Hashtag Authentic
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Hashtag Authentic
The book is about advice for starting to share the images of your life on Instagram or any other platform.
It covers knowing your motivation (you’re not here to please others), finding your niche, taking photographs, and other topics.
The book is not very long and contains many photographs, so reading it only once may not be worth it.
I didn’t really like it at the start: there is too much “blabla” and sentimental stuff before you get to the real advice.
It was a little boring, but the advice is good to take.
The book is easy to read. Each sub‑chapter is about three pages, so you can read it whenever you have ten minutes to chill.
There are exercise pages with many questions that may help you define your goal, how you are perceived, and your scope.
To get the advice, just look at the table of contents.
I will not detail all the chapters (there are many), but only keep the essential points to remember.
There are three main parts.
In the end, this book taught me the basic things needed to make nice photographs.
When I take a photograph now, I think twice.
Otherwise, I won’t teach you much about IG, how to get a large audience, etc.
Storytelling
A phone allows you to document your life.
There are things you are likely to forget.
Moments, not things. These photographs resonate.
A picture speaks a thousand words; however, adding text helps you remember details you cannot otherwise recall.
To analyze a photograph, you can ask a set of questions, starting with “what, who, why, where.” Look for anything odd.
Style – If you start posting on a blog or on Instagram, you may begin as a hobby.
You might later aspire to be an “influencer.” In that case, you may try to please people to get more attention, which can become less enjoyable over time.
Being the real you makes things easier. Please yourself first.
If you have no idea, look at the subjects you commonly photograph and select the ones you love most.
Compare yourself to yourself to improve, not to the biggest stars.
Finding a niche is also a good direction, helping you avoid comparing yourself to others.
Our lives are made up of the things that we do, not the reasons we get started on doing those things.
Do it for the photo, for the art, for the creativity, but never for the likes.
Making Pictures
There are plenty of tools to edit images on phone or computer. Use them, but do not abuse them.
- Composition is one of the most important parts: you cannot change it in Photoshop!
- For Instagram, remember people view your photos on a 6–8‑inch screen, not on a desktop.
- Pixel quality is not the main driving factor.
- People look at a photograph for only 1–2 seconds as well.
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Don’t overthink; it kills creativity.
- Straight lines: make your camera parallel to them (unless you are searching for a specific effect).
- Symmetry: a pleasing pattern.
- Negative space: empty space around an object or person makes it easy to identify and avoids distraction. It also removes clutter, making everything clean and calm.
- Add a striking detail: shocking, unnatural, eye‑catching.
- New perspective: distinguish yourself from others.
- Organized mess.
- Rule of thirds.
- Subject gaze: so viewers can see where the subject is looking, drawing them into the photograph.
- Fake backgrounds: if you don’t have a nice table or floor, use a printed vinyl background to fake them. In a photograph you can’t see the difference.
Optimize the light: daylight is best. Artificial light may produce weird colors. Take advantage of shadows.
Interestingness factor
- Iconic: lots of symmetry, good graphic quality, ample negative space.
- Color.
- Surprise.
- Fine detail, which makes it intriguing.
- Impossible.
- Cuteness: cats, babies, …
- Multiples: find subjects you don’t usually see together.
- Negative space: quiet space.
Post analysis
- Check what you have published in the last 12 months.
- Check which photographs got the most likes. Review them and understand why.
Photographing Ourselves
Photographs with faces attract about 30–40 % more likes than regular photographs.
If you take pictures of your child or your dog, no one sees who is with them all the time.
Also, photographing ourselves allows us to control our image, learn how to pose, and become more familiar with ourselves.
Usually, very few photos are good. Training helps you get more good pictures.
Plus, you can take thousands of images. It isn’t like with an old‑school camera—you can try again and again.
Study how others do.
Exercise
If you want to learn how to use a single‑lens reflex camera, the author’s advice is to stick to one lens for a few months, so you can learn to use it properly.
#WHP: Weekend Hashtag Project. Find a topic to shoot.
Archiving Your Life
In this part, the author reviews different topics you may want to cover: Craft, Cooking, Travel, Celebrations, Beauty, Home, Pets, …
For each topic you will find advice, and very nice pictures that illustrate how you can artistically shape your work.
- Crafts – documenting the work in progress, the time it takes, and the mistakes is good stuff. Life is not perfect.
- Food – post before lunchtime. Presentation counts.
Use geotagging: it helps increase visibility.
Add a caption to give context; you may forget details otherwise.
The book includes a list of questions that may help you create a good caption: Feeling? Experience? How can this help? The story? …
Protect your life:
- Do not show where you live.
- Do not show your children’s school.
- Do not post that you’re alone in your house.
Sharing Your World
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