Mackenzie Billington

Bid Day Bliss

October 18, 2016 by Mackenzie

In a southern college town, Bid Day is one of the most exciting days of the entire year. One of my fondest college memories was definitely ‘running home’ to the Delta Gamma house during my freshman year. The friendships I have made in my sorority are ones I wouldn’t trade for the entire world. So for my last Bid Day, I decided to capture some of the beautiful moments and the new friendships. Apologizes in advance that there are a billion photos; Bid Day just makes me happy. [ezcol_1half]

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bid day

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bid day

xoxo,

Mackenzie

Paisley Perfection

October 14, 2016 by Mackenzie

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blue paisley skirt | white tie top | choker (on sale) | booties

Hello & happy Friday! I am not sure I could tell you when or where I fell in love with paisley. For the past few months, I have been gravitating towards anything and everything printed in paisley. So when I stumbled upon this adorable blue, paisley skirt, I knew I needed to add it to my growing paisley collection. I paired it with a white tie top, metallic choker, and neutral booties. I can definitely see it paired with a black turtleneck and black over the knee boots as it gets chillier outside.

Guess what? At this time next week I will be back in Dallas. I am so excited to see my family & enjoy the Texas State Fair.

xoxo,

Mackenzie

shop the post:

Pumpkin Patch

October 9, 2016 by Mackenzie

“I am so glad we live in a world where there are Octobers”

-anne of green gables

pumpkin patch

When I was little, my mom would always take my sister and I to pick out pumpkins every fall. And every fall, I would always, always pick out a squash. Not a pumpkin, a squash. And every fall, I would literally glew a googly-eyeball to it. Don’t ask me why. I was a strange child.

So this week when my roomies suggested that we go to the local pumpkin patch, I was 100% on board. Mostly because I wanted to take cute pics and spend time with my friends, but also partly because well, I can’t resist a good fall squash. Let’s be real. We had so much fun photographing our little adventure and picking out pumpkins & squashes to decorate our house with! For the occasion, I wore a burnt orange romper, fringe booties, and a horn necklace. If only it would get a little cooler, I could finally break out some sweaters.

xoxo,

Mackenzie

September Favorites

October 2, 2016 by Mackenzie

F U N B U N

When I first saw the half-up, half-down fun-bun hairstyle, I immediately thought I could never pull that off. For months, I saw pictures on Pinterest and Instagram of girls rocking the half-up, half-down bun [specifically my girl crush, Amanda Stanton from the Bachelor]. During a visit to Wake Forest to see my sister, Alexandra, I ended up finally trying out the hairstyle just for fun. And I fell in love. I weirdly love this hairstyle, and I’ve been wearing it all the time. I think it’s really fun, and it’s perfect for second (or third.. or fourth) day hair!

G L O W U P

[becca ‘champagne pop’ & hourglass ‘incandescent’]

Yesterday at the football game, I got a few compliments on my highlight. I realized that I’ve tried out so many highlights over the past few months. My two favorites right now are definitely Becca and Hourglass. I love the Becca highlighter for special occasions and nights out. It gives you that ‘I can see your highlight from space‘ look, and it really pops. I also feel like it’s a pretty universally flattering color. I recently got this Hourglass ‘strobe light’ highlighter in the shade ‘incandescent’. I am really glad I decided to pick it up because I honestly do love it. It’s very subtle and is perfect for those that want to try highlighting’strobing, but don’t want anything over the top. It’s great for an every day look, especially for class. I would definitely recommend it if you are looking for the perfect ‘daytime’ highlighter!

C A N D L E S & C O A S T E R S

[‘Baltic Amber’ candle & geode coaster]

I’ve been adoring these two Antho purchases this past month. Voluspa candles are my absolute favorite. ‘Baltic Amber’ has been my favorite scent for years, especially in the fall & winter. It’s such a warm and cozy scent, and I love it when I am getting ready for bed or taking a bath. As for this coaster, I think it’s such a great decor piece. I feel like it really fits the ‘aesthetic’ of my room this year, and I totally want to order a few more. I love that ‘no two are exactly like’, and they would be such a unique gift for friends and family!

F R I N G E W I T H B E N E F I T S

[brown fringe jacket]

I absolutely love fringe for fall time. I picked up this suede jacket several weeks ago, and I think it’s stunning. It has a very vintage feel & it looks amazing in photos. I can’t wait to wear it all fall and winter with swing dresses and rompers. It also comes in black!

H E R B A L I S M

[herbalism facial cleanser]

Anybody who knows me knows that Lush is the love of my life. I’ve tried pretty much all of the Lush face cleansers at this point, and I recently repurchased the Herbalism cleanser. My face started breaking out at the beginning of this school year, so I thought I would start using Herbalism again. It’s really great for acne-prone skin, and I feel like it really does help clear up my skin. I personally don’t love the earthy smell, but it really is a great cleanser that I think is definitely worth the money!

I hope you enjoyed this little monthly faves- let me know if you would like to see more of these in the future!

xoxo,

Mackenzie

Cactus Cardi

September 30, 2016 by Mackenzie

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cactus cardi (sold out- linked another color) | black lace up top | black swing shorts | black booties | black choker

This morning I wanted to share a recent ‘going out’ outfit I wore recently. I also get asked on my Tumblr about ‘going out’ outfits for college students, and I wanted to show y’all one of my faves. Whenever I shop, whether it be online or in stores, I naturally gravitate towards bright colors and fun prints. I always have. But recently, I’ve been trying to make an effort to opt for versatile neutrals that can be worn with everything. At the beginning of the school year, I picked up this black lace up top. Even though I didn’t think it was too exciting initially, I find myself wearing it all the time. It makes for a perfect fall transition piece paired with black swing shorts, black booties, a black velvet choker, and my favorite piece in my wardrobe – my cactus cardi. Though this cactus cardigan has been sold out for months, Show Me Your Mumu came out with a bull one for fall, and it’s amazing! I absolutely love the chunky fit + the bell sleeves. I am a little excited it’s finally getting chilly here because I’ve been wanting to break out the layers and booties!

Have a fantastic weekend!

xoxo,

Mackenzie

Weekend at Wake

September 26, 2016 by Mackenzie

sister

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This weekend, I finally got to fly to North Carolina and visit my little sister. Alexandra is a sophomore at Wake Forest, and I am so happy I finally got to visit her for a few days. It was such a perfect weekend together, and I wanted to share a few photos.

I hope you are having a happy Monday!

xoxo,

Mackenzie

shop our outfits:

Ole Miss vs. Bama Game

September 19, 2016 by Mackenzie

Happy Monday! This weekend was definitely a great one (besides the whole losing against Bama thing ya know)! One of my best friends came in town to cheer on the Rebs in the Grove, and it was nice to catch up. I wanted to quickly share some of my photos from this weekend with y’all.

P.S. I am heading down to NC this weekend to visit my very favorite person, @alexandraelizabeth! I can’t wait to see my sista in just a few days.

gameday

blue romper (still available!) | black choker (under $30)

xoxo,

Mackenzie

Fall Transition Accessories

September 16, 2016 by Mackenzie

Even though it’s 90-something outside here in Mississippi, I couldn’t help but remember that fall is just around the corner when I spotted that #PSL’s were back at Starbucks. I have yet to order my first Pumpkin Spice Latte of the season, but I am excited for the weather to cool down a bit so it can start feeling a little bit more like fall. I thought I would go ahead and share some of my favorite fall accessories for those that are already getting to experience a little autumn weather sooner than me! I love summer-to-fall transition pieces, and I have so many that I am dying to break out over the next few weeks.

Last First Game Day

September 11, 2016 by Mackenzie

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Any Ole Miss student can tell you that there is nothing quite like the Grove. As a senior, some of my fondest memories have taken place at the Grove. One of my favorite things about Ole Miss is definitely the incredible school spirit. It feels like just yesterday that I was a freshman, experiencing my very first tailgate before a game! Yesterday was my ‘last first game day’, and it was very bittersweet.

I had so much fun cheering on the Rebs yesterday with my friends & snapping photos in the Grove. For a last-minute game day outfit, I wore my new favorite white top with printed shorts and fringed booties! It was SO hot yesterday, so I was very glad that I was wearing shorts & a breezy top. I can’t wait for next week’s game- Bama!

xoxo,

Mackenzie

shop my game day outfit:

Advice for Shooting Group Photos

September 8, 2016 by Mackenzie

Hey guys! During this past summer, I started a photography series here on my blog, but never really continued it. This past week, I decided that I want to create photography posts in the future, so today I wanted to share a few tips I’ve learned recently!

Last week, I had the opportunity to shoot some group photos for my sorority’s website. I typically only shoot solo portraits, so shooting more than one person was definitely a challenge for me at first. It’s definitely all about trial and error, but it was so much fun to try something different last Wednesday!

Here are a few tips I learned during that day for shooting group photos:

This is something I have had to learn the hard way! During our photoshoot last week, we shot two different outfits in two different locations. For the first location, the models were wearing t-shirts. I had them stand in the Grove (where we shot all the photos) by a picnic table. If I would have scouted at the location ahead of time, I would have realized that the specific place that I placed them was way too dark. I sadly noticed this after we shot all the photos, and they were too difficult to retouch. Luckily, I found a fantastic spot with great lighting for the second outfits (pictured below). Walk around the area where you will be taking the photos and practice shooting from all different directions. This will help you feel more confident and prepared when you take the actual photos of the subjects. It will also help you find the best place to shoot the photos!

When shooting friends and family, it can be difficult for them to come up with poses naturally. I always look on Pinterest and Instagram for ‘pose-inspiration’. For both individual and pair/group shots, I can find it helpful to have the subjects walk away from me and then walk towards me. I find that it looks natural and can really help them loosen up. I think this is an especially great suggestion for fashion shots! For group shots in general, I think it can be really helpful to have the group ‘fake laugh’. It sounds silly, but I personally think fake-laughing pictures can be adorable, especially for a group of girls!

I love shooting at a very low f-stop because I love the gorgeous bokeh it creates. For the first set of photos (that we ended up not using), I shot at a 4.0 f-stop. I wasn’t happy with the photos not only because of the lighting, but because the high f-stop created a not so dreamy effect. However, if I would have used an f-stop that was too low (like a 1.8, for example), some of the members of the group would have been completely blurry! For the best set of photos (pictured below), I used a 2.5 f-stop, which I was really happy with! There was the perfect amount of bokeh, but the subjects were still all in focus. Score!

Definitely be aware of spacing when shooting a group! Sometimes the subjects don’t realize if they are standing too close or too far apart from the others next to them. Let them know if they need to stand a little closer or a little farther away, and also be observant about the lighting on the subjects.

Another error with the first set of photos was that all the outfits clashed. I told the subjects to wear whatever they wanted to, and the outfits ended up clashing together, which was entirely my fault. I should have had the girls send me photos of their outfits ahead of time, but I didn’t do that. Luckily for the second set of photos, all of the models’ dresses looked gorgeous together and really complimented each other. I think it can be very helpful to have the subjects wear solids and similar color palettes. For example, for a spring time shoot it can look lovely to have everyone in pastels. For family portraits, you can’t go wrong with white shirts and jeans. In addition, it can also be helpful when picking a location if you know the color palette you are working with!

All in all, last week’s shoot was an amazing learning experience for me! Photography is totally trial and error, and I always love learning new tips. This fall semester, I will be shooting portraits/group photos just for fun to gain experience. I hope you can find these tips helpful as well! To see more photos from the shoot, check out my sorority’s website & our updated ‘what to wear for recruitment‘ page.

xoxo,

Mackenzie