Building your Instagram Summer Feed

I find summer to be the perfect season to take pictures! I’m usually the least stressed and I always have time to put my creative eye to work and snap some killer pics (mostly of my friends lmao), especially while travelling! Since vacation season is well on its way, I thought I’d share my tips how to build your Instagram feed over the summer! 

The Equipment

Let me start off by saying that you don’t need a professional camera in order to build an awesome feed. All you need is the bare minimum! Your phone camera will work just fine. 

The Setting

Again, no special place is needed in order to find an awesome-looking setting. All you need to do is get a bit creative. For example, if you’re wearing a cool outfit and you want to take a picture, don’t just limit yourself to a mirror selfie at home. Think about places in town which would complement your outfit. If you’re wearing a total white look, a graffiti wall would work great as a background. Look for cool textures or interesting art in your current location and work with that. Geometric scenes look very pleasing to the eye, so they make a great background. 

If you're at the beach I say get into the water and take your pics! The never-ending blue looks beautiful and complements any colour! Usually, when I’m at the beach I prefer moving to spots with fewer people so that I don’t get strangers in my shot. But if you’re partying away at a beach bar I say capture the moment and the vibes! 

Posing

Keep them coming! Our bodies can move in infinite ways, so make sure to take advantage of that! Repeating the same pose over and over and over again will only lead to a feed made out of the same picture, and that’s not what we’re going for (unless you actually are). 

I find natural poses to look the best. Don’t just put one hand on your waist and smile. Experiment to see what looks good. And don’t limit yourself to just standing. Try moving for a change and ask someone to take a picture of you while you’re in motion. 

Tip: Get inspired! I love browsing for inspiration online. It’s great to see the angles, poses and backgrounds that others experiment with as it exposes you to a different perspective!

Snapping the Picture 

Make sure it’s straight! One of my biggest pet peeves is crooked photos. It drives me insane! Turn on the grids on your camera in order to have a guide. From there, just make sure that the horizon is hitting the lines and boom! Straight picture. If you don’t get it while taking the pic, you can always fix it in any editing app, including Instagram. 

A few more things to remember: don’t cut off your feet, and don’t cut off the top of your head. It’s better to take the picture with a lot of extra room around you and crop it later than to cut parts of you off. And for the love of everything that is good and pure, snap your picture from a lower or eye level angle, not from above. 

The Edit

Editing is very personal to everyone. Some people have a strong idea of what hues they want to display on the feed. I am that way as well. However, during the summer months, I like to keep my feed bright and vivid because that’s how summer makes me feel! Hence my suggestion would be, keep it clean and bright! 

Putting your feed together 

This is the most challenging part for me! Feeds take planning! You can’t just post a bunch of pictures and hope it looks cohesive. To keep things cohesive, I try to always do the following: 

Rule of 3s

 My posts are usually in multiples of 3. Say I go on a trip; I will post 3, 6, 9, 12... etc. pictures. I do this because Instagram columns are in 3s so I try to keep each row assigned to an event, trip etc. 

Visual Expression

 I use the grid as a visual description of what I’m posting. I like each of my pictures to stand nicely on their own. However, when they’re seen on the grid, they add a piece to the story (if that makes sense). You’re telling your followers about your day, trip or party through a series of pictures. 

Cohesive?

Cohesive does not mean same colour. It may help with the looks, but it doesn’t have to be the same colours everywhere. Set a mood and work on that!

Change it up

 Maintain a variety of posts! There are so many choices like details, landscapes, portraits and flatlays! Don't just stick to one. Experiment! 

These are the tips I have to share with you! Remember these are my personal suggestions that I have found to work for me! Instagram is very personal and different for everyone, and it should represent your personality and style! I hope my suggestions will help surface your own personal style to portray on your feed. 

Happy vacay everyone <3 You can check out my feed on @thetacobabe xx