HOW TO FIND READERS?

I think every one of us who write a blog, have Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Steller, Tumblr etc. accounts want to tell their story to all people and love to have more and more new readers. For exemple I've noticed that when I do DIY I get a lot more readers than other posts. But I have also shared my DIY in Craftgavker that makes nice amount of trafic to my blog. So it might not be only about your blog but it is where you share your message. But still I'm  wondering when it is about social media - is it about quantity or quality? How you find your lovely readers?

I have had very slow speed in my blogging lately and it is because I'm now freelance photographer and because I have Instagram account. My time is spent by working with every aspect of entrepreneurship. I don't complain, it is very rewarding. But I can notice the change for exemple in blogging. If you don't blog every week, your readers start to fade...and I have to admit that I have had a very big crush to Instagram so I think that too has made my blog a bit more silent. These photos I use in this blog post are taken with iPhone and can be also found in my IG.

But I'll come back! I'm still in the middle of a new phase with my blog. I want to change it's layout. I have planned it since autumn but I wish I have time to do it in near future like starting my own webshop too. 

My answer to the question about is it about quantity or quality is quality without doubt. Answer to how you find your readers? I think you have to work a lot with that. There are no easy way. You have to try different kind of things in social media, in your blog, share your work in different kind of places and try to follow the statistics. But if you just enjoy of blogging it doens't have to be so serious business. I'm somewhere between serious and fun - but after I've started my own company this place is also about my brand as a photographer.

Have a lovely weekend!

xo

Kreetta

PS. If you get somebody to write about you that is a very good thing for your company, blog or whatever you do. I had a very good chance to be in publication called Focus on Finland. It is a publication of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Employment and the Economy, Sitra, Invest in Finland and Finnfacts. I got in with my blog. Hopefully get more work and readers :) Here's a link to it.

FLOWER POWER - EASY PHOTOGRAPHING WITH iPHONE

I've noticed that I have started to photograph even more with my iPhone. It's easier and faster and you get your photos in no time to Instagram. I've been in Instagram now for a one year and I have no regrets. I use to think that there are way too many photographs in the world and that is a great excuse to avoid IG. But...well no. It's a place with people. It's a place of community.

I use VSCOcam to photograph my pics. I've just use to it, so I don't use camera's own app to do it. I don't know which one is better but I've my habits and quite happy with them. You know the size of the photograph taken with phone is huge. You can get almost A4 sized pic with 300dpi so nothing stop you making a nice photograph print from your phone photos. I think that is amazing. Technology is here to stay and it is speeding forward and I just don't know where we are after next ten years. 

I surely believe that if you want to have a job and live good life, you can't step back and avoid all the technology. You have to go along but you can choose your way. Appearance in internet and social media can't beat the true value of friendship and family so there are moments that you just have to forget the whole world around you and concentrate to your real life. It's sometimes hard because it is so easy to just push buttons on your phone and make a digital foodprints one after another. 

What do you think?

Here's 3 IG accounts I love to follow: 

Cabinlove

Here you can find your perfect hideaway

Cannellevanille 

You can eat with your eyes and enjoy of beautiful photography

Indigo_mint 

Vintage vintage vintage - I love it!

...and my IG you can find kreettakreetta.

Have a lovely weekend!

xo

Kreetta 

ps. If you haven't seen my very first Steller stories, you can find it here. It's a story of Venice.

Make a Steller story: In Venice

I've been surrounded by everlasting beauty and I want to share it with you. I hope you have a chance to visit this beautiful city in Italy - Venice. I made my very first Steller story of Venice and you can find it here.

Above you see 4 pics. The first one with my name on it is of course the legendary Café Florian. It was opened 1720 and it's the oldest café in Italy.

Second pic is a gorgeus bed. This was photographed in private palazzo. I was there with Manuela from Milano Secrets and we were told that you can rent this place for your wedding or some other party. I'm already married so maybe when we have our 20 years anniversary ;) haha.

Third pic is a chandelier in luxury Hotel Danieli.

Fourth pic is of our dinner table in palazzo. I took part in food photography workshop by Local Milk and we were so lucky. Surrounded by beauty, history and talent. I will make another post about it.

Have you tried to make Steller stories? I think it was quite easy I have to admit. But...I haven't learnt yet how you make links and add music or sound to story and what else you can do...

Enjoy your Sunday!

xo

Kreetta

  

Feeling Moment in Venice

It was my very first time in Venice in the summer 2010. We had a chance to be there only 24 hours. It wasn't enough. I wanted to go back. Winter in Venice sounded a good plan. Less people, winter coat, silent night, woolly hat, rubber boots, maze of the narrow streets. Haunting sounds of church bells in the darkness. Echoes of footsteps and sounds of talking people and dog barking. You know there are plenty of dogs in Venice, haha.

Venice, my love. I can't forget one film I have seen many years ago - Don't Look Now (1973) by Nicolas Roeg. Filmed in Venice. A thriller with strong atmospere and a bit scary and weird Venice. I use to study Cinema and Television Studies in university and this movie was crucial to me. I understood something. I wont be a researcher or reviewer. I want to be a maker. I wanted to make films and stories. I wanted to be a storyteller. Long story to tell how did that all happen...and I won't bore you with that. But let me just say I became a photographer who also makes videos.

But I warn you if you want to keep a pure romantic feeling of Venice I recommend you don't watch the movie. It's everything else than a pretty story. I feel Venice more romantic than scary. Odd it is anyway ;) and weird too where the streets are water. It's beautiful and adorable.  

This post is about something I feel strongly Venice. These photos and stories are the ones I want to show and tell you, something I think is very much Venice.

Churches, canals, birds and brigdes. 

They are everywhere. They make your path not very much staright forward - they make you wonder around and you might even lose the track of time and direction. Map is a good tool but learning the streets of Venice is not done in one day or two. I guess that is the good thing. A lot to explore.

Green X-mas - Confetti DIY

Oh white X-mas where are you? We totally miss you. I decided to make my own colorful snowfall. Are you still wondering what to give for X-mas gifts...here comes a great tip for you then! DIY confetti with plants.

Snow is white...I know but I could decide what color my confetti snowfall is, haha. All you need is a basic office hole buncher. That's it. I usually make quite easy DIYs but I guess it can't get any easier than this anymore. But simple ideas are the best ones and many times we think too complicated. I needed a bit X-mas decoration for my succulents and other green plants that I was planning to give as a X-mas gift. They needed a bit little extra something to be adorable X-mas present. So confetti made my day.

Of course there have to be a wow moment or at least a moment of a joy when opening a gift. That's why I made a small white paper bag, put confetti snow in the bag and used the beautiful thin twine to tie it. 

The gift receivers can decide what they want to do with it. It can be sprinkled on plants or not. I guess they are pretty enough without any confetti at all...but I think confetti makes the gift a little bit more special and precious. What do you think?

You can give more than one plant and build your decorated arrangement of green plants on the tray. Use some pretty paper on the tray and maybe even add different kind of things like flag garland. I used disposable Chinese chopsticks as a flag holders. A bit washi tape and some writing and that's it.

Now everything is ready and it's time to make wrapping. As you noticed I love to use materials that are recycled or can be recycled. So go and find some nice paper from your boxes, magazine piles, kitchen cupboards what ever you can find as a nice wrapping paper. Use your imagination! I think it's so nice to get a very original and  gift made in personal way.

This is it. The last post before X-mas. If you are still thinking what should I buy for beloved ones - try green plants. These succulents, Tilladsias are very easy because they don't need so much care or watering. They are very stylish too and can bring joy the whole year around - not only on X-mas.

I wish you very Merry X-mas my friend! Have a peaceful and cosy time with your family and friends!

xo
Kreetta

ps. Here you can find another Christmas DIY I made last year. It's a paper flower. A simple decoration for your home for X-mas.

Pick your favorite X-mas DIY by Anu Harkki

Today I will take you to the home of Anu Harkki. She is full of ideas and talent so you will find out few good ecological gift ideas and wrapping tips. I also photographed her animal family. She has horses, sheeps, dogs, cats, chickens, rooster and of course so adorable mini pig Bruno. Well, I don't know how mini he really is...haha. I photographed this story to Finnish ecological lifestyle magazine Huili but here you can see something that you didn't see in the magazine, so come along!

To me the best thing in X-mas is the time befre it. Why? I love the feeling of excited waiting. I use to buy a lot of things and planned my presents well but nowadays I don't do it so much any more. I think we have already too much things at our homes. When I buy something it have to be something that can be used or enjoyed or something that the person have hoped for and I prefere handmade and design by talented people. I try to avoid random somethings for X-mas present. That is not my thing anymore. Ok, two thing is what I can't resist. Vintage and handmade. 

Let's get back to DIYs. I will show you first candle present by Anu.

She has used the original box of candles - without package plastic - and made it pretty with washitape. Then she used thin natural colored silk paper and some cotton string, brown cardboard and old key with crystal. Voilá. Looks quite nice, doesn't it! And everybody use candles. 

Flower LOVE

Good Sunday! Lazy morning. Lazy day. This is a bit "dagen efter" for whole Finland because yesterday we had Finland's Independence Day.  That is the day when everybody is watching the Linnanjuhlat from television. It is the Presidential Independence Day reception. It's THE big party in Presidential Palace, approximately 2000 invited guests. Everybody would like to be there even at once...so have to do something that President of the Republic of Finland Sauli Niinistö will invite us there, haha. But being honest it's fun to watch how people have dressed up for the party and of course there are many opinions about the dresses...

We had also planned to travel to visit our friends and celebrate but sad to say I got weird stomach flu so we missed the party. I had also planned that I will make a blog post about the flowers I bought quite cheap price this week but because I got sick I can only show you these pics taken by iPhone for Instagram by VSCO cam.

I think it's unbelievable what you can do with your phone nowadays. Of course you can see the grain but this time of the year we don't have so much light so it means grain. But I don't care about it. I think it makes pics even more real and grain has always been one part of the photography.

I have promised many things lately to make and show you here in blog but I have had quite a lot work - which is very good for starting businesswoman ;) I had planned that I have my web shop open before X-mas but...we'll see. I think I'm going to take a nap now.

Have a great Sunday and enjoy waiting for X-mas!

xo
Kreetta