Instagram has become a very different place, with no eating-out and no travel. Most views are now of drawing rooms and kitchens, as the world remains in lockdown for another week. With the playing field, in that sense, levelled a bit, now is a good time to up your Insta profile. Some of the most popular videos are things you can do with little to no expertise or effort — a quirky dance, a family playing games, singing off-key a cappella.
Instagram is also a good place to record your notes from these weeks lived in isolation. Here’s how you can start to improve the frame.
Always aim to tell a story: That’s what banking professional and amateur photographer Abhisek Mukherjee tries to do with every photograph. “An image should make you think, laugh or aspire to something,” he says. Recent pictures include a lamb nihari made by his wife (something viewers might want to attempt too), a glimpse of her assembling a chair so she could work from home better (context and slice of life) and a view of their garden (a quarantine diary shot). “My friend took a photo of his wife stockpiling toilet paper. That’s bound to make others laugh,” he adds.
Capture the beauty of the mundane: Take your camera to different corners of the house. A pretty bottle on a bathroom shelf, washed utensils glinting on granite — pick things that you normally miss during your daily routine, says photographer Anurag Banerjee.
{{/usCountry}}Capture the beauty of the mundane: Take your camera to different corners of the house. A pretty bottle on a bathroom shelf, washed utensils glinting on granite — pick things that you normally miss during your daily routine, says photographer Anurag Banerjee.
{{/usCountry}}Use the light: Start by focusing on natural light; plants in the balcony, sunlight through a window, says choreographer and Instagram influencer Sonal Devraj. Let it be a character in your photos, suggests Banerjee. Through the day, follow it around the house. Whether it is natural or artificial light, also try for quirky effects — silhouettes, shadows, visual confusion.
Don’t aim for perfection: Keep it realistic, says Devraj. While sharing your efforts in the kitchen, for instance, don’t upload only the end result, beautifully plated. Sharing the process is likely to connect with people better.
Don’t get into every frame: You can share photos of your house and activities without being in the picture. Focus on your favourite plant, pet or child (just kidding). Mix it up. Swap vanity for the element of freshness and surprise.
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