Scroll.Like. Scroll, scroll, like - no, actually not enough color. Scroll, (Why would she ever leave that pile of recycling in that photo?) Unlike. Instagram. That’s the general gist of how our minds work when navigating the app that’s revolutionized business models all over: Instagram.
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Everyone from designers to home furnishing brands, writers, editors, publicists etc., the whole gamut of creatives use it in efforts to communicate their own realities about the design world they live in.
Make Your Moments Instagrammable: Grid Magic
The same way you’d balance a room via texture, colors, and shapes; your Instagram photo needs symmetry when capturing the best angle. Use the “grid” option on your phone to help you distinguish the white space to color ratio…positioning is everything!
Breaking up an image into 3 quadrants (top, middle, bottom AND left column, middle column, right column) helps create a graph (9 squares) that depict where the eyes will focus on during a scroll session.
It’s important to use these points of references to guide where the best angle shot for a room is!
Make Your Moments Instagrammable:
To Filter or Not To Filter
The question is all about preference. Are you more of a “Lo-Fi” type of user (means your image will have high contrast and draw a heavy saturation on all your colors) or “Rise” (you tend to like softer images, low contrast, and your colors are displayed with a warmer sensibility - coming off as a fall filter - hues rich in orange-brown.)
The most overlooked filter of them all is no filter. (There’s a #NOFILTER hashtag that reaches 185 million people!)
Make Your Moments Instagrammable:
All For One and One For All
Courtesy of @taylorsterling
Even more importantly than choosing a filter, its the need to remain consistent. Consistency lies not only in using the same filter throughout (or none) but also in the timing of your posts. Think about your posts as your favorite daily show: you expect it to be on at a certain time. Like a friend ready to come over, stay dedicated to how many posts and at which times you’d most likely to post.
Make Your Moments Instagrammable:
Windows of Opportunity
Courtesy of @carlhandsenandson
Think of ways to showcase your work in creative ways. The obvious panorama can illustrate a good shot from afar, but how about creating an experience for your users.
For example, taking an image from a window sill out that looks out onto your newly designed backyard puts your audience in your shoes….literally! This beautiful window room in Salone does just the trick!
Make Your Moments Instagrammable: Storytime!
Courtesy of @clairesulmers
A person’s grid says two things: their style, and serves like a mini-documentary of their life. Designing can be as much about the process as the final product. Feel free to show that narrative in your grid - illustrating how you got from point a to point b - your audience awaits!
Make Your Moments Instagrammable: Focal Points
Courtesy of @bpatrickflynn
There are times where there’s a moment that we cannot resist. Feel free to capture these happenings! Whether it’s a statement piece or a corner shot of a room, or this beautiful puppy, feel free to let the small things tell the bigger story. (Plus who can resist a cute pup!)
Make Your Moments Instagrammable: Less is More
courtesy of @eyesgraphy_pocket
No one likes a fake. Behind any great art form lies strong editing, but learning when to back off is just as important (if not more) than amplifying those little details that create your narrative. The less you saturate, or sharpen, the more it will appear that your work is just perfect on its own — because it is!
Make Your Moments Instagrammable: Whitagram
Courtesy of @Zakandfox
Size matters. There are times when vertical pictures just won’t do a landscape justice. There are apps out there such as Instasize that can capture all the beauty in one frame, however, if you use the free version, a watermark remains. Whitagram is the free, better option.
Whitagram allows for more options when adjusting brightness, sharpness, or filters, and the resize options are automatic - taking into consideration what’s best for Instagram.
Make Your Moments Instagrammable: Engagement
Courtesy of @irablockphoto
Our brains love organization. Whether you’re a minimalist with a simple visual appeal or a maximalist that finds harmony in measured chaos - the key to a great photo is choosing one where lines are sharp, colors are rich, light is natural, and emotions jump off the page. Take your followers to a place that makes them feel the way you felt when you took yours.
At the end of the day, this is social media, and the best part of this platform is the people! Create the right impression by knowing your audience….consider them your friends. With friends, you always want to make sure they’re on the same page as you -Instagram or otherwise!