When people ask me what I do for a living, my answer depends on who asks. If it’s an older person that I don’t really know I might just say that I’m a journalist or a photographer. It’s easier to explain than the real answer. If people in my own generation can’t seem to grasp it, how can I expect the generation before me, who grew up without computers to understand it? So what do I do for a living? I’m a blogger.
There is a perception around blogging that “it’s not a real job”, “it’s only a temporary thing, right?”. Quite often I’m asked “what are you going to do after this?” “I mean, you are looking for a real job right?!”.
But what is a “real job”?
I have thought about this question a lot lately. For some people it may mean becoming a doctor, a lawyer or any number of careers that I’ve never even considered.
I guess people think blogging is not a real job because anyone can do it, or you don’t need an interview to fill the position or because you don’t personally know anyone who does it? Yeah, I may not have to leave the house for days if I don’t want to (but i do), and I can work in my PJs if I want but I assure you, blogging is bloody hard work.
Alexander and Rima whilst shooting a Les enfants a Paris play date with Emily Kornya.
For me an average week can include managing photoshoots (I love working together with Emily Kornya!), networking by stopping by at labels, shops or offices, providing research for brands and sometimes even travel to another country, all whilst trying to make sure there is fresh content on the blog on a daily basis.
It all sounds so simple, but it all takes time, and as we all know for a mother with a young family time is a valuable commodity.
Les enfants a Paris started out purely for fun. I wrote articles and shared photos of kids fashion & design I liked or cool places we visited in Paris. I was posting fairly regularly, and the more i posted and talked to people the more web traffic my site got.
More traffic meant more interest from labels, which in turn meant more work for me, which in turn meant more articles, which meant more traffic which meant…. and the cycle went full circle.
Blogging was a great excuse for me to take photos, and work on improving my photography skills. It gave me something to do besides taking Alexander to school, teaching (something I still do a couple of hours a week) and meeting my friends for a coffee…. It gave me a place to share my work, my addiction, and my thoughts. It was a way for me to connect with people all over the world. I guess you could say it was true love right from the start.
Behind the scenes Lovy Christmas Shoot (www.lovy.nl) – Morgane wearing jewelry by Lovy and a beautiful Pale Cloud dress from the AW15 collection. Alexander is dressed in Louis Louise AW15.
And I’m so thankful to be able to do something I love so much day in and day out. Thank you all so much for reading and being a part of my life!
Special thanks to Emily Kornya who takes care of a lot of the photography you see on the blog, and the contributions from Tiphaine from the French blog Simples et Purs and Maya from the blog A table avec Maya. And lets not forget to mention all models and their mums.
