As far as bloggers go, I was actually a little late to the Instagram party. I closed my personal Facebook account over a year ago (and don’t miss it one bit, by the way), but loved the idea of being able to share “instant” pictures of moments throughout my day. Or, at least, that’s what I thought I was suppose to be sharing. . . 
I read this post last week, and it pretty much hit the nail on the head as to what Instagram has become among a lot of bloggers. Hours and hours of prep work to get a perfectly posed or styled—and often professionally photographed—Instagram picture. Something about that doesn’t feel very “instantaneous” to me. And, it’s kind of disappointing.
The thing is, though, the one with the most perfect Instagram “wins” in the social media race to gain more followers. I’m not saying I don’t follow those accounts. Because I do. And, I like them a lot. But, it makes me rethink how I use Instagram personally—and for my blog. The longest I’ve ever spent styling a photo for Instagram is maybe three minutes tops. I want my pictures to be an extension of my blog, but I also want it to be a look at my life and who/what I really love. You know, those people and places that aren’t online. The ones I actually live with in the real world.
That being said, I understand that most people following me on Instagram aren’t looking for 67 photos of my adorable kids every week. You don’t know them or their sweetness. And, I get that. But, I’m their proud momma, and they’ll surely make an appearance every now and then. Some will love it, some will be annoyed. That’s fine—either way.
I tend to gravitate toward those Instagrammers that show me a little bit of both sides. The really-pretty-but-there’s-no-way-that’s-real-life photos and the my-kid’s-science-project-because-it’s-awesome-and-I’m-proud photos. Like any social media, I want to go there—and leave—feeling more happy and inspired and less like a complete failure in the way I’m mothering, dressing, cooking, and (not) traveling :) You know what I mean, right?
How do you use Instagram? What kind of accounts do you like to follow best?
(If you’re interested, you can follow my very imperfect, usually unstyled life here.)
you hit the nail on the head for me- i was just discussing it with friends and they were all going the way of more styled photos and less life glimpses, whereas i think i do more of a combination, and i was feeling really lame about myself and my use of it. reading this was what i needed. thank you!
Yes! I came into IG the same way and it’s evolved a little for me as I’ve seen how others use it. But I’ll never have a hyper-styled account. I think (*think*) people who follow me on IG like seeing glimpses into my actual life outside of the styled photos I post from my blog. But maybe that’s wishful thinking…
Thank you for this! I started noticing the increase in superb quality pics in my feed and discovered the majority of them are being taken with a professional type camera, edited, and then uploaded. Hard to keep up with my extremely outdated iPhone’s camera. ;)
I am all for pretty pictures, but it can take some of the fun out of it, and ironically, I then end up preferring the few iphone pics in a feed, since they’re sometimes the only ones showing true authenticity.
Love this and I feel EXACTLY the same way.
As a faithful follower of yours, I say keep doing you. What I’ve always loved about your blog and IG is that you keep it real and attainable. I personally don’t care for the overstylized photos on IG as they come across as fake to me. Don’t change a thing.
I have two instagram accounts. One for my home dec sewing business where only pictures of projects and related things go, and one for my personal/family life. I even follow different people on each account. It’s a little more trouble, and I’m not trying to collect followers on either one, but it works for me.
Me, too! That way I can post 101 pictures of my kids in one day :)
Yes. Yes! Instagram is slowly becoming a playground for comparison and it’s… sad. I love the platform, it’s hands down my favorite of the social media types offered but I agree some people’s accounts seem a little too perfect. And that’s fine! I follow along, too, but that’s not what you get from me. My account is 99% pictures of my daughter and that’s okay with me. I love your blog, Emily, I love your pictures and I love this post. Keep doing you.
Your blog is the sweetest. Love seeing a dad document life.
I actually love your instagram pictures of your adorable kids. Instagram makes me feel like I know a blogger with style I love.
I take all of my instagram pictures on my iPhone….I might edit them some if they are dark or crooked but basically it is pretty much what is going on that day! The good thing is we have a choice right…..we can unfollow who we want :)
Well said Emily! I’ve been a very slack instagramer.
I love all the real life pics on ig from bloggers like you. I think it makes it easier for readers to relate to you and feel like they know you a little better. Seriously, I love pics of your kids. They make me laugh, and as a mom I love knowing that bloggers with gorgeous homes are real people with crazy kids too :-)
I have two instagram accounts now too. One is closed for personal use and loaded with my kiddos, so I can print an album one day and the other one for my blog where I share only a tiny amount of my kiddos but I totally get what you mean. And I love following you on Instagram ;)
AMEN! I love the accounts who let me know equal parts personal & professional!
This is how I use Instagram, too, and I don’t know if it is a rebellious streak or what, but I don’t want to use it the other, more styled way. I may follow some feeds that are like that to get better at my photography skills, but the ones that I like best are those that feel more real (like yours and some of the other commenters).
Hi Emily, please don’t change a thing. I love looking at pics of what you are doing around the house because they and you are REAL. I like having a glimpse of your adorable kiddos every so often too!
Couldnt have said it better myself Emily. Ive gone round and round about this and at the end of the day an IG accout full of “beautifully styled/perfect light/blog worthy” pics just doesnt feel right for my account. I want to be relateable and inspiring in a way that makes people feel connected with me on a more intimate level. That means ill likely never reach 20 thousand followers, and im perfectly fine with that. Loved this post lady.
I like authentic photos mixed in with a little pretty. What I wonder is, do those fancy schmancy IGers have a personal photographer that follows them around? And when their feed is all the same, of the same style….it gets a bit boring and so fake. Yawn. I’ll take a photo of 5 kids clambering over a luggage cart any day, as that was my life for the longest time (minus 2 kids though…)
So true, Emily! I started doing 100% behind-the-scenes & personal images & was struggling to grow. With each photo of myself or my children my following dropped significantly. Now I offer a blend of unstyled behind the scene images & images I just took & am uploading for a post. I would love to integrate more of my family as well. After all, that’s the story of our home & my daily inspiration.
Same for me. Mention kids or God and followers drop (both on IG and elsewhere). Whatever will be, will be!
I hope you do not change how you instagram. I am not even on instagram but occasionally go over to see your pictures, along with a couple of other favorite bloggers. I just visit out of curiousity because I do want to see family life and just what your day is like in general. Like the outfit that you bought for a date out recently. The little things. I like it being different than the blog.
I’m so surprised to hear that with kid pictures, the followers drop. I am just the opposite and love the behind the scenes, personal stories.
This made me WANT to follow your instagram! With 3 kids 5 and under, and a 4th due in July my life is anything but styled, and I love seeing normal everyday moments from others! It also happens that my kids are only cute on days when I let them pick out their own clothes…. >< Cheers!
Love this and totally agree! If I could add one thing it bothers me that some not all “bloggers” want us to follow them, but they can’t follow us??? Does that make sense. Maybe it’s just me that feels that way.
I should first say, I don’t use Instagram, because I’m not the biggest fan of fb and I don’t want another extension of the same folks, doing the same thing. I was originally attracted to blogs because of authenticity and genuine real life sharing on how to be better, how to do better, in real life. And now it just doesn’t feel the same, so much is fake or for sale. It really is up to us, the readers to not just complain but to unfollow(!) because when we continue to support these ppl and brands, we reinforce the popularity in subjects that don’t really deserve our attention.
I don’t like “perfectly” staged photos on design blogs. I enjoy design blogs that I can relate to and incorporate into my own home – which is anything but perfectly staged at any given moment. In fact, my house is a well decorated hot mess. It is not a museum and most everything in our house takes a mild beating (thank goodness for Ikea!). Kids, dogs, cats, and a husband bring joy, dirt, and messes into my every day. I appreciate seeing those same creatures (of all kinds) in blogs simply so I can relate to you and understand why you (or any blogger) make some of the design choices you make. Keep it perfectly imperfect!
I just recently became addicted to Instagram. I LOVE, LOVE seeing photos of your kids, personal life & real life. I’m drawn to those on instagram who show the “real” person. Styled shots are fun but real life shots are even better. It makes you realize that the celebrity, blogger, etc. is a real person with a real life… sort of just like you! And please keep posting pictures of those adorable kids!! Who doesn’t want to see them?? And if they don’t, let them follow someone else. And I even want to see those adorable kids when they’re in the awkward teen stages so I can think “oh, my, they’re getting big!!” Love your blog & your instagram!
Love your Instagram feed… as well as your blog. I also think that Thrifty Décor Chick and Bower Power know how to keep it real on Instagram… and I just love that about you guys!
I will say that I love DIY, I always have. I have a lot my own creations in my home. I love design – duh! That’s why I’m reading this. :-) And over the last 2-3 years I thought about starting a blog with our fixer-upper. I mean we had some cool projects we came up with and built on our own that would’ve been awesome blog posts! But reading the blogs that I read, and seeing their facebook or IG accounts…….well they sometimes look like advertisements for their blog. And to a certain extent I get that. You need to get your blog out there. But taking those pictures as you DIY and writing for the blog – the actual work part – is time consuming enough. I can’t imagine having to stage all those additional photos for IG. Who has time for that? Especially those of us with little kids we are trying to raise into respectable citizens who will realize how to be real and not staged? – maybe I’m taking that point too far, but as I was reading the article all I could think is that if I were in her shoes, look at how much of my precious time with my kids I would be wasting to get a perfect photo composition. For me, our time here is about so much more than the pictures or even the work. That we should use our work to lift each other up. How can I spend quality time or lift up if I’m constantly thinking of/planning/executing IG or twitter or facebook posts? To go along with the real work that I do? It was discouraging enough to me that I never started that blog. I don’t want to be on twitter. I only keep facebook for the long distance grandparents to see pictures of my kids. I do enjoy IG and seeing other blogger’s posts. But I would rather see REAL IG posts from those bloggers. I already read their blogs. I see the professional side. I’d like to also see the real side. Otherwise, it does start to make a person feel discouraged about thier own “lacking” in all things Mom, chef, DIY-er, decorator, ordinary-day-to-day picture taker. I like to see snippits of your life, keep it real and let me see that you are a person that doesn’t have to stage everything. I respect your work more because I can see you love your family first.
This is getting long…..basically I just wanted to say I love that you keep it real in there too. :-)
Long–yes, but I read every word :) Thank you!
I just came to Instagram a little under a year ago, and I’m probably “doing” it all wrong, but I’m having a blast with it anyway. Until someone asked me yesterday, and I looked to be able to answer, I had no idea how many followers I had, and I was surprised that the number was as high as it was. I post pictures just for fun, and I don’t care how many likes or comments any picture gets. For me, it’s just a fun way to be able to post something from any area of life. It’s a good exercise for me to take postable pictures, but I don’t think I spend more than about 30 seconds making sure it’s a good one. (And usually that has more to do with lighting than anything else.) I’m glad I’m not bound to statistics for this and can just have fun with it.
i don’t have a blog but I live to take pictures of my house and life with my (new) husband. If you want to follow along, I’m @erincl123. :0)
Love this, and I totally agree! I like looking at the styled pics, but I what I love, and really want to see, are the behind the scenes peeks into the lives of those I follow. I like seeing what a “perfect” blog space looks like in real life, and I like seeing kid and family pics. It makes it much easier to relate to the bloggers I follow. As a blogger, I really want to share those imperfect behind the scenes shots, and I want to share what is important to me in my life outside of the blog, but I understand too that people want to see the pretty pictures also, it’s just finding the balance that works best for you. Thanks for sharing this!
Steph
I don’t use Instagram. I did a little when I first got an iPhone 3 years ago, but even then it was mostly just to make my own photos look cool. I never followed anyone. I’ve been on Facebook for several years, but I only go there now if I get a message from someone or if I need to ask the moms in my son’s 4th grade class a question (they set up a private group). If it weren’t for that group, I would probably close my account and never look back. I am not a fan of social media at all. To me, it is a waste of time and energy, and I never leave it feeling uplifted or encouraged (the exception being Pinterest). I do love blogs, though. They feel safer to me. I pick and choose exactly who I want to follow, and I visit them when I want to. Social media sometimes feels like everyone is yelling at me trying to get my attention. It can be overwhelming. Blogs are much friendlier. I also think most bloggers put a lot of thought into their blog posts, and I appreciate that.
Absolutely! Couldn’t agree more!!!
Yes, yes, YES! There was a popular IG’er (around 26k followers) a couple of weeks ago that said “I’m very picky about the quality of pictures posted here.” Of course her pics are gorgeous, but it totally turned me off to her. I don’t want perfect, I want real!
AMEN!!
I am probably one of the few who still doesn’t really even know what Instagram is. Frankly, I will remain ignorant of it and wear that as a badge of honor. Love your blog…
Congrats! Just go with that :)
Yessss, I feel the same way! I’m tired of slogging through the posed pics. Some are fine but not everything. Let’s all make Instagram evolve differently. A little of this, a little of that.
Girl PREACH!!! Me and Jennifer talk about this all the time. Authenticity rules EVERYtime!! Love you, your blog and seeing your cute kids. Thanks for keeping it real and inspiring so many of us to do the same.
I’m with you on everything you said in this post. I find when I share blips of real life I lose some followers. That used to make me sad, but I’ve ultimately decided that I like the “real” accounts better – not the always perfectly styled – so I’ve made a conscious decision to do a little of both.
OH THANK GOODNESS! Emily, when I saw the headline in this post come through you have no idea how excited I was to read it. I recently joined Instagram with the same name as my blog and began following other home decorating enthusiasts, DIYers and Interior Designers for inspirations and to share the humor/frustrations in the process as well. I immediately noticed it was actually quite “cliquey” and there were all of the these tags…”I was tagged by such and such for #WIDN (What I’m Doing Now), etc. I admit, the first time I participated and I actually happened to be browsing through an antique store for that particular post (which was a plus there). But these random tags keep going and going. And everyday my entire feed is weighed down with a multitude of tags and these perfect photos that only Martha Stewart could contrive. Its just not real. The reason I began the blog and the feed was to journal my journey of making our first house and fixer upper a home. And with that comes a lot of ugliness and definitely some much needed humor. Don’t get me wrong, I love gorgeous photos and certainly love to display things I proudly accomplished, but I am a clumsy human being with 2 messy but loveable dogs and one messy but lovable fiancé. That’s real life. Anyway, that’s my rant. And it felt good. And to sum it up, I love your feed; your pretty rooms, cute kiddos, messy situations and all. It is relatable.
So true! I will say that Instagram has become quite intimidating, trying to keep up with so much perfection. It’s refreshing to see a little bit of “real life” every once in a while. Not to say that your feed isn’t pretty close to perfect… ;)
Ohmygosh. I am in the EXACT SAME BOAT. And then I asked myself what “likes” and “followers” really mean to my end goal of doing interior design as my business/job… Have I gotten new clients from any of it? No. Do I feel good about 90% of what I see on Facebook? No (dropping soon, per your inspiration.) Do I gain inspiration from my Instafeed? Sometimes, but probably no more than I would reading a magazine… I don’t know. Diminishing returns, I think. If I keep it light and fun, it is light and fun. When comparison creeps in: No wins.
Emily — Long time reader, first time commenter. I have loved your blog, both for the projects as well as the cute kid pictures. Your blog inspires me every time I read it. I would much rather see “real life” than a carefully composed still life. Sometimes other blogs (or magazines or even Pinterest for that matter) can leave me feeling like I’m just not doing enough or spending enough to create a beautiful home. I love seeing how your home (and family) have evolved, because I think that for most of us that’s real life. Reading your blog is like sitting down with a girlfriend over a cup of coffee and chatting about our favorite things. ;) Keep doing what you’re doing.
One of my favorite IG accounts to follow is Real Simple Magazine’s Women in real life(#womenirl). The posts are so authentic and funny and the total antithesis of the overly staged and certainly not real life posts that so many share. It’s refreshing and a great way to be reminded of reality amidst the pretty.
Never even heard of it–I’ll check it out.
Love this post! So agree with the keeping it real. I love a pretty photo!! But real is so important too. I have a personal IG and one for my shop TA Lorton. I really only post on the shop IG. Never have time to sign out then sign in again, so I mostly just stay with the shop posts and I do on occasion post a personal milestone of my kids… Getting drivers permit .. Graduation, etc. I have such nice customers that tell me they love following along and seeing the goodies that have just arrived and they make me feel so great when on occasion they ask what professional does our IG. I laugh and say just me. They also give feedback saying they love seeing what my kids are up to also. I have had the shop since 1988 and my customers have been with me through getting married and twins and another etc etc. they feel like family and I think as long as I don’t overkill with the personal photos they like seeing them since it keeps it real. Plus I follow them and we are like family. I try to make my posts about something I want to share with my friends that I have found … And not necessarily about selling them something, although of course that’s why I’m in business, but it is really about my eye and discovery, and maybe that ends up being something that is exactly what someone has been looking for.
This is perfect!! I struggle with my Instagram, I want it to be personal but I also want it to be blog related. The struggle is real!
I do find myself gravitating more towards bloggers/people who post real everyday stuff. So I am thinking that is the route I’m going to go too! :)
I tried social media a while back with Flickr and Goodreads, but ended up deleting my accounts because I didn’t want to deal with all the drama (on top of raising two teenagers). Yes, drama over books…I mean, seriously. I haven’t ventured into IG or elsewhere since then. I’m quite happy to follow a few select blogs like yours in my RSS feed and comment when the spirit moves me. :)
Oops! I have only just started my blog and got Instagram because I wanted to join in the foodie picture a day challenge! I don’t think I am taking this blogging business seriously enough. I have taken 30 seconds to switch a light on before taking my pictures, I don’t do styling! I’m a blogger fail. Off to find you on Instagram now because I love you blog and seeing your pictures X
I could not agree with you more! I absolutely get that for many bloggers their blog is their career and therefore their instagram account is extension of that. But for those who still read and write blogs that are not necessarily a career it is nice to post and see an extension and a behind the scenes look at cute kids, dogs, etc.
Thank you for keeping it real, that is why I began reading your blog oh so many years ago and it is why keeps me coming back!
Great thoughts! and I agree. I want to see beautiful pics but I am really looking for snapshots of life like you said. No perfection necessary. Life is beautiful as it is.
Yes, yes and yes! I totally feel ya. I do want to be inspired by others on it, and I love to follow people with pretty pictures, but I also want a glimpse into their real life once in a while, and I feel like that’s the place to do it. Every time I post a photo of my kids I can guarantee a lose of 10-15 followers, but I also get likes from people who don’t like any of my nicely styled photos. I just try to do me and figure the people who want to follow along will and those who don’t won’t. I love getting glimpses of your kids and the energy they bring to your home…it’s so much a part of you, how could you not share?!
I was also super late to the blogger Instagram party and I’m still figuring out the winning combo, but I agree so far, I like a good mix of pro photos and more spontaneous stuff. Not everything can be perfect!
Great post…I’m with you, I like a little mix of both. The only time I have ‘styled’ shots on my IG, is if it’s a screen grab from that day’s blog post. I love seeing pics of your kids and your every day! I follow blogs for the content and ideas, and IG to get to know the bloggers behind the posts.
I use IG for my coaching business, so it is usually a smattering of food posts, my kids and our doodle….I am finding it to be an integral part of my business, but it has taken me longer to “warm” to it :)
I struggle with this a lot. As a blogger who is still in the “growing” phase I feel pressured to cut out some of the personal but I don’t want to have to manage two accounts. I love your feed and I think a good balance is what we all need/want!
I really liked reading this. And I agree. All areas of social media are becoming strange to me right now though. :) Like everyone is pretending to live their staged life. Very honest :)
LOVE this post! I actually shared your post and your IG pics in a post I just shared today. I don’t know how you do it with five but you are a constant inspiration and I loved your sharing what the other side of the room looked like! Thanks as always–I always look forward to reading your posts. Here is the post if you are at all interested:
http://www.allthingsbigandsmallblog.com/2015/03/thoughts-for-thursday-supermom.html