I’m going to take one of the wildest guesses ever. I’m pretty sure if you’re reading this blog then you probably follow @instagram. I do, along with 63 million other instagrammers. Being very honest I’m not a massive fan of the #WeeklyFluff feature (I hate dogs and dogs hate me) but I do look forward to every Monday when they showcase a curated bunch of photos chosen from their WHP hashtag project. It must be a hard task for the instagram guys – to select only 9 photographs from the thousands of entries. That’s some nifty skill in filtering the good from the… not so good. Just to highlight the scale of the job, their recent WHPgeometry project had over 50,000 entries. I find it difficult to choose between ham or cheese for my lunch so I’m not sure I’d make the most decisive curator. Of course the curation and selection of any art form is subjective but it certainly needs a discerning eye for the basics that makes a photograph beautiful – composition, framing, colour, story etc… In my experience most instagrammers who set up their own curation accounts tend to get it right and if they don’t they don’t seem to last that long.
So how can curation accounts help you as an instagrammer? The first thing would be that they highlight, appreciate and celebrate the talent of other instagrammers you may not have discovered yet. Rather than trawling thru hastags why not let others do the hard work for you? I’ve clicked ‘follow’ on many talented instagrammers this way. In my last blog post which you may have read (if not, why not?) I mentioned curation can really help publicise and highlight your work too. Most curation accounts ask you to include a specific hashtag on your photos. This allows the curators to spot your photo amongst others and, fingers crossed, they may choose to feature you. Obviously features bring attention to your gallery and in turn could bring more followers. My first feature on @shoutingsam initially brought me 40 followers overnight and even more after that. Without inflating my ego it’s a good feeling to have your work noticed by others.
As I follow a fair few curation accounts I wanted to inspire you, possibly get you to join the fun and hopefully be featured so I thought I’d suggest some of my favourites…
Run by the inspirational and engaging @poeticwordvomit. The ‘SAM’ stands for Symmetry, Abstract and Minimal and therefore features accounts that fall into these categories. Tag your relevant pictures #shoutingsam and Samah will no doubt be in touch if she chooses you to be featured. As an aside, if you don’t follow Samah’s own account you should immediately – it’s amazeballs. (Photo courtesy of @shoutingsam. Featured account @huxsterized).
Created and run by photo-genius and owner of the best beard on instagram @slowjam98. Geof’s own account is super slick and bursts at the seams with precision and perfection. He brings this expertise to his curation account where he carefully chooses images and accounts that he feels are better than pizza (which we all know is a massive compliment!) Apart from simply tagging #betterthanpizza to your photos in the hope of being featured, you can also suggest other instagrammers accounts too which is a very nice touch. Geof has also convinced other great instagrammers to be guest curators on the account too so there’s a huge amount of diversity there and something for everyone. (Photo courtesy of @betterthanpizza. Featured account is @mollymgrubbs).
Run by @thessamond, @kateviews, @postaljeff and @caldrew. The Amselcom gang describe themselves as curating instagram, one artist at a time and is a fantastically unusual account. It features the more obscure but brilliant accounts out there in the Insta-universe. There’s hundreds of treats to view and I can spend ages on this single account. (Photo courtesy of @amselcom. Featured account is @funnycat).
Created and run by @gabrieltiranti. Flipping photos is a popular way of increasing the impact of your photos and @wickedflip showcase the best of these. Gabriel and the moderators have such a great eye, encouraging you to think outside the box and get creative. Their Sunday Social posting is a highlight. You definitely won’t be let down by visiting and following this collection. (Photo courtesy of @wickedflip. Featured account is @whatalexloves).
Run by @mattcrump. This exceptional account gives me a huge sugar-rush (in a good way). With his creatively trained eye, Matt superbly chooses candylicious minimal images and galleries to highlight. He posts regularly so you get a veritable feast of images in your gallery. Tag #candyminimal to your candy coloured images and Matt will no doubt hunt you down and feature you. (Photo courtesy of @candyminimal. Featured account is @marcileadinda).
Founded by @jasonhreinhart and @turnone. This is a fantastic account with a great ethos. Jason, Kevin and the team choose talented instagrammers that have 1000 followers or less, have posted over a 100 photos at least and are currently active. They are just branching out with instameets too so are creating an amazing community to be a part of. If you fulfil these credentials then tag your photos #justgoshoot and join in. (Photo courtesy of @JustGoShoot. Featured account is @moistas_)
Just as a final note, if you are obsessed like I am about minimal photography there are a plethora of other fantastic accounts too. Try @killerminimal, @mindtheminimal, @minimalobsession, @minimalmood and @minimalexperience to name but a few.
Enjoy scrolling through these accounts. Hope you find one that suits your style and interests and gets you featured! If you recommend any other curators I’d love to know about them.
Tony Hammond
I’m Tony Hammond. I’m UK based. I’m a total Instagram-addict. I love Autumn but I hate slugs. Find me on Instagram at @iamtonyhammond and say aloha.