I think we can all agree that Instagram has become more than just a social pastime. The app is now used to advertise, promote, and market brands while allowing people to brand themselves and gain a following as well. Instagram is key for many businesses, YouTube vloggers, and most fashion and lifestyle bloggers. These insta-clebs have started a trend by personalizing their accounts with themes of their choice. People like @MeghanRienks and clothing brands such as @Wildfoxcouture have so many followers because of the attractive aesthetic they have given to their accounts. Rienks’s profile is very bright and neat due to the effect of the crisp white tones and background each photo possess. Wildfox, on the other hand, personalizes their account with emphasis on pink and white details within each photo which gives the account a very classy, fun-loving, girly, romantic theme.
Photo from @MeghanRienks
Many details go into choosing the right look for you. Here’s a step-by-step for producing some Instagram magic.
First, pick a theme for your Instagam that suits your personality. How do you want your account to look at first glance? Dark? Bright? Do you want emphasis on certain colors?
Second, look for good photo editing apps. It is important that every picture you post fits into your theme, and sometimes this requires a little editing. Keep in mind that one picture can completely throw off your timeline. The theme you choose can simply come from using one specific filter that Instagram offers for every pic you post, however, if you’re aiming for a really specific aesthetic, there are apps to help. SquareReady, VSCO, and Afterlight are some great photo editing apps. SquareReady is free, Afterlight is only $.99, and VSCO is free but contains specific functions you have to pay for if you want to apply it to your photo. These apps, and even the options Instagram offer, are fairly difficult to use. Up until recently, I didn’t even know how adjusting sharpness effected a photo. If you’re ready to give them a stab, here are a few things to consider:
- Brightness: adjusting brightness means making the photo lighter or darker. This is probably the most simple adjustment to make. The brightness plays a big role in determining the mood of your pictures.
- Sharpen: Sharpening define the edges in a photo which makes the image really pop and more clear.
- Contrast: Contrats determines the intensity of the blacks in your photo. By increasing contrast you are making shadows darker and highlights brighter. This can determine how much of a “hard light” cast your photo gives off. If you want a more intense look, up the contrast.
- Saturation: Saturation separates colors in the same way contrast separates shadows and highlights. Saturation can only show on a picture with color, therefore, black and white images cannot have a saturated effect. If you want to have a very colorful timeline, always up the saturation of your photos.
- Color: The color option on Instagram is probably going to be most useful for a theme. This function allows us to put a hint of color cast on our photos. In creating a strong theme, it’s probably best to stick to one color most of the time (i.e just pink, or just yellow).
- Finally, be mindful of the picture quality as well as the captions and emoji’s you use, as they will also reflect your personality. If you always use a quote, maybe make that your theme. If you go crazy on emojis, that could easily be it, too. And these rules go for your Instagram bio as well. Just keep in mind how you want your followers to see you and be creative.
​Happy editing!
Photo from @wildfoxcouture