Instagram is a pretty fantastic creation. From humble beginnings in 2010 it now has over 200 million active users, sharing an average of 60 million photographs per day. More than that, it’s also a thriving community, and has quite seriously helped change the face of modern photography.
People the world over use Instagram for so many different purposes. Some use it as a business tool to promote their work, others as an online portfolio. Many people use it as a way of visually recording their day to day life – and every single one of these uses is a great one! There is no right or wrong way to use Instagram – it’s all about sharing images and connecting with a community.
For me personally, I like to treat my Instagram feed as my own visual diary. Whilst I am most often taking photographs on my DSLR and film cameras, it’s not practical to carry them with me all the time… But conveniently, my iPhone is always on me…
Whenever I travel overseas, it’s in my bag. It’s there on the commutes I take. It comes with me when I go to my favourite cafe for a caffeine fix – it’s the perfect tool for me to make sure I make images of the places I go, and the people I see. And by posting them on Instagram it means I can scroll back through my feed & see where I was in December of last year… And I can find where it was that I had that amazing brunch, or when my friend from NYC came to visit. It’s all there, in my own little scrapbook. And that’s how I like to use Instagram – as my own little diary of life, in image form.
There are a myriad of different ways you can use the app. At the core of it all, my advice is really simple – shoot what you love. It will come through in your photos, and as time goes by you will have a series of images which you love and make you happy.
If you’re looking to create an Instagram feed which is true to who you are and what you like to do, then below are some tips and tricks which might help you hone in on what it is that you like, and some suggestions to to really help bring your feed to life.
Curate your feed:
A great way to approach your Instagram feed is to curate it, just like a curator would an art exhibition. If there was a Monet exhibition you’d expect to see a lot of dappled light and colour, right? So ask yourself when creating your own Instagram feed… What would your exhibition look like?
Ask yourself: Is there an overall subject that I’m interested in? (dogs? food? street style?) Then why not approach your feed like a mini art exhibition, and present your images in a particular style or on a particular subject? One way of creating a cohesive feed is to unify it through a visual style, or colour. This could be by trying to take photographs of things which share a similar colour palette, keeping an eye out for scenes which share a similar aesthetic, or it could be choosing to use the same filters on your photographs to create a unified look. When you see all of the images together they look cohesive, and beautiful.
Get inspired by these visual styles:
@palomaparrot – light ethereal images with a whimsical twist are the hallmarks of Paloma’s lovely feed
@jasonmpeterson – Jason’s feed is totally created in black and white, and contains beautifully striking and graphic images
@robinmay – Robin’s images are all suffused with a warm caramel glow
@cerealmag – this UK-based magazine posts images which are light and minimalist, reflecting the visual ethos of the magazine itself.
@laurenlemon – Vibrant colour is a regular feature on Lauren’s feed, happily combined with a healthy dose of LA sunshine.
SUBJECT
Others choose to concentrate on a particular subject in their feed – below are some great examples of Instagram feeds that concentrate on a certain subject or style of photography:
@missunderground – the images on Jess’ feed are 100% taken on the Underground, mainly in London but also in other cities.
@danielkrieger – a professional photographer, Daniel shoots beautiful food and drink around NYC
@coffeetablemags – a great example of an Instagram account used for business purposes, but oh-so-beautifully shot and curated. This Independent magazine shop based in Germany photographs their magazines on welcoming-looking tabletops.
@thomas_k – a street photographer capturing scenes in Berlin and around the world.
PERSONAL SERIES & HASHTAGS
If you’re feeling creative, why not use Instagram to create projects for yourself, and gather them under your own hashtags? People are creating some incredibly creative work out there – check these people out for some excellent inspiration!
Get inspired by:
@joselourenco – Jose is the creator of the #instasymbology series – where he takes the graphic elements of the Instagram app and makes them real. Clever and engaging, his account shows how a simple idea can really be the starting point for creating a fantastic series!
@thuglifeforevs – Emily is a master of coming up with creative, cohesive, and beautiful images with a common theme. By checking the hashtags she has created for these series, you can easily look at her fantastic series – and get inspired! Take a look at her #makefloortraits & #chameleonportrait & #natureloveletters series to begin with. Then dive into her feed to discover all her other creative self-driven series.
@dschwen – David is a powerhouse of creativity, and has created many a hashtag for his series – instead of citing examples of them here, I suggest you just go and visit his page!
@hellopoe – Travel is a massive part of my life, both for work and for pleasure. When I’m not travelling, I like to explore my current home city of London. I like discovering new favourite little cafes and areas which I had not before known about, which I now collect under my own little hashtag #adrienneheartslondon. For all those people who ask for what is great to see and do in London, this is a helpful little hashtag!
Ask yourself: Is there something that I love doing? Is there a project I have always wanted to try? Why am I obsessed with this particular thing? Why not explore it on Instagram!
Or you could join in and share images on any of the thousands of hashtags which already exist… A sampling to get you started:
#makeportraits – a great portrait is a thing of beauty – take photographs of people and share them with this hashtag
#dailycortado – if you like coffee, take a photo a day of yours assigning this hashtag
#dogsquish – a recently discovered hashtag that’s going to make you smile… (as long as you like happy dogs and squished faces)
#wethepeephole – taken a photograph peeping through something? Then this is the hashtag for you, my friend!
And remember – at the end of the day, your Instagram feed is whatever you want it to be. A place to share photos and be part of an excellent community. So go forth and enjoy!
Adrienne Pitts
Adrienne Pitts is a travel, portrait and lifestyle photographer. Originally from New Zealand, she currently lives in London – a city she loves that is also just a hop, skip and a jump away from a load of exciting travel destinations… You can see her work on her website: www.adrienne.co.nz, checking out her tumblr: www.adriennepitts.tumblr.com, and find out where in the world she currently is by following her on Instagram: www.instagram.com/hellopoe