I know how tedious and frustrating planning your business’s Instagram feed can be.

It is demanding and involves lots of trial and error not to mention the immense saturation there is in the photography industry!! Finding ways to feel independent and be unique can be overwhelming. My hope for this blog is to offer tangible tips to make planning your Instagram feed more enjoyable.

3 TIPS FOR PLANNING YOUR INSTAGRAM FEED

ONE | THERE IS AN APP FOR THAT

When planning your feed, I definitely recommend using an app to help visualize future posts!

I use the app Preview, but I also recommend Planoly and UNUM! Within these apps, you can plan future posts and establish a beautiful Instagram aesthetic.

Personally, I like to plan a few “rows” of images at a time so I have about 6 posts ready to go! Planning multiple rows out will help you create the best feed possible rather than just planning one or two photos. Having a consistent feed that emphasizes your style will speak volumes to your viewers and potential clients!! Since consistently posting photos that are “on brand,” I have continued to attract my ideal clients! 

TWO | CONSISTENCY

Before you plan out your feed, you are going to want to make sure your editing style and tones are consistent. If they are, your feed will automatically be so much easier to plan!

One of the biggest factors when planning a beautiful feed are complementary tones working together to tell a story.

I personally use the Phil Chester Presets – tweaked to my liking so my editing style is nice and consistent!! If you aren’t using the same preset for all your galleries, I recommend trying out a few and seeing what stands out to you!

Using one main preset will change the game for SOO many reasons!! If you aren’t doing this at the moment, I totally recommend trying it and you will see how cohesive your feed will begin to look!

My personal favorite tones are greens, tans, browns, and moody black/whites! You can see those tones represented consistently throughout my feed. I tend to gravitate towards these tones because they reflect the natural environments I tend to shoot in regularly. My goal is to always enhance the natural beauty around me and emphasize earthy tones throughout my feed. These two goals go hand in hand thankfully!!

THREE | DIVERSITY

While you want certain elements to have consistency when planning your Instagram feed, you will need diversity in other elements!

Some of these elements include choosing between a color photo or black and white on your feed (I personally like to have a variety of both) – but diversity will mostly come from your photo choice! As photographers, we all have our “go-to” poses, but be aware that you are not posting too many of the same exact poses on your feed! Otherwise, it’ll look too repetitive. If you choose to post the same pose on your feed make sure they are at least 2-3 rows apart!

Another way to offer diversity on your feed is by having a healthy amount of both far away (landscape-focused photos) and close-up (detail-focused photos).

When choosing your photos, pay attention to textures, shadows, and movement. Offering a tasteful amount of textures will add dimension to your feed. You don’t want too much, or your feed will look “busy”. However, if you use too little then your feed may look “flat.” Everyone has their own taste and style when it comes to their feed. At the end of the day the most important thing is creating a feed that reflects YOU as an artist!!

The more you notice these details and play around with these elements on your planning app, the easier it becomes to see what your feed needs!!

DEFINING YOUR BRAND

Let your feed represent your brand!

My main goal when planning my Instagram feed is to represent me and my work. I want my feed to tell a story and portray my perspective of the world and the moments I am trusted to capture.

Prioritizing posting photos that represent me and my craft is so important to me and is my top priority.

For me, I always want to build an authentic brand that my peers and clients can experience consistently! Take it one step further and invest in some branding for your website and logos!! Personally, I worked with the talented Kaylee (@honeythorndesigns), and she did an incredible job bringing my brand to life!

As a business owner, I have loved being able to create an Instagram brand that is consistent with the rest of my branding. I feel like this offers a consistent experience for my clients and they have a clear expectation of what I offer! Honestly, I could go on and on about client experience and branding!! I am truly passionate about helping others step into their brand with confidence… feeling like you need a little help?? I offer mentorships and we can dive deep into this topic!!

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