when i got my first iphone, i downloaded all of the best photography apps. photography was something i'd been interested in, but never good at, and the idea of instant photos was fun--it was like the polaroid of the digital era, but instead of taking a photo you could hold in your hand, you took a photo that you could instantly show to everyone you've ever known.
the instagram developers capitalized on this concept and it quickly became a sensation (and obsession) for many, young and old. suddenly things as mundane as lunch at home or the commute to work have become an opportunity to snap a photo and edit it to the point that you have others wishing they were eating that bagel you toasted to perfection and slathered in cream cheese while taking a drive in your car with the sunroof open. with a couple of years experience and now holding the title professional instagrammer (which i obviously gave myself), i've come to learn a few things. (and it's not that optimal viewing hours are between 10 AM and 8 PM, how to use hashtags to get the most likes or which filter makes you look the most tan.)
there is fine line between celebrating and bragging.
and no one knows what your intentions are but you. so take that vaca photo and that photo of your new car. we want to celebrate with you, as the people who love you. but if you're posting just to make yourself feel like your life is interesting or measures up to the rest of those that you follow, maybe take a pass on it. i'll be the first to admit that there are lots of days that i should take a pass on it.
the more insecure i was, the more selfies i took. and vice versa.
i'm convinced that some of the people i follow on instagram would date themselves if they could. but you gotta flaunt what your momma gave you, right? we all like to see ourselves and while hesitant to jump on that selfie game, i finally gave in. bengals day selfie earlier, new haircut selfie now, yoga selfie later. i craved the likes, i wanted the affirmation that people would take two seconds and double tap the photo and highlight that heart red for me. sometimes i even got a "girl, you're gorgeous!" which was like winning a million bucks. but the more i put myself out there, the more room i had to be critiqued. and everyone has an off day. i overslept today and decided that i didn't have time to put make up on. first instinct says that i should hide behind my computer screen all day, but the logic that follows the panic tells me that my beauty lies in who i am as a person and not whether i had time today to get selfie ready. real affirmation comes from real relationships based on people who love you for your real heart, not just the one they click as they barely stop to see your face while scrolling through an app half awake.
the realitygram isn't a bad thing.
instagram isn't always an accurate portrayal of real life. i follow a lady who has four kids and a beautiful all white house. she has time to paint things for her etsy shop, give haircolor tutorials and juice all day long. it looks like she lives off of the income from her watercolor prints of safari animals and capital letters, her hair is flawless and there are no beet juice stains on her white couch. how does this even work? i barely have time to snap a photo in between work, family and all of my other life commitments, let alone create something to later photograph. don't fall into the trap that every photo has to be perfect. there is beauty in imperfection and lots of times life is imperfect, things are messy and the dishes don't get done. celebrate that you spent time with a friend over doing that overflowing basket of laundry that has been sitting next to the washing machine for days and show your real self, not some photoshopped version of your life where the house is clean, the laundry is done, your kids look perfect and you still had time to volunteer at the local charity. you're a person, not a machine.
plain and simple, instagram photos are a brand. your brand. that's why we spend hours editing a tiny 2x2 image that we post for our "followers." you want what you post to represent you at all costs, so before you write that last hashtag and push send, take a quick inventory of the people, places and things you represent and make sure that your image matches up.
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