Let's face it: Our main purpose for having an Instagram is to be seen. Of course, you want to express your creativity and share things with friends. But most people's big goal is to build a following by doing things that other people aren't. With so many people competing for followers, this can certainly seem like an uphill challenge. But it doesn't have to be.
In the sections below, we will provide a guide on how to break away from the rest. We will start out with what everyone is doing and then provide tips on how to make yourself stand out. One way to figure out how you fare vis-a-vis the rest in terms of your innate abilities is to take an IQ test. As we will discuss below, figuring out your particular abilities will help you hone in on your strengths and weaknesses and determine what you need to do to improve your skills.
Typical Posts
If you look through most people's pages, you will quickly find patterns in them. These include:
- Selfies. People either take selfies up close to illustrate how nice they look or against backdrops that they think are pretty. While there is nothing wrong with this, remember that everyone has seen beautiful faces, and everyone has seen a million people standing in front of the Eiffel Tower. There's nothing unique about it anymore.
- Nature scenes. Mountains are beautiful, without question. But again, think about the number of people who reach Everest Base Camp every year (or higher) and eagerly post about it. Even if you have the best model camera available, many other people will, too.
- Pets. If you want to have a page devoted to your favorite dog breed, that's great. But do a keyword search for that breed before you get started and see what other people are doing. What can you add that they are lacking?
- Hobbies or special interests. If you're really a fanatic of a particular sport, you surely have passions that you've been carrying around for a long time. If you see a lot of the same pages out there, think about responses that you have given or would like to give to other people's online activity and how you can build a page around it.
Technical Advice
Even if your page idea isn't among those listed above, you get the idea. You need to come up with a unique angle and find a following that is interested in what you have to show. This means finding aesthetically interesting ways to illustrate your interest and worthwhile ways of explaining it in your captions. Think about the following ideas:
- Frame your picture right. What does this mean? Many people simply fit their pictures into Instagram's automatic square size without bothering to adjust it. While this is fine in some cases, taking the time to think about your proportions can be key to holding people's attention. Try the following experiments with some of your pics, and try to look at them with a fresh eye:
- Go vertical. Some pictures look better if they are vertical. You can accomplish this either by pinching the sides of a picture before you post it or by using tools such as Instafill, which will create your picture in square form and fill in the sides with plain white.
- Make your picture funky. Some apps will allow you to make your picture into a teardrop, a rhombus, or even a bunch of little pieces. If you have an idea in mind, do a Play Store search for it and see what comes up.
- Use an actual frame. There are also plenty of programs that will give you an actual frame—be it old-school "brass," wood, or modern-style. This will catch the attention of viewers.
- Double-check your perspective. Just as in writing, photographers tend to get so entrenched in the details of what they are doing that it becomes impossible to view their pictures objectively. While you might want to show off your new earrings in a beautiful sunset picture, think about how far away you are from the camera (remember, most people look at Instagram on their phones), how dark it is, etc. If it doesn't jump right out, most people will probably miss it.
- Try to give viewers something new. Again, people have basically seen it all at this point. So, your job is to try to hit people in a way that they haven't been hit before. If you want to impress people with your weight loss routine, before and afters are great. But supplement them with commentary about the psychological challenges you faced. What it was like to alter your diet and exercise regime radically. How you see the world differently as a result. This is what will inspire people.
Figure out how you think.
Your photography style is often reflective of the way you think in general. And while most of us aren't thoroughly in touch with this, finding out a way to do it can be hugely instructive. There is a groundbreaking new IQ test online that is making waves globally. It is called Cerebrum IQ, and it will help you figure out where your strong and weak cognitive areas are, as well as how to improve them. Getting more in touch with your intellectual strengths and weaknesses will help you realize both your creative and other capabilities. Give it a try today.
Watch your followers grow.
What we have provided here is certainly not a comprehensive guide to photography or Instagram. It is simply a series of ideas to help you get started. The point is to both broaden your ideas and sharpen your focus so that you can get the most enthusiastic and devoted following possible.
