The Perfect Instagram
I've often received the compliment that my Instagram feed is 'tumblr' 'cool' and even 'hip' and many people have asked how I achieved it.Honestly,it looked tumblr by chance....however after a couple of years on Instagram I managed to pick up a few tricks on how to achieve an aesthetically pleasing Instagram feed.
For this post, I interacted with some of my favorite Instagrams and found out what apps they used to achieve their feeds.
I decided to look at four different feed themes:
1)Breezy Blues
2)Contemporary Flare
3)Disconnected Cohesion
4)Millennial Theme
Before diving into creating an Instagram theme there are a few things that you need to take into consideration.
1.What do you enjoy taking pictures of? Asking yourself this question will lead you in the right direction because it will help you figure out what types of pictures would be featured on your feed.
For example: Breezy Blues focuses on Travel Aesthetic
2.Shift and Sort your photos
Go through your camera roll and select the pictures that you think would go with your future theme..select them and create a new album specifically for Instagram
3.Don't over edit
Editing apps are your best friend when it comes to Instagramming. However,it is important not to go overboard depending on the types of pictures because it screams 'I'm trying really hard to create the perfect theme' .Your followers don’t want over edited pictures..trust me
4.Camera quality over quantity.
When I first joined Instagram...I used to take pictures with a Samsung Galaxy tablet that had a 3.1 megapixels)camera.(Yes I know what you’re thinking...how did she post pictures with that quality).I used to post probably two photos a week thinking that they were 'on fleek' however I learnt my lesson.I'm not suggesting that you go and purchase an Iphone or Android cellphone or even a camera...I’m suggesting that you optimize what you have and make it work.
5.Lighting is Key
I can’t stress how important lighting is especially natural light because it elevates the quality of your photos and it will make your editing much easier.If you are unable to take photos during the day, optimize your artificial lighting( e.g using lamps or a flashlight) If you chose to use the flash on your phone in poor lighting the pictures won’t be that great but they would work for some themes.
6.Find editing apps that would work for you.Apps that I have found extremely user friendly an useful are:
VSCOCAM
Enlight
Apple photos editing tools
A Color story
Snapseed
Iphone photos editing tool
7. IMPORTANT: Instagram is not about how many likes you can get on picture it’s about posting content that you love and that actually interest you.I see instagram as virtual story of pictures.Each picture posted tells your follower about you and what you enjoy doing...the moment you post a picture and didn’t receive sufficient likes that you wanted and delete it….. is the moment you let other people’s actions define you.
My advice to you is : Who cares if your photo gets one like or one hundred it doesn’t matter and it won’t matter ten years from now because it’s your photo and your life and likes don’t define who you are.Your Instagram is your story and post what you like.