5 top tips for instagram images 

“Instagram takes no prisoners when it comes to a weak image, particularly if you are promoting something in which style is everything, like interiors,” says Annabel. “That instagram grid is unforgiving – every image needs to sing in harmony. And yet if the feed looks too ‘curated’, it can lose that personal touch and sense of authenticity.”

Annabel juggled this delicate balancing act with a recent client, Bell Lodge , an extraordinary holiday home rental by West Wittering beach.

“I singled out instagram as the key channel for the client’s social media strategy,” explains Annabel. “Who knows which big influencer may spot interiors inspiration in your posts and share to their own huge following? Interiors are big business on instagram and this property is stunning.”

Annabel knows that every images counts, so she called on photographer and interiors stylist Josephine Slade. Josephine created an underlying blue and yellow colour scheme to create visual coherence across the instagram grid, even when the interiors shots are mixed in with other images, such as portraits, scenic and landscape shots, and local produce from the businesses that Bell Lodge collaborates with.

Here are Josephine’s 5 top tips on how get the most out of interiors shots for social media.

1. Try different angled shots, for instance: head on, angled and then an overhead to keep it interesting.

2. Show complete rooms, but also try and show different textures and close ups of details in each room.

3. Keep the colour cast of all the images the same. When shooting in natural light, this is particularly tricky, but it is key to consistency.

4. Use props to help tell the story and add pops of colour; but be careful not to over clutter.

5. Provide plenty of tea for the team! (Josephine does LOVE a cuppa!).

Annabel also recommends using Instagram Stories to show behind the scenes shots that show the personality behind a brand or product. See Annabel’s Stories tips on our Akin blog for more ideas: http://bit.ly/2ULzDmH.

* See more about Bell Lodge and Josephine Slade on Instagram: @bell.lodge and @sladejosephine. Annabel is on @artsquestsussex and offers social media strategy, training and management.