I unabashedly love Instagram. That square format. Those vintagey filters. The eye candy while breastfeeding. The conversations, community and hashtag challenges. A few of my dear friends haven't tried their hand at that modern Instamatic app yet and I think they would really enjoy it if they did. So I am making my case here in an effort to get them to join me. And if you aren't on IG yet, perhaps I will enable you too...
Instagram is a free app that is simple to download with a smart phone. It's easy to use, like a simplified version of Facebook, with the focus on the photos and text captions. (There are no annoying games requests, or birthday reminders, and only the very occasional ad.)
It's a wonderful way to simply record happy snaps, create a visual record of the loveliness in your world, document special family moments, or share your creative work with others. There are so many creative ways you can use the medium too. Perhaps you only post photos with a certain colour theme and feel? Perhaps you post just photos of your shoes? Maybe you post just one photo a month of your baby, so that you can chart their progress as they grow? Perhaps it is a scrapbook of colours and textures? An album of family photos set to private (you can choose to just share your account with friends and family, or make it public)? Or a collection of pics of your food. It's your feed to curate as you wish, with no right or wrong!
You can use it to improve your photography. The more you do something, the better you get at it. So by taking more photos you will develop a keener eye in selecting your content and framing your shot. That pretty light, those interesting shadows, this strange texture and little things you once noticed only in passing will hold your attention for longer and lead to a greater appreciation as you try to capture and share that beauty with others. Or not! There's no pressure.
It's a great source of inspiration! You can follow your friends, celebrities, creatives, strangers, brands and bands. There are such an amazing wealth of images no matter what makes your heart sing and you get to curate your own feed by choosing who you follow. Whether you love craft, books, tools, cooking, yoga or cats, there's an Instagram account for that. There are communities and challenges you can be a part of too. You can share your yoga photos and partake in challenges, as my sister does. You can find your voice and document your unique view of motherhood and capture moments that fade much too quickly like . You can sell your artwork on the site or with a link to your shop - it is such a wonderful platform for small businesses. So many of my wonderful clients have found me on Instagram, and follow me there to keep up to date with what I am working on, and images from my part of the world.
And if those aren't reason enough to promote an Instagram liaison, check out these wonderful accounts -
And you can find me @christinalowrydesigns
