Do you ever have NO IDEA what to post on Instagram? Do you want your grid to look super pretty and reflect your own unique vibe buT YOU DON’T KNOW WHERE TO START?? I can relate.
I’m not going to lie: INSTAGRAM IS HARD. That is, it’s hard if you’re like me and trying desperately to create and maintain a certain aesthetic. BUT!! MY FRIEND. I HAVE A SECRET TO TELL YOU: I have discovered a way to make building an aesthetic Instagram EASY and FUN.* It’s kind of a HACK, if you will. And I’m going to show you exactly how to do this RIGHT NOW.
But first TAKE NOTE: I am not saying there is a “right or wrong” way to do Instagram. On the contrary, I firmly believe in DOING WHAT MAKES YOU HAPPY** and if following a certain theme or aesthetic on your Instagram just isn’t your jam, don’t do it!! DO WHAT MAKES YOU SMILE. For me, that is carefully planning what my grid is going to look like and then taking lots of photos and editing them and putting them through filters and posting them at specific times… that’s seriously WHAT MAKES ME HAPPY. So today I’m going to show you how I do just that. WHY SHOULD YOU TAKE MY SAGE ADVICE?? Because I like to think I have a nice-looking Instagram. Check out the screenshot below and IF YOU DISAGREE and think I’m an inconsistent limpet, then by all means… *nervous sobbing* DON’T TAKE MY ADVICE OK. But look:
Not bad, right?? KIND OF COOL, RIGHT??? Remember: I have the power to remove all waffle makers from the face of the earth if you disagree with me. (Even though I just gave you full permission to disagree with me in the last paragraph let’S PRETEND THAT DIDN’T HAPPEN AND I CHANGED MY MIND.)
*Results may vary depending on how DIE HARD PERSERVERING YOU ARE because we all know it takes blood sweat and tears and zero oxford commas to put together a beautiful Instagram grid. 😉
**within reason lol but WOW SUCH A FOREIGN CONCEPT in this world, is it not??
WHY DOES “AESTHETIC” MATTER?
In this abusive world of the Internet™, many of us have lost the true definition of the word “aesthetic” because too many teenagers used it improperly on Tumblr. A lot of people think the word “aesthetic” means “looks good” AND YES I AM GUILTY OF USING THIS WORD IMPROPERLY. But “aesthetic” actually means “the appearance of something” < it can be Aesthetically pleasing, or aesthetically displeasing but THE FREAKING WORD MEANS “HOW SOMETHING LOOKS” OK?? And that’s what matters. Why?
- When a potential follower stumbles upon your Instagram, you want to give them a clear idea of the kind of content you post…IN THE FIRST 9 IMAGES.
- You also want to keep them scrolling with LOTS of visual beauty to look at.
- You also want to impress them.
- Because you can.
- Because you’re an impressive person so LET IT SHOW.
- And even if you don’t want new followers, your pretty Instagram grid WILL make you smile 1000% GUARANTEE.
If you need more reasons than that to START KILLING YOUR INSTAGRAM GAME, then… who are you?? Let’s get started.
STEP 01: FIGURE OUT YOUR AESTHETIC
AGAIN, THE DEFINITION: figure out what looks like you. Not like your face because that’s creepy, but YOUR VIBE. Think of photography styles. Moods. Subjects. Colors. Look at other awesome Instagrammers and notice which ones speak to your soul. Which feed could you scroll through ALL DAY LONG and forget about 1000 real life responsibilities??
For me, that vibe can be described as: sleepy summer road-trippy bookish bright white pastel flower child. < That sentence is not supposed to make grammatical sense please do not doubt my writing abilities or lack thereof. But now that I have KEYWORDS for my aesthetic, what next??? YOU KNOW ME TOO WELL, FRIEND.
STEP 02: GO TO PINTEREST
Pinterest has the answer to nearly everything.* Take your list of keywords (you should have about 5 or 7 good ones by now) and TYPE IN THE SEARCH BAR: [keyword] aesthetic > HIT SEARCH. (So for me, I might search for “pastel summer aesthetic” or something similar.)
BOOM. LOTS OF AESTHETICALLY PLEASING PHOTOS SHOULD POP UP. Find at least 9 photos that you LOVE and download them. < If, by this point, you are freaking out and thinking “OH MY GOSH ABBIE NOOOO YOU STEAL PHOTOS FROM PINTEREST???” you are severely mistook. DO I LOOK LIKE A PIRATE TO YOU?** I mean come on. (I will explain the method to my madness in a moment.)
DOWNLOAD THE PICTURES YOU LIKE, but also keep this in mind: could you take a picture just like that? Example: if you live in the woods of Vermont like me, and you really love this picture of a neon street in Tokyo, DON’T DOWNLOAD IT. You can’t actually take a picture like that unless you got yourself a plane ticket to Tokyo which is impossible because if you are TRULY like me, you are broke. Because you spend too much money on books. :’) BUT!! If you live in the woods of Vermont like me and you really love this picture of…THE WOODS…then you might be able to take a picture just like that. DOWNLOAD IT.
*Even world hunger seriously has anyone even TRIED to find the solution on Pinterest?????? PROBABLY NOT.
**I kind of AM a pirate in a vague sense because I steal things like my sister’s clothes but who’s gonna fight me you know
INTERRUPTION: ARE YOU STEALING RIGHT NOW?
Short answer: NO. You’re not even copying, to be honest. You are simply going to create a vision board. Think of it as any other vision board on the planet. For example: I want a house in Florida. I might create a vision board with a photo of a beautiful house in Florida surrounded by palm trees and ocean and serenity. When I am rich and famous one day, I’m going to buy that house. BUT NOT THAT ACTUAL HOUSE. I’m not going to find it, show up at the door, and boot the owner out because I’VE BEEN LOOKING AT IT FOR SO LONG AND HI NOW I’M HERE TO TAKE IT FROM THEM. < Noooo. That’s not how it works.
A vision board is for INSPIRATION. I look at the house in Florida and I say: “I want a place like that someday.” IS THAT STEALING, MY FRIEND?? No. Because you want your own thing that is similar to the thing you’re looking at.
Remember what my Instagram grid looked like? Here it is again, (right) beside the vision board I created for myself (left):
As you can see, I deviated from the inspiration photos a bit because I WANTED IT TO BE MY OWN. Also sometimes I change my mind at the last minute and decide to post something totally different but equally pretty!
Stealing = downloading those photos from Pinterest and posting them straight to your Instagram account. << NOT GOOD NOT NICE DON’T DO IT.
Creating a vision board for what you WANT your Instagram feed to kinda-sorta look like and then taking your own pictures to match that vibe = WHAT I’M GOING TO SHOW YOU HOW TO DO RIGHT NOW.
STEP 03: CREATE YOUR VISION BOARD
Open up PicMonkey Collage Maker. < It’s free and will change your life. Import those 9 photos you just downloaded. Select the layout called “Square Deal” and pick the one that LOOKS JUST LIKE AN INSTAGRAM GRID. It should be a perfect square with nine placeholders.
HERE COMES THE FUN PART: drag and drop all your images in there, according to what looks good to you. What is so nice about arranging your pictures in PicMonkey Collage?? YOU GET TO MOVE THEM AROUND. Figure out what kind of grid you want before posting your photos, and you’ll never be like “UGH THAT ONE DOESN’T LOOK GOOD NEXT TO THAT ONE AND NOW I ALREADY HAVE FIFTY LIKES I DON’T WANT TO TAKE IT DOWNNNNN” <<< the struggle is real, I know. But this way, you can plan out the order in which you post your photos – and, if you’re anything like me, schedule them according to day. NO I’M NOT OBSESSIVE AT ALL WHY DO YOU ASK SUCH A QUESTION.
STEP 04: GO FORTH AND SNAP PHOTOS!
Here comes the other fun part!! TAKING THE PHOTOS. I’ve always loved those photography challenges you see all over the internet – lists of subjects to take pictures of every day for a month. THIS IS KIND OF LIKE THAT. Except you have a super clear idea of what exactly you want the picture to look like. You have visual inspiration! And moods and colors!
I don’t know about you, but the way I have learned practically everything in my life is by simply watching someone else do it first. I don’t like following rules or step-by-step guides.* I would much rather “watch and learn.” So there is absolutely nothing wrong with studying the work of other photographers and learning a thing or two from them in order to achieve what you want with your own photography and Instagram. BE INSPIRED. And keep it fun!!
*lowkey downtalking my own post now hahahahahem.
TALK, BRO
The secret is out: I’M KIND OF OBSESSED WITH INSTAGRAM. Are you?? How would you describe YOUR aesthetic? Do you create vision boards for inspiration?? Or for buying houses in Florida??? Oh and don’t forget to drop a link to YOUR Instagram in the comments below!! Because I need to follow you asap. 😉
LOVE THIS POST? PIN IT!
