I've always enjoyed reading posts like this, especially from my very favourite-ist bloggers, so that I can try and figure out how they achieve their signature Instagram theme. I'm not ashamed to say that I LOVE a themed account and am always trying to improve the consistency of mine. I never thought to write a post about it until recently, when someone on Twitter asked me if I ever done one (how flattering!). I guess I had always thought my Instagram was too small and obscure to do a post like this, but it's grown so much in the last couple of months as I have begun to really make an effort with it. My following has almost tripled in the last six months, and I'm not saying that to brag, honestly - I'm fecking grateful for every one of you, and I want to help you do the same and make your own pics as awesome as they can be. So here are my secrets.
I post 50% DSLR photos, and 50% iPhone: I don't stick to this as a rule or even look over my pics intentionally to make sure I keep this ratio, it just sort of happens naturally as a result of posting photos from my blog posts and then more candid snaps when I'm out and about (or in the bath). I find this a nice mix for me personally (I've tried 100% DSLR and 100% iPhone, and a combination works best for me and my aesthetic). Find a ratio that works for you and maybe keep it in the back of your mind if you want your account to look a bit more pastel/grainy/faded, or saturated/polished/professional.
I use Afterlight: Afterlight is an awesome app that only costs 79p on the App Store. I don't use it for all my photos, but it has some amazing tools that are real life-savers if I have to take a photo in bad light. For me, the most useful function is the brightness adjuster. Unlike within Instagram, where the brightness only goes up one bar, in Afterlight you can increase the brightness/highlights/saturation/everything else as many times as you want. I tend to focus on upping the brightness, contrast and saturation, and then adjusting the warmth so that the background of my picture isn't too yellow or too blue-toned.
I often delete pictures that don't fit: People are kind of divided about this, and I can see the logic on both sides. To me, my Instagram is a place to represent the visual aesthetic of my blog and brand, so I don't mind deleting pics that I get bored of, or that I think ruin my theme. As long as I still have them on my phone for posterity's sake, then a little bit of tidying up actually feels really good to me.
I look at shape and composition: This might sound odd, but I always prefer it when my Instagram has a balance of shapes across my feed. For example, if I post too many flatlays or highly detailed shots clustered together, it can look too messy and cluttered. On the other hand, if I post too many super close-ups that make every product look like Godzilla, my feed might be lacking in nuance. I try to mix them all up so that my overall account looks balanced in composition. That being said, there are loads of amazing Instagram accounts that are exclusively flatlays or close-ups - it's all about finding a composition that works for you and that flows nicely.
