Tips for Getting That Perfect Instagram Picture This Christmas*

Whenever I’m asked what my favourite app is my answer is ALWAYS Instagram. I’ve been on Instagram since I got my very first iPhone back in 2010. In the beginning Instagram just worked as social media to share photos, being a very visual person I love snapping, adding filters and posting mundane moments of my life. I was also going through my “self confidence” phase so I loved a selfie. It wasn’t important to take your photos from amazing angles and since everyone love the filters (and back then there was no other way to edit your photos) it wasn’t important to have amazing photography skills. After 3 years I had about 900 followers, which I’m sure was mainly attributed to the fact I posted regularly. Then suddenly Instagram became huge. Companies started to use it for ads, bloggers chose to share all their perfectly white flatlays and if you want to surpass that magic 1000 followers, you either needed a cute kid or amazing photography.

Less than 18 months ago I created a second Instagram account to share all my Disney photos and now I have almost 15,000 followers mainly due to the cute kid factor. This Instagram account has brought Little Miss and I so many magical opportunities. It’s a virtual scrapbook of my life and adventures with my daughter. Although there is very little photography skill required to build this account, Livvybirdadventures has made me some amazing friends and really enhanced my love for Instagram.

Now at the end of 2016, my original account has over 3000 followers. I no longer hashtag like crazy like I did prior to Livvybirdadventures and I’ve returned to using it for sharing mundane moments of my day. Teacupcocktails is home to photos of my cat, and my culinary successes (lets face it, we’ve all used that #foodpic hasthag to show off something extra delicious looking). There is no doubt about it, people like looking at photos of animals and food. The Furniture Market asked me to share my top tips for getting the perfect Instagram shot this Christmas;

Check the Lighting
It’s the middle of winter, it is hard to get good lighting so your photos don’t end up grainy. When you want natural photos or a quick shot before you eat you can hardly set up a soft box so my tip is to arrange your plate under the lights or by a window. Having good light makes the subject of your photo stand our naturally without over using the brightening and highlights option in editing.

Avoid Being Surrounded by Clutter
At the end of the day Instagram is a phone app, you don’t get the choice to view your photo on a big screen. You want your subject to catch your followers eye as they scroll through quickly on their lunch break so make whatever you’re photographing stand out. Plain backgrounds or themed backgrounds are best. This Christmas a gorgeous blurred tree in the background of your photo of a glass of wine is going to look much nicer than a photo of your glass standing in front of your pile of dishes in the kitchen.

My favourite way to photograph a meal is to have one close up in the foreground with a second plate in the background. I also love taking photos of a plate set up from directly above with only my wooden table as the background. Make sure your plate and table are clean, nothing worse than water marks!

Presentation is Everything
So what if you have to move things around to make sure you get that perfect Instagram photo? I’ve been known to shift salt & pepper pots and even move them off the table if it’s too crowded. I often move the cat litter tray and the laundry basket if i’m photographing something in the kitchen, tuck wires away if i’m in the sitting room and position little miss with her perfect bedroom as a backdrop before photographing what she’s wearing. There is no shame in this, a picture is worth a thousand words, right? So make sure they’re good words.

And If It All Goes Wrong?
Post with a filter. I’m a sucker for this when it comes to a selfie. Pretty much all my selfies have a filter on because it’s much easier to hide imperfections. I know I have them, not everyone else needs to! When it comes to posting a photo of food, the best filters are one that’s really bring out the colours, especially if it’s something such as mac & cheese where you know it’s mainly one colour! I’m particularly fond of Juno and Ludwig. They look great with an oak table backdrop and white plate!