Why Do I Post Photos of Myself so Often?

If you know a fashion blogger,

you'll also know how much he or she whines about his or her outfit photos. 

"It's so time consuming", "it gets dark too early", "I can't think of anything to wear", "I wouldn't wear this in real life", "I have no one to take my photo", "I have no one good to take my photo", "I feel so narcissistic", "I hate when people watch me", "never mind let's just forget it and go back inside this is dumb no one reads my blog anyways..."

etc

etc

etc

etc.

I know. 

I've been there. 

I am there. 

And yet, here we are again. Me, smirking my little smirk at the camera, and you, trying to figure out why I chose the photos that I chose even when you can very clearly see that I have the hands of an especially dirty hobbit. 

So why do I do it ?

To be fair, when blog photos turn out well, they're pretty freakin' cool. The lighting, the texture of the clothes, the scenery - when it all comes together, it breathes new life into items you once thought stagnant. 

But photos like that take a lot of work. Not only does the photog have to be incredibly talented, but I also have to refrain from acting like an idiot and mimic model behavior for an unbearably solid amount of time. We then have to match the location to the outfit and frame me so that the image composition as a whole is aesthetically pleasing. 

Like I said; when it all works, it works. But usually, it doesn't. So why do I keep it up? 

Why, when I so much prefer writing to modeling, do I continue to post photos of myself on this blog? 

Well, for one: I feel like it helps us to connect. 

Putting myself out there visually is a good way for me to feel like I'm one step closer to everyone reading. 

Please nod-and-smile with me on this one. 

Please. 

 It's also my 23-year-old self's way of prolonging kindergarten's show-and-tell. Sometimes I'll go through an entire day wearing something new and exciting and not even talk about it once. 

That's why I have you guys. You're like that one poor quiet kid on the bus in grade school who I'd routinely accost with my random conversation ideas.

Which is why I think a lot of bloggers are a little bit shy. They take their enthusiasm for fashion that they're too timid to share in day-to-day life, and they release it via a less risk-prone outlet. 

And because that need to connect is so much stronger than the intense desire to not have yourself photographed (because it's insanely annoying and usually embarrassing and time consuming and awkward and inconvenient and unpleasant and-- shall I go on??), 

coat: H&M, dress/blazer: Zara, jeans: j.crew, beanie: random pop-up-shop at Chelsea Market, purse: Rome market

here I am:

Feeling uncomfortable and inevitably cold. 

All for you, my friends 

Or, for me, I guess. 

Hey - 

S'all for us. ; )

Cheers.

Photos by Lydia Hudgens