Are Your Photos Insta-Worthy?
Dos and don’ts for creating Instagram-worthy photos
What started as a photography guide for my e-design clients to send me “after” pictures is now my go-to resource for social media consultations. Most times, when people ask me what they need to do in order to grow their interior decorating Instagram account more quickly, I take one look at their content and say (in the sweetest way, I promise), “You need to have a more consistent, aesthetically enticing, feed.” Here are my dos and don’ts for taking Instagram-worthy interior photos, along with some other helpful tips along the way!
Take this pic, for example:
It’s over-exposed, orange-hued, and misaligned. How do you think we can make this more Instagrammable or Pin-worthy?
When it comes to Pinterest and Instagram—two highly visual platforms—your content needs to stand out among the rest as content that looks like it belongs in a magazine. Now, I wouldn’t go so far as to say that my photos are magazine quality, buy after flipping through the pages of hundreds (heck, more likely thousands) of magazines throughout my life, I’ve started paying attention to trends in how photos of interiors were shot (and wishing I could be so talented!). I paid attention to what they did and didn’t do, and I started trying my best to apply those observations to my own interior photos. Over time, and with practice, my photos improved!
Below is a photo of the same exact space, only with a few subtle changes applied to how I photographed it.
You’d almost never believe this is a photograph of the same bedroom, only taken one minute after, right? You couldn’t tell this wall texture existed by looking at the first photo, could you?
Now what I’d typically do is edit this further by applying a filter or custom preset over my edits. This is just to ensure that when I post photos to Instagram, my feed has a consistent feel due to how the photos were finished. There are lots of gorgeous preset bundles out there that you can save to your Lightroom Mobile app, but some of my favorites are the Studio McGee, Light and Airy, and Mandy Nelson presets.
Looking back at the second photo of this guest bedroom… See what I did there? If not, I’ll explain.
First, ignore the fact that we’re still finishing the baseboards. Ok now, hold your camera or phone a little lower, around chest or belly level. This allows you to better align the x- and y-axes with the frame of the shot. Then adjust your white balance and focus by moving the little red dot (focal point on a DSLR) or by tapping your screen on your phone on an area that’s relatively bright. The exposure should also automatically adjust when you do this so that your photos aren’t washed-out, nor are they too dark. If you do this and your photo appears too dark, that’s usually okay because you can always bring the shadows up in post-processing, but you can’t get back an area that’s lost to over-exposure quite as easily. Finally, turn off all artificial light sources and use natural light only, even if there isn’t any direct sunlight coming in. Artificial light casts an orangey glow and creates harsher shadows than natural light, and usually your phone is able to lighten-up even a very dimly lit space.
In case you’d like one tidy visual with all of this information summed-up, here you go!
Now let’s see if you can identify what’s wrong with how I shot this photo:
Obviously, this photo is too dark, but how else can we re-shoot this view to make it more Insta- and Pin-worthy?
First, remember what I said about aligning your x- and y-axes with the frame? Let’s do that. Also, look at that clutter! Move the baby toys out of the frame, straighten-up that coffee table, fluff those pillows, and maybe add some stems to that centerpiece (our baby likes to take the faux eucalyptus stems out and put them in his toy bin). Aside from this space, do we really want to go next door and ask the neighbors to get the toys out of that window? Why is this photo focused on the house next door? I see this mistake made all too frequently (surprisingly in MLS photos when I’m looking at homes for fun!): The camera is focused on the light source (the large window in the center of the room) rather than on the room itself. This causes the lens to adjust to the brightness coming in, making the rest of the shot darker. By focusing on a more shaded area of the room you actually want to capture, the window will appear brighter, and you won’t see the clutter in the neighbors’ windows quite as well.
Isn’t this better?
Here are the dos and don’ts I want to point out for this set:
I’d love to see how your pics improve after reading this post! Tag me (@nest.out.west) on Instagram, and feel free to leave comments here or in my DM inbox over on Insta :)