The Key To Authentic Personal Style…. Daily Outfit Photos 📸

This is a story… one you can learn from.  I used to spend hours scrolling social media feeds trying to keep up with the latest fashion trends, and embarked on a fruitless style journey of trying to get a “you look great in that” compliment. 

It. was. exhausting. And not to mention, totally thwarted me on my own authentic personal style building.

Whether you have gone in pursuit of similar short-term reward style endeavors, or you’ve just been in a style rut, this one piece of advice is going to change your fashion game. 

Daily Outfit Photos. 

Sounds simple, and annoyingly repetitive (if you’ve followed any of my content before)… And your initial instinct might be to think “Ya, this is like when people tell me drinking water is going to make me a million times more healthy, I’m out”.  But just calm those twitchy fingers about to hit the back button, because I’m going to explain. 

Daily Outfit Photos:  What Are They? What Are The Benefits?

In our lives, we have certain topics we like to have data on before we make a decision. I mean you don’t just go rent or buy an apartment without looking at if the price makes sense, it has a convenient location, and how many bedrooms and bathrooms it has, right?  

And then there are other topics that we are fine with just using instinct or a “go with the flow” attitude.

Fashion is almost always in the latter category. And I want to change that. 

If I asked you to share your favorite outfit from this year, you’d probably pull out a photo from a fancy event you went to where you went “all out”.

And, that’s great, you look fabulous.  But I bet you also put a lot more thought into that outfit than you did the outfit you wore yesterday running groceries and trying to squeeze 10 “to-do” list tasks in one day. 

Here’s where daily outfit photos come in.  It gives you the hard data to examine what pieces you wear regularly, what common threads you are instinctually pulling from outfit to outfit, and what your personal style expression is IRL. 

We often get dressed based on our mood, our morning schedules, or just whatever we can find that is clean. 

The more organized your closet is, the more you understand your actual style lines; the more you can hone what you actually like to wear.

And you can avoid those moments when you look back on a photo and think- man, I liked that outfit, but that is NOT how I remember it looking! 

We’ve all been there…

And the benefits can make your shopping strategies improve vastly.  So what do you have to lose? You can gain better style AND save money, plus make your morning outfit selection so much simpler.

Daily outfit photos lead to…..

• A better understanding of your closet inventory
• Data to determine your most worn pieces and their style attributes ( colors, textures, details, fit, and silhouette preferences)
• Hindsight perspective that allows you to see your personal style and either confirm your style path or adjust it if it’s not lining up with what you want
• Confidence in choosing clothes each morning, no more analysis paralysis or screaming “I have nothing to wear”
• A style you love and feel at home in 

 We may earn a commission from you clicking a link below. And as an amazon associate, we earn on qualifying purchases. Full affiliate policy, here.

How do I take daily outfit photos? 

Ok, I could just tell you, “Take the photo each day”. But, I know while the mechanics of this task are as simple as that, the actual habit is not as easy. 

So let’s dig into how to be successful in this new habit.  The first thing I’m going to say, is you just have to start trying, even if they stink.

Don’t give me “I’ll start next week when I get a better mirror” or “I don’t have a tripod, so I’ll get one soon”.  Perfect conditions do not lead to results.  Start now, fail quickly, and actually improve over time. 

So let’s agree- no excuses. 

The quicker you start and play around with it, the quicker you will learn what is working for your photos and what isn’t. So someone who has 2 months of fairly consistent daily outfit photos will be lightyears ahead of the person with 2 perfect photos. 

Daily Outfit Photos: Tips

Some things that I’ve learned over the years doing this can help, but these tips shouldn’t prevent you from trying if your conditions do not align.

• Choose a location with generally good lighting 
• Don’t overthink it, or even review the photos after you take them (we will get into when and how to review the data in the next section)
• Mirror selfies are ok if you’re just starting out, but if you have a tripod that can create even more consistency through your photos
• Take photos of EVERY outfit, even if you’re just wearing sweats or didn’t change out of your pajamas that day or are outfit repeating.  Your personal style is all-encompassing and it’s all data!  Imagine if a scientist said “Oh, I’m not recording these results, because they are the same conditions as last time”… Nope, nope, nope. 
• Don’t review the photos too quickly. I know this is a new thing you’re trying so you want the immediate win. But this is solid advice that will change your style, with time! 
• Keep the photos all in one place.  You can create a folder on your phone, add tags to the pictures so they are easily found, or even document your journey in your notes app or a private Pinterest board. 

Now… As you can see below my journey with outfit photos has been honed down over the years and I will continue to change it until I find what is right for me today.  In the beginning, I had bad lighting, bad angles, bad outfits, and if I hadn’t taken these photos I would probably not have evolved.

I hope you can also see how much I’ve grown into my authentic personal style by using this habit and building out my style toolbox. 

What is a Style Toolbox? 

A Style Toolbox is your own set of foundational fashion knowledge and systems that you like to apply to your authentic personal style. How and when you use each tool(s) depends on the outfit goals of the day.

Gabrielle Arruda

Daily outfit photos help you begin to apply all those wonderfully enlightening foundational fashion systems. They help you form YOUR own style expression. 

And if you’re new to taking daily outfit photos, jotting down your reflections can also be a nice habit to do in the beginning.  

You can sign up for my free canva templates to record a week’s worth of outfit photos and reflections here. (Canva is a free app!).  This video on personal style also might help!

Now, if we look at my outfit photo journey we see me evolve from great lighting and partial shots to a much better 360 view of my outfits. 

I sometimes opt for daily outfit videos because they allow me also use them in my video content (2 birds, 1 stone for me).  And if videos seem more appealing, definitely go that route.  They can be less pressure than a photo at times.

However, if you opt for videos, try to keep them short because I value your phone storage limits.  And if you like the video process, try shooting a video and just screenshot your favorite moment. Then you can delete the video and keep the outfit pic. 

But, videos are a great alternative if you’re like me and tend to freeze up when anyone says “cheese”. 

If you want to level up your daily outfit photos here are some things you can add to your process.  

• Collapsible tripod (small footprint). A tripod that has a small footprint that you can leave set up is going to be an absolute game changer for building this habit. And it makes it easy to put it in your closet or away when you need to. 
• Lens Buddy App.  This free app makes taking 5-25 photos in seconds easy.  It will allow you to stress less on the “automatic timer” settings and will make your process much more efficient overall.
• Ring light.  If you’re struggling with lighting, a ring light can level up your photos.  It’s not necessary to use, but can be nice to add if you’re not loving how you look in the pictures.
• A mirror you love. You might notice my beautiful gold mirror in my newer daily outfit photos. I love her and she adds a certain glamour to my daily shots.

BUT! Don’t let any of these things prevent you from starting.  Remember we are not creating Instagram-worthy photos here, we are trying to collect data.  And you don’t have to share your photos with thousands of strangers like I’m choosing to! It’s a relatively low-stakes process for you. And if you have trouble looking at your photos, just collect the data and don’t review them for now.

So take the photo, put it in the folder, and move on with your day.  Initially, you might find yourself spending 5-10 minutes on this in the beginning, but after a few weeks, you can do it in less than 2 minutes (even if you have to set up).

When should I take my daily outfit photo?

This is going to be an annoying answer, but it depends.   Don’t sigh- let me explain.

We are building a new habit, and habit-building takes some experimentation.  I find James Clear’s habit-stacking method to be the most effective. 

In a nutshell, it requires you to do your “new habit” after an already-established habit.  Like every time you brush your brush your teeth (old habit), you immediately go to the mirror and take your daily outfit photo (new habit).  This allows our brains to connect the two actions and allows for more seamless integration. 

However, this will depend on your mornings.  I like to do my outfit photos earlier in the day because I look the freshest/most put together.  I’ve found it easiest to do after I brush my teeth because I do that after my coffee and before my workday begins. 

However, you may find while you’re waiting for the train it’s easiest to prop your phone up and take a video (don’t worry, no one cares if you do this!). 

Or maybe you do it right after you drop your kids off from daycare and have a few minutes alone at home.

Or perhaps you and your bestie make it a habit of taking photos of each other right before class. 

Just make sure it’s a time that works for your schedule and take the photo.  They will probably stink at first, but that’s how you get better, by doing the thing. 

When can I skip my daily outfit photos? 

YMMV (your mileage may vary) with this depending on how far along you are on this habit.  

I’ve been doing this for years and I rarely skip a day.  I even have taken daily outfit photos when I’m on vacation or traveling because that can be incredibly insightful data on my packing efficiency and how my style handles constraints. 

The more you do it, the better your style insights will be.  If you do end up skipping a day here or there, give yourself some grace, and don’t throw in the towel.  The key is to return to the habit as quickly as possible, and not stress over it.  

This isn’t a Duolingo streak, and I’m not an angry owl that pops into your notifications shaming you for not completing your Spanish lesson. (As of this day, I have 1729 day Duo streak, so ya i know the angry owl works..)

But, this habit is something you have to choose for yourself.  Choose to do it because you want your style to grow, and to find your authentic voice. 

Ok, I have my photos… Now What? 

I recommend letting your daily outfit photos collect for a few weeks before you start digging into them. We want a hindsight perspective, and we want to see the trend of the data, and too small of a sample might skew this.

You’ll also notice that the more you do this habit, the more you feel enticed to make sure your outfit feels “complete” and “intentional” which is a great secondary benefit. 

Every month, I like to look at my photos and try to notice the common threads. I find it best to keep a running note or Word document on this, but you can also just do it in your head if that sounds like too much effort for now.

Questions for Outfit Review

• What outfits are my favorite?
• What elements do they share?  Look at the silhouettes, style lines, vibes, colors, textures, details, and how they relate to your style toolbox
• Could anything be improved with these favorite looks?
• What outfits did I initially love but now might not like as much?  Expand on this disconnect
• What necklines do I gravitate towards?  ( You can repeat this for all elements of your outfit including pant lengths, sleeve lengths, silhouettes etc)
• What textures and fabric weights do I wear most often?
• What silhouettes feel the best? Do I have any fit parameters I use frequently?
• What hair/makeup/accessories do I use a lot?  Are these in line with style goals?
• What isn’t working?

And if all else fails boil it down to… What’s working (outfits you like), what’s not working (outfits you dislike).  You can deep dive into this later, but just paying attention to these two categories will level up your style immensely! 

Personal Style Building 

If you’ve stayed with me, I’m thrilled you’re seriously considering building this habit. 

And if you need to stay accountable, I suggest downloading the free “habit” app and logging in that you completed your photo each day. (You cannot upload your photo there). However, if you’re looking for an app to upload all your photos you could try this app (it allows you to upload “1 second” from everyday and you could create a separate “style journal” on the app).

Even if you skip a few days here or there, that’s ok!  You just have to get back on the horse, and quickly.  And this habit tracker can help you do that. 

We’ve covered a lot, but I also want to mention the next steps for people who need to see “where this all leads” or for people who have successfully built this into their style journey already.

Daily outfit photos become the basis for your style future.  Think of it like a style GPS.  You are here, and you want to be there… These photos help you collect the data and choose your route. 

To further your personal style expression, I suggest following this habit with my technique of personal style mapping.

Yes, there are more worksheets, but this is the key to authentic personal-style building. Truly getting in touch with your unique self and how you want to present that to the world.

And, from there a closet audit can be extremely helpful. Closet audits help you clear out your style vision and keep on a great path for your future style.

And if you want to know where you style journey is headed and how to accomplish your dream style, check out this video:

If you’re looking to level up all these aspects of your personal style, consider my Self-Guided Personal Style workbook to help you analyze your style toolbox and your outfit photos more in-depth. 

Let’s find joy each morning when we get dressed, have a closet full of fabric friends instead of dopamine-shopping failures, and allow ourselves to find strength through style.