Hey guys,
People often assume that I do Instagram full time. Unfortunately, I don't. It doesn't pay the bills just yet ;) So why do people think that? I can only assume it's because I post on Instagram every day. The truth is, I work a full time job. That's right, 40 hours a week. So how do I find time to take all these pictures? Well, I gotta admit it's pretty tricky and quite time consuming, but I make it work and I hustle cause I love it.
Step 1: Pick a day/time.
I always take my pics on the weekend, when I'm not working, and I prefer Saturdays because if anything goes wrong, you still have Sunday to catch up. I like to get them done earlier in the day, when natural lighting is optimal and so that I also have time for other things that day.
Step 2: Find a photographer (aka a friend) to help you out.
Often times, I will go out and shoot with someone who needs pictures as well. If no one is available, I'll beg my sister to help. Don't invite friends out to brunch just so that they can take your picture afterwards, they will start to feel like you are only using them for Instagram content and no one likes to feel used. Ask a fellow Instagram friend if they would like to take pictures with you this weekend, or your boyfriend. I hear Instagram husbands are great.
Step 3: Decide on the type of content you want.
Are you looking to post OOTDs? Food shots? You drinking a cup of coffee? What's your vision? Maybe you have some collaborations you need to take pictures for, or maybe there's a new coffee shop that just opened and you want to take pics there cause its #trending. Whatever it is, find what it is you want to take pics of and then start planning. For example, I have been focusing more on fashion lately so when I plan shoots, I'll try to plan a few outfit changes so that I can get more pictures taken during the day and I'll have content to last me longer.
Step 4: Try to make the most of your shooting time.
Once you have finally made the time to take pictures and you are out there doing the work, you wanna make sure you get the most out of this precious time. One way I do this is by getting multiple pictures out of one outfit/look. For instance, you could do one full body, one focused on your hair, one focused on your accessories, maybe one of your shoes, a selfie, etc. Last weekend, in one outfit, I got one full body shot, one full body wearing a coat with the beautiful fall leaves in the background, one drinking coffee, one face shot, one of my hair, one close up of my watch (hint hint collab) and one close up for my collaboration with Mejuri. That's 7 pictures in one day. That's a full week of content. And if you don't post everyday, they will last you even longer. By now you're probably thinking that these pictures will get repetitive, but honestly not that much. If you play it right, you'll be totally fine ;)
(P.S Some pictures below haven't been posted yet so consider yourself lucky hihi)
Step 5: Pre-plan your content
Once all the content has been created, it's time to plan out the feed for the week using one of my favorite apps: UNUM. You can upload your pictures there and see how they will all look together, as well as input your captions so everything is ready to go once its posting time.
Tip: Sometimes, you will have a harder time taking pictures with certain people and other times it will be a breeze because you both get each other's vision. Things will be much more efficient if you are with someone you trust and know can take good pictures of you. When you find that person, never let them go ;)
XOXX