Bookstagram on a Budget

Bookstagram is an amazing community that I have been a part of for these last few months. It is welcoming, beautiful, and has great people.

If you’re first starting out or looking to revamp your feed this is the post for you!

Are you like me and don’t have a lot of money to spend on props, candles, bookmarks, professional lights, etc? No problem, here’s what I’ve found these last few months that I’ve found helpful.

First off let’s talk about getting props for your photos. I tend to look around my house for things I already own that fit the book and look I’m going for. Just today I was doing a shoot for the book Perfected

Pretty right? All of that was stuff I had lying around.

1. The white rose and purple flowers: I had gotten the rose from one of the craft stores years (upon years) ago and I’ve been using it in pictures more and more recently. The purple flowers I had gotten in a bundle from my local Dollar Tree when I first got my car, this happened to fall off recently so I saved it to use for photos
2. The makeup, necklace, and perfume: These are other things that I’ve had for years and thought fit the theme and look I was going for. The choker was gifted to me by my friend Nikki *waves* a few months ago
3. White heart case: This was a gift that I got when I was 7 years old from one of my aunts, another thing I just had lying around
4. Crystal flower: This is a replica of the lotus flower from Sailor Moon (an anime/manga) that I got about 4 years ago
5. The fairy lights: It’s Halloween time so I found these fairy wire lights (and other lights) at my local Dollar Tree!! Beautiful lights for only $1! A steal honestly
6. The black backdrop: My bed sheet, no joke

So you see things like these can easily be found around your home. If you want of course you could go out and buy these things for photos if you don’t have them already.

Also today I did a shoot for Till Death by Jennifer L. Armentrout, I used an old fake engagement ring that I had gotten as a little kid (don’t ask lol), the Dollar Tree fairy lights, and a bunch of fake red flower petals that I re-purposed from two old flowers I’ve had for years.

Doesn’t that look super pretty? I love it! And I didn’t have to go out and buy a thing. If I was to put a price tag on this post I would say I ‘spent’ $18 on this whole shoot (including the price for the book) without the price of the book I ‘spent’ $8 on this shoot.

Basically what I’m saying is to check out your local dollar stores, thrift stores, friends house, your own house, etc. to find things to use for your Bookstagram account. Anyone can have beautiful photos on a budget!