kazdy zapamatoval, ale v dobrem.
3. Reklama – Reklamu uz jsem drive zminovala v predchozich clancich. Z doslechu vim, ze Ceska blogova scena ji bere spis negativne, coz ja uprime nechapu. Vemte si velke nadnarodni spolecnosti, ktere i prestoze maji velke jmeno, tak utraci obrovskou cast sveho rozpoctu na reklame. A dela to kazdy. Musite se neustale pripominat. Ja travim na Facebooku opravdu hodne casto a velmi casto se mi objevuji reklamy placene svetovyma top blogerkama. Ony jsou totiz chytre a vi, ze je treba do takovych veci investovat. V poslednich par letech sem take videla i video reklamni spoty blogeru, ktere is nechaly tyto spoty profesionalne natocit a zpracovat. A moznosti existuje vice. Je to zkratkou soucast vaseho PR.
4. Fotoaparat, telefon a dalsi potrebne vybaveni – prestoze nejsem vloger, tak jsem si stacila povsimnout, ze nekteri vlogeri maji opravdu top vybaveni. Investuji do svetel, fotaku a kvalitniho vybaveni. Tyhle veci mohou sahat az do stovek tisic. A i kdyz si nejaky fotak poridite tak se kolotoc nezastavi. Budete chtit novy objektiv a dalsi vybaveni a tyhle veci jsou velmi dulezite, jelikoz kvalitni obsah je jedna z nejatraktivnejsich veci, ktere bloger muze nabidnout.
5. Investice do obsahu blogu – tohle je asi rozsahlejsi tema a clovek si pod tim muze predstavit spoustu veci. Muze to byt obleceni, kabelky, vybaveni do bytu, kosmetika. A zalezi na vas a typu vaseho blogu, ale muzete take zaplatit nekomu za clanek na vasem blogu. Ne pokazde je guest blogging zadarmo a ja porad verim, ze veci, ktere za neco stoji vetsinou zadarmou nejsou. 
6. Pronajem – Je docela mozne, ze kdyz vas blog bude rust tak budete potrebovat pronajem kancelare. Nebo budete potrebovat pronajmout  fotograficke studio ci jine prostory na urcity projekt.
7. Skoleni a dalsi vzdelavani – Nekterym z nas staci investovat pouze do knih a druzi si radi priplati za skoleni ci kurz. Kazdopadne kvalitni rady a znalosti druzi lide vetsinou nepredavaji zdarma. Existuje rada webinaru a skoleni, ktere opravdu stoji za to. Je jenom na vas, zda tohle jsou veci, ktere vam za to stoji. 
8. Zamestnanci ci pomoc na volne noze – stazisti, fotografove ci zamestnanci. Mozna budete mit stesti a podari se vam sehnat asistenta ci stazistu zadarmo. Ale treba take vas business bude rust do takove miry, ze zamestnate lidi na plny uvazek. Velmi cast je take nutne si zaplatit profesionalniho fotografa. Pokud jsou nekteri ochotni pracovat zadarmo je to vase vyhra, ale z vlastni zkusenosti vim, ze ti co za neco stoji si ve vetsine pripadu uctuji. 
9. Poplatky agenture – Pokud se rozhodnete mit vlastniho agenta, tak musite pocitat, ze si kazda agentura vezme z kazdeho honorare v prumeru 20 %. Pokud je agentura dobra, urcite se vam to vyplati. Agenti maji vyborne kontakty a domluvi vam spoluprace, o kterych se vam nesnilo. Je jen na vas se rozhodnout, zda jste ve fazy vasi kariery, kdy agenta potrebujete ci ne. 
10. Image – Kazdy bloger a clovek vubec by mel dbat na svou image. Chcete zhubnout, chcete projit nejakou plastickou operaci ci jenom zmenit uces? I tohle jsou veci, ktere jsou soucasti vaseho blogu a vasi image a za ty musime zaplatit. Takze at chceme ci nechceme i tohle jsou nutne investice. 
11. Zabava a networking – V kazde oblasti business je dulezity kontakt tvari v tvar. Je mozne, ze budete potkavat ostatni blogery a klienty a budete je zvat na kavu, obed ci veceri. Nastesti tady v Britanii se da tato utrata dat do nakladu, takze se vam investice vrati. Ale tento zpusob komunikace je vzdy lepsi nez email. Takze s vydaji za jidlo ci piti je treba pocitat. 

Source:http://home.oreosandredwine.com/

Some of us blog for fun. On the other hand some of us are in constant battle and try to figure out how to increase your blog followers. No matter which side you are you may still read this article. Today I decided on one key area that helps us all to increase following and that is engagement with our readers.

1. Engage readers with your  text. Ask open questions at the end and keep the content interesting. You may also ask about their opinion or experience. This is one of the key steps to increase your followers.
2. Try to reply to all comments and I know it can be hard for you but you show them you care about what they have to say.
3. Create different content across your social media and communicate different messages and style. People will be engaging then across all your platforms. Just try to keep things interesting.
4. Organise a giweaway. This will make your readers very happy.
5. You can also organise guest blogger posts, regram or retweet your fans content. This is the best way how to stay in touch and create a smile on their faces.

And if you are serious about blogging and you are not only looking to increase your followers but perhaps increase bloggers collaborations you may like this article.

Nekteri z nas bloguji pro radost a jiny se snazi o to, aby jim blog vynasel, rostl pocet ctenaru ci maji dalsi obdobne cile. At uz jste v prvni ci druhe skupine tak si muzete tento clanek precist. Rozhodla jsem se sepsat par tipu, jak nejlepe komunikovat se ctenari, protoze to je jeden z pusobu jak zajistit, aby vasi ctenari narustali anebo se radi vraceli. 

1. Snazte se neustale ctenare stimulovat ve vasem clanku. Polozte jim otazku na konci na clanku a klidne se ptejte na jejich nazor. 
2. Odpovidejte na komentare. Ja vim, ze to nejde pokazde, ale kazdy ctenar si zaslouzi trochu pozornosti. Jenom ukazete vsem, ze o ne mate opravdovy zajem.
3. Snazte se vytvaret rozlisny obsah na vasich socialnich uctech. Ctenari pak budou cist a videt pokazde neco jineho a vas obsah bude zajimavy. Snazte se take obmenovat zpusob komunikace.
4. Usporadejte giveaway, ktera ctenare potesi. 
5. Zorganizujte guest posty na vasem blogu a nebo pouze staci obcas pouzit obsah vasich ctenaru na twitteru ci instagramu. Urcite jim udelate radost pri kazde zmince.

A pokud se snazite ziskat vice spolupraci diky vasemu blogu, mozna se vam bude hodit i tento clanek.

Love Glamazon xoxo 

(Picture via http://www.stylescoop.co.za )

There are lot of bloggers that are probably thinking how to increase collaborations with brands? I wrote numerous blogging tips and article including How to make Money blogging and similar type of articles. So if you are already at the point of your blogging career that you are getting collaborations you should now plan how to take it to the next level. Whether that is to increase volume or quality. Here are some tips to take into consideration.

1. Networking/ Events – Maximize your opportunity whilst attending events. Always make sure you introduce yourself to other people and mainly to PR representatives of the brand. You always have bigger impact in person. Make sure you carry your business card to hand it to the right people. Face to face interaction is so much stronger than phone or email. I work in sales environment and every single trainer and manager have always been telling me to meet as many people face to face as possible.

2. Media Kit – I am so guilty when it comes to media kit as I have never put one together. I recently attended a master class to help to improve my blogging skills and the trainers encouraged all bloggers to have one in hand. So perhaps something to put on my to do list.

3. Strong Social Media – Make sure you pay attention to content on your social media. You never know where you can get noticed. I got approached a lot via Instagram and twitter. So I would always advice to look after your social media and try to grow it as much as you can. That new opportunity you have been waiting may come anytime soon.

4. Work on your pitch – This is another important thing I only learnt recently. Think about what makes you as a blogger and how would you sell yourself. You need to learn your pitch as you never who you are going to meet. There is nothing worse than when you cannot do a proper introduction that is catchy. I know I can do it in my sales job however with blogging? Something to work on.

5. Know your USP – Think about what makes your different. I wrote this article about how to find your niche. It does not need to be just your niche. It can be anything whether strong YouTube channel, different approach, demography, targeted audience or conversion of sales. Once you know what your USP is you must be able to use it and present it when needed.

I believe that people are constantly learning and we all have got something to improve and aim for. So hopefully at least one of these points will help you to find a new direction or change something.

Hodne blogeru se asi pta jakym zpusobem se daji navysit spoluprace se znackami. Ja uz jsem napsala par clanku o blogovani a ruznych tipu jako napriklad “Jak vydelat penize blogovanim”. Mozna uz nejake spoluprace mate, ale snazite se bud zvysit pocet a nebo treba jenom kvalitu. A tak jsem sepsala nekolik tipu, ktere je treba vzit v potaz.

1. Presence na akcich and networking – Pokud jste pozvani na akce a nebo vas nekdo vezme jako plus one tak nezahalejte a chopte se prilezitosti. Predstavte se PR predstavitelum znacky a take u sebe mejte vasi vizitku. Ja leta pracuji v oblasti sales a uz nekolik let slycham porad dokola, ze interakce v tvari v tvar je to nejlepsi, co muzete udelat. Zapomente na emaily a telefon a jdete do toho.

2. Media Kit – Ja jsem sama vinna, protoze media kit jeste nemam. Zatim sem ho osobne nikdy nepotrebovala, ale mela bych se nad sebou zamyslet.

3. Dejte pozornost vasim socialnim mediim – Socialni media hraji dulezitou roli pro kazdeho blogera. Je to jednoduchy zpusob jak si muzete pomoci a navysit spoluprace. Ja jsem dostala nespocet emailu prave diky twitteru a instagramu.

4. Vytvorte si vas pitch – Neni nic horsiho, kdyz prijde vase sance a vy se mate predstavit a behem par minut na nekoho zapusobit. Ja vim, ze to dokazu ve sve profesi, ale nikdy by me nenapadlo si pripravit pitch predem v blogovani. Takze dalsi bod na kterem musim sama pracovat.

5. Vase USP (Unique selling point) – Premyslejte o tom co je na vas a blogu jineho. Nedavno jsem napsala clanek o tom jak najit vasi NICHE. USP je neco co vas proda a nemusi to byt zrovna vase niche. Muze to byt cilova skupina, demografie, navstevnost, kvalita fotografii. Jenom si musite uvedomit co je na vas a blogu to nejlepsi. A hlavne byt pripraveni tuto informaci pouzit. 

Ja verim, ze lide se neustale zlepsuji a je porad na cem pracovat. Doufam, ze si najdete alespon jeden bod a ten vas bude motivovat. Je tolik moznosti a staci se toho jenom chopit.

Love Glamazon xoxo