#SelfieSchool and InstaGold (The Final Blog Post)

#SelfieSchool and InstaGold (The Finale)

My last flat-lay photo got recognized with 550 likes! I still have a lot to learn about flat-lay's and i'll always be looking to improve my skills.

It's finally the last blog post and I'm really proud of the effort and dedication I've placed into these blog posts. It was an enjoyable experience to learn and imitate things I learned from my book, Capture Your Style by Aimee Song, and take photos that I feel complimented me as a unique individual. In this last blog post I'll be covering the process behind advertising your social media platform for income and the language that doesn't require words, selfies (A good one)!

Making money off of something like Instagram seems absurd but in this day and age, it's more accessible than most people would argue it to be. Aimee says that "No matter how big or small your work goals (or your number of followers), Insta is an amazing place for marketing and launching products, connecting with customers, showing off a visual portfolio, and even directly making money off of outfit posts" (Song Aimee, 186). If you have work ethic, a lot of motivation, and you're willing to put yourself out there for companies to see it isn't so far out. According to a report from firm and think tank, Instagram boasts the most engagement and highest conversion from browser to shopper out of any social media platforms (Aimee, 184) and is still a viable way to show off while making cash.

The first step for InstaGold is to devise a strategy! What are you trying to do with your account, are you selling products? Are you going to increase brand awareness (That's what I do)? Are you going to drive traffic to a different blog or website? Have a solid plan that you'll follow and stick to it. The next important thing is to maintain an authentic and aesthetic feed. Stay true to your business and post things that your followers can connect with! If you're trying to sell products, hosting contests and giveaways are a great way to drive a lot of attention to your account and gives people an incentive to follow and pay attention to your brand.

The next step is to join an affiliates program! Aimee defines it as "A marketing strategy that allows a company to sell its products by signing individuals or companies who market the company's products for commission" (Aimee, 192). This can come in the form of branded posts and or a percentage of the pay when you sell a product successfully.  An important thing to note is that you want to find a program that offers a commission rate that best fits your needs while offering rates that are competitive (8 - 20% is the usual for a sale). Putting myself out there I was able to land myself a program with a company called AIWO and now I earn 8% of every sale I make and get sent free products to take photos and promote with!

The final step is to simply put yourself out there! Reach out to like-minded individuals who share the same style and goal as you to collaborate. You can also talk to brand owners themselves and work out different deals; keep in mind most brands look for people with 5k followers or more but I got lucky. Even recently I dmed a small store called @shop.inusagi and was able to land myself another promoter spot by telling them how much I appreciate their brand! Be kind, be respectful, and grow your account so you are more visible in the community (Look back on my last blog post to learn about growing your audience).

Practically everyone in the world takes selfies and it's not hard to do. But it's taking good selfies that I'll be covering in this blog post. I'm personally not the biggest fan of them because I feel that other kinds of photos better tell a story but the occasional one when I'm feeling attractive can always be nice to post. Just like any other topic I've covered, there's always technicalities behind the simple concepts I cover and selfies aren't an exception. The vibe I'm trying to produce with this selfie is a cool, bad-boy look and here's how I did it!

Really good lighting is the most important part for a selfie! As a rule of thumb, Aimee's most important tip is that "Natural light makes for the best photo of your face, so try to get yourself outside or by a window where sunbeams flood in" (Aimee, 107). Don't worry if it's too dark, editing can make it brighter but always remember that if it's too bright it's probably best to delete as it's difficult to darken a bright photo. The next important step is the background. Take those extra sen seconds to consider what is inhabiting the part of the photo that isn't your face! Generally clean, open spaces tend to perform better for selfies and if you're taking mirror selfies, avoid having smudges and remove any eyesore lurking in the photo (Aimee 109). I chose to use the outer exterior of my house because it isn't complicated, it's clean, and the lighting outside enhanced my features.

Already Edited

The next step ranks second next to lighting, angles! Angles are all experimental so you really have to find out what your good side is. I've found that showing a majority of only the left or right side of my face looks the best to me but it's all in preference. Just keep in mind that you never want to take photos too far underneath your face or the photo will turn out with a few extra chins. One tip to really bring out your jawline is to clench down with your teeth (Aimee, 112). This makes it sharper and more defined, a look that I specifically wanted to achieve in my selfie. The final step in taking a good selfie is the distance away from your face that your phone is.  I didn't hold the phone in my hand but the best advice Aimee gives is "Hold your phone far enough away from you face so that it frames your face, hair, and part of your torso" (Aimee, 113). When I take selfies, I personally like to use the 3-10 second timer so I don't have to hold the photo myself but if you're familiar with an app called Snapchat, dog filter is a savior (Although it may be cliched).

I'm satisfied with the end product and hope to be able to improve my selfies in the future. I'm especially a fan of the white, smooth, aesthetic selfies that many people take on Instagram and will try and look into incorporating that trend into my own feed.

I've grown a lot since the first post I created about OOTD's and you can see a significant improvement in quality and style in my recent posts. Whether it's just a hobby or you take it seriously like I do, make your Instagram your own. It's about being unique and showing your creative acquisitions while interacting with amazing people around the world. Stay true to quality and share how you see the world through your lenses. Now let me ask you, how have you used Instagram to capture your style?

Works Cited

Song, Aimee, and Erin Weinger. Capture Your Style: Transform Your Instagram Images, Showcase Your Life, and Build the Ultimate Platform. New York: Abrams Image, 2016. Print.