5 Ways to Make Your Instagram Portfolio Stand Out
Instagram is a great resource for showcasing your work. You can post behind-the-scenes photos, video samples, and tag everyone involved to connect your network. But with more than 600 million users, it can be easy to fade into the crowd. Here are five ways to make your Instagram portfolio stand out.
1. Plan a nine-post series.
Since most people use Instagram on their phones, the first nine posts on your profile will show up without any scrolling. It’s important to plan ahead and make sure those nine photos and videos are visually appealing as a group. Be sure to switch between close-up photos, landscapes, and group shots. Variety in the distance from subjects will help accentuate each photo so that they don’t look cluttered. This is also a great opportunity to organize your page by your photography or film projects. Each nine-post series can act as a bundle for each project that you post content on.
2. Color coordinate your content.
Utilizing a color palette for your page will take your Instagram to a whole new level of visual appeal. You can go with a pastel palette if you have a lot of desert or beach photos, a richer palette if you want to feature forests or mountains, or a neon palette if you do underwater or tropical shooting. The palette helps solidify the tone of your page, unifying the content.
3. Tag the organization you worked for.
Think of tagging as the humblebrag. Are you posting a photo series you shot for National Geographic? Tag them! Did you get to shoot portraits for a celebrity? Tag them! Any high-profile client you’ve worked for will add value to your page. Show your followers the quality of your clients — the more recognizable the name, the better. And when you tag them, your photo will show up under their tagged section. Meaning, tagging will also get more eyes on your page.
4. Use Stories to get personal.
Your page is your portfolio — the place where your professional work should be showcased. However, Instagram Stories are a great way to get personal. Did you just get a new camera? Post a clip where you review the camera, and tell your followers what you like and don’t like about it. Working in the field in a beautiful location? Give your followers a virtual tour. Stories are a great way to show off who you are and what you’re up to, so that your followers (and potential clients) can get to know you better.
5. Utilize Story highlights.
If you captured footage on your story that you’d like your followers to see for longer than twenty-four hours, add it to your highlights. These highlights will show up just beneath your bio and will stay there until you delete them. Your page is used as a portfolio of your work, your stories are used as insight on who you are, and your highlights could be the place for behind-the-scenes footage of your latest shoot.
Ready to make your Instagram portfolio stand out? Get started here.
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By Lena Drake, Storyhunter Writer
