The Colorful Courtney Quinn
My Instagram feed is full of images posted by fashion bloggers. I am drawn to the clean, beautiful images that capture not only outfits of the day, but everyday moments. These bloggers are a new kind of journalist, capturing their lifestyle and presenting it through a series of images. While some accounts are created so meticulously that they seem unreal, there are many bloggers who present a more authentic look at their lives. Some of the brightest and most joyful images in this vane are posted by Courtney Quinn the blogger behind colormecourtney.com. As the name of her blog suggests, Courtney’s posts are full of the colorful outfits she enjoys putting together as well as her bright personality that exudes positivity and resonates with her readers.
Courtney is highly successful in her field. Her Instagram account has over 70,000 followers and she has been featured in or worked on partnerships with brands including Redbook, Refinery29, and People Stylewatch among many others. This success is hard-won. Courtney runs her blog in addition to working full time as a product developer for handbags at Coach. Despite her hectic schedule, I was lucky enough to nail down an interview with her via email.
“Most days I wake up around 6 a.m. and work for CMC a few hours before walking to work around 8:30 a.m. I arrive there at 9 a.m. and work till 1 p.m. where I take a lunch break and catch up on emails for Color Me Courtney or take a phone call with a brand. When the day ends I freshen up, sometimes change into heels and dash off to an event or meeting. After my event, I head home, take out Waffles [Courtney’s insta-famous frenchie], eat dinner and go straight to blogging. Emailing, editing photos and creating content for the next day until about 1 a.m. or 2 a.m. only to wake up early and do it all over again. It’s ALOT but I love living my Hannah Montana Life!”
In addition to all the communications work the blog requires, Courtney has to find time to shoot photos for the main content. Starting out, Courtney worked with friends, strangers and oftentimes the dreaded self-timer to capture images for her blog. Now, Courtney takes most of her point of view images for Instagram but when she is in front of the camera she works with her boyfriend Paris.
To produce a steady stream of content, Courtney and Paris usually shoot two to three days a week before work in addition to shooting multiple looks on Saturdays or Sundays. The photos are shot with a Cannon Ti3 camera, usually using a 50 mm lens. Special attention has to be taken in setting up shoots for Courtney’s colorful outfits.
“Backgrounds are way more important to me than other bloggers, because I wear so much color it’s easy for things to go wrong. We spend a lot of time location scouting and working with the right backgrounds or lighting in order to enhance the photo without being distracting! It’s a balancing act.”
Courtney seems like a natural in front of the camera and that’s because she isn’t actually posing.
“Well I’m not shy, and I haven’t ever been — I used to dance professionally so I was used to being on stage and smiling! But I’m actually not photogenic like at all, I’m really awkward and over the top so sometimes I look a hot mess! When I stopped trying to “model” and just started having a dance party, that’s when the pictures started to turn out better!”
I reached out to Courtney because she has a special connection with her fans. She posts about her personal life and holds real conversations via comments and email. Availability and a real drive to connect with readers through relatable content is what sets Courtney apart.
“I can’t speak for other bloggers and never will but I don’t think I conform to the normal “rules” of blogging, I’m never going to be a skinny, tall, long haired beauty with perfect skin, nails and a killer model stance — I can’t be, and wouldn’t want to be if I could! I think there are some amazing role models and aspiring figures that fit that mold, but what about the girls that can’t relate to that, I want to be a role model for them, I want to be a different kind of voice and a different kind of beautiful that inspires girls who look a little different to embrace themselves and feel beautiful!”
