photography by merrilee

So this definitely isn’t going to be news to most of you, but I swear Pinterest is one of the best things since sliced bread. Instagram is another, but more on that in another post. If you haven’t already been sucked in by the vortex that is Pinterest, watch out because once you get a taste of it, the possibilities are endless. If you’re not familiar, it’s basically one big socially-driven pinboard. Once you have an account, you can create a multitude of boards for anything you can think of…martini recipes, garden crafts, shoes for your kids, front doors, teapots, you get the idea. A pin consists of an image usually from a website, but it can also be a snapshot that you take. The pins all link back to the websites where they were found so you and other users can get more details. The best part is that you can follow other folks’ boards and they can follow yours. Once you start to customize who you’re following, you find that you have a constant stream of new ideas and images at your disposal. It’s fantastic!

I’ve found so many uses for Pinterest and I often have to limit my time because it is seriously addicting. I have a board for gift ideas (if you peek at this one, consider yourself warned), things to do with my littles, ideas for our new house, things I want to eat, things I want to wear, and a bunch more. I’ve also found some great applications for my photography business. I’ve started collecting wedding images that inspire me, make me happy, give me a new idea, or are just well executed. What a great way for brides to be inspired too…if they see something here they like and tell me, awesome! How fun to make that happen. I recently shot some pictures for a friend’s yoga website and before we headed out, I created a pinboard with yoga images. I also have a pinboard with beautiful maternity pictures and another with images that just inspire me on all sorts of levels.

I find it really enlightening to go back and revisit a board after I’ve been pinning onto it for awhile. When you look at all the pins together, it really helps you get a sense of your style and what makes you happy. I find myself going back and deleting pins from my boards often. It seems like it’s really helped me hone my personal tastes and preferences.

Okay, so enough yammering…if you haven’t already, check out Pinterest. You can find my boards and follow them here: