5 TIPS FOR USING INSTAGRAM: A BEGINNERS GUIDE
When I started using instagram I knew nothing... absolutely nothing, but there are a few things that have caught my attention. Mostly things that I believe make for a visually interesting feed. As I said in my latest blog better series post about quality images, images are processed by the brain 60,000 times faster than text! I think this fact is still astonishing and yet it makes complete sense, especially when you think of how fast growing the Instagram community is. Your first impression is a visual one, so don't you want to make a good first impression, have people click around and see what you have to say?
Here are 5 things that I have noticed:
1: Keep your feed consistent.
In my feed I keep all of my images square, this creates a visually appealing feed for a new viewer or and old one who scrolls through your feed. You don't have to keep your images square, some of my favorites keep all of their pictures landscaped (meaning a horizontal rectangle). I also stumbled upon a feed one time (sorry I cant remember who it was) but all of their images were square except for all of the middle images which were circular. This created such and instant first impression, I was immediately curious about who this creative person was and because of this I took some time to look through her feed.
2. Have a color theme.
When I say color theme I mean look at the photos you have posted (or people you follow) do you see any consistencies? Are there certain pictures you are more drawn to, this will give you a starting point to find what your style is. Do you like higher contrasted images, darker/shadowed images, ones with a lot of negative/white space or maybe ones that are bright & colorful. Once you find what your "theme" is stick to it. This will create a visually appealing feed. Here are a few examples of Instagramer's that are doing it really well! check out HERE, HERE , HERE & HERE
One easy way to do this is with filters, some of my favorite editing apps are VSCO & Afterlight. I just use their free filters and I am really happy. Find a few filters that you really like and stick to them, this will be the easiest way to maintain your color theme.
3. Play with symmetry & perspective
When you are taking pictures take A LOT of different shots. Play with symmetry in your compositions. While taking your pictures take a minute and look around, is there some really great architecture that you be incorporating in your image, can you take a close up of your subject that showcases the texture in an interesting way? I have found that feeds that play around with symmetry and different perspectives keep me interested and Im more likely to follow them to see what they keep posting. I also talk in a bit more detail about these things over HERE.
4. Tell a story.
I love feeds that post images that tell stories. This can be interpreted so many different ways, for me I see people tell different stories by sharing there daily experiences, others have great little captions that are paired with beautiful images. I think you need to think about what you want to share and why you have an instagram account. For me I want to share bits and pieces of my life by focusing on the beauty in everyday things, which leads to my next point.
5. Your bio.
Your bio is a quick little way to share instantly a short snippet into who you are. Get creative, some people have funny little quotes, others tell about their business or who they are. Mine looks a bit like this :) "Wife | Artist | Blogger | INFP | Love of Coffee & Simple Things."
Find a creative way to share who you are in a way that make sense to you!
I think the most important thing to think about is to make sure you are being true to who you are. Don't try to just do what you think people want to see, there are tons of feeds that look almost the same to me. As an artist I love seeing people trying things that are different and unique to them. One of my favorite feeds incorporates a coffee cup in every images and I love it!
Do you use Instagram? If you do give me a follow and leave a comment, I would love to check you out :)