Raise of hands: any Instagram fans out there? 🙂

I am. But that’s no surprise. In the short lifespan of my business, I love that I look back over the goals, the projects, and the day-to-days to see how Verity has morphed and changed via my feed. Perhaps Instagram is one of the more popular social media platforms because of the beautiful visuals, ease of sharing, and freedom of expression it offers to users.

For businesses, it is a fantastic way to share your work, your products, your message, and the heart behind your brand. In improving my social media presence to make things more helpful and aesthetically pleasing for all of you, I’ve come across some helpful Instagram photo tips–both by my own trial-and-error and through some photography research.

– Take and use bright, clear, high quality photos. Use natural light, of course, if at all possible, but also brighten with a program or app for the best results. A camera is best for this, but if all you have is your smartphone to take pictures, experiment with its capabilities! Phones can take gorgeous photos, especially with the right lighting and background. Take a lot of shots to have plenty of photo options to choose from when you’re ready to post.

– Your photos should also be clean, in the sense they should be free from clutter or distraction in the background. Having one distinct focal point for the eye is more aesthetically pleasing than seeing a collection of random objects off to the side or in the background. Popular Insta photos have a lot of “white space” for the eye and only one main subject on a simple background.

– Make use of a background. This is especially true if you are a product based business. Utilizing a neutral background to showcase your products is, again, a great way to pull the eye to your item. But this can be tweaked for service based businesses or other Instagram accounts as well. Using a background–especially white or a bright color–draws the eye to focus on what the subject of your photo is.

– Avoid using Instagram filters. Maybe this is just a personal preference, but I’ve been loving the looks of a more natural appearance than the colors and shadows that appear with an Instagram filter. If you want to jazz up your photo without using a filter, you can use the adjustment settings within the app instead. I often increase brightness (this is a GREAT bandaid action for photos that aren’t quite bright enough naturally), bump saturation just a touch, and turn the photo a little more cool for my aesthetic. See how this might work for you!

– Stick with an overall theme. Think white and bright, or dark and moody, or pops of color. Many Instagram users will come to your account to see the overall look of your feed. It doesn’t have to be an overt theme that you follow religiously (perhaps you’re a free spirit rather than a Type A), but a general consistency in what you post is pleasing to the eye and could attract more followers.

My “theme” is far from perfect but I have been trying to stick with these neutral, natural tones with occasional pops of color for my feed. It fits my home, my lifestyle, and my business aesthetic–at least for the time being.

– BONUS: utilize these Instagram photo tips but also be real. Real life isn’t always bright, clean, or clear, and your audience should realize that about you too: that there is a real person behind your brand and business. Be sure some of that bona fide spirit peeks through your Instagram now and then.

I love new Insta friends! Follow me and leave your handle in the comments; I’ll be sure to come find you and get acquainted.

PS Have you signed up for your own copy of Living Out Your Brand? It’s my free downloadable workbook about discovering the you behind your brand and the brand behind you–and it’s only available to my subscribers! Sign up now!