At the moment I get the feeling that instagram is coming under a lot of criticism and negativity don’t get me wrong I have never received any negative comments (& hope I never do), but I know that some of the people I follow have, which I find very sad as I have always found insta a very positive place.
I came to insta late, and at first only used it occasionally for the filter part, never really understanding what it was meant to be used for, but slowly (with the help of my children) I realised, over the years gaining confidence and learning, becoming more confident in myself and my abilities to perhaps improve my photography, sometimes you can teach old faffers new faffing tricks!
My “following” has grown slowly and steadily, sometimes pausing for a long while at the same number. My feed has totally changed since I started, from only taking snaps of pottery & of course flowers to what I hope is a more curated, lifestyle / stylish feed, I am still learning and thats the beauty of it .. constantly thinking of new ways to photograph, either myself or flatlay containing items I love. And with this has come some amazing opportunities, being able to work with brands, brands that I love and feel absolutely passionate about, brands that I never thought would even consider working or collaborating with me .. dreams that have and are coming true .. yes I am very lucky indeed, and I’ll be completely honest in that I truly hope that it continues, that I continue to get these fabulously wonderful pinch me opportunities.
Of course what you see of me on instagram and many other ig-ers is the edited version of life, perfect squares and happy stories, and why not, thats part of the reason I love insta, all the people I follow have a positive outlook, smile a lot, their feeds are beautiful (and yes curated) .. but seeing this brings me pure joy, I can often be found laughing along with stories & getting inspiration from photos that they have posted. But I am also aware that I don’t see all of their life, just as with me I only talk about the happy & chirpy bits, I don’t want to moan and say poor me, as with everything in life there are things happing in the background that I don’t want to or cannot talk about, so it goes with everyone .. what we see are snippets, moments of happiness and I say bring it on, it cheers my day .. because sometimes I have (as does everyone) a crap time, so watching a story or seeing a beautiful photo really does make me feel better.
I work very hard on creating (what I feel) is good content, I will only post a photo I feel happy about, does this make me shallow? … I don’t know, do I enjoy creating these photos, does it bring me joy and happiness? … HELL YES, am I proud of what I’ve achieved so far? .. absolutely, will I continue ?.. just try stopping me!
I suppose what I’m trying to say in this long winded ramble of a blog post is, lets enjoy insta, lets remember that squares can be curated / styled, there is nothing wrong with that, that some get to work with and have amazing opportunities, that these people have worked hard to get where they are and continue to do so, that we don’t know everything about them from what they post of their feed or from what they say on their stories, that everyone has feelings and no one needs to be put down or sent negative messages. I talk to and have met so many wonderful, talented, kind, beautiful (inside and out) people through this amazing little app .. lets remember why we are on insta for the smile, laughter, friendship, and perhaps (for me certainly) a lot of inspiration .. I love it & love that it really does bring a smile to my face even on grey days.
Niki xx
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