How to Stick to an Instagram Aesthetic Without Getting Bored
The idea of ‘Instagram aesthetics’ has been around practically since the platform was invented. Despite its popularity, Instagram has always held fast to its own, relatively simple design. Unlike the social media platforms of yore – for instance, Myspace and, if you can cast your mind back far enough, Bebo – users can’t do much to personalise their own pages. The only thing they do have control over is the photo line-up itself.
The idea that you can get your page looking ‘on theme’ is a pretty fun one. It’s been utilised by businesses for years, btu that doesn’t mean creating your own Instagram aesthetic will make you look like some kind of corporate entity. Some tech-savvy celebrities and, yes, even us ‘normal people’ have dabbled with IG aesthetics in the past. It’s fun, it allows you to get creative, and, like fashion or makeup, it’s a great way to tell the world who you are. It’s also a great way to do something new with your next Instagram photo book, if you were looking for more ideas…
From a classic B&W to Gen-Z’s 2022 favourite, #Cottagecore, you can create anything you want within those tiles – but, as with a lot of things, it’s all too easy for us to run out of steam, and lose sight of why we started in the first place.
In our day to day lives, we take plenty of special photos we want to post that may not necessarily be ‘on brand’ with our chosen aesthetic.
So, how do we avoid getting bored? Here’s our top, time-tested tips.
1. Don’t be too restrictive with colour
Colour is an incredibly powerful tool. Even if every photo you post is really different from the next, a specific colour scheme can make everything look cohesive and ‘on theme’.
The trouble? It can all start to get too cohesive – and, dare we say it? Too predictable.
Don’t get us wrong – we’re happy to acknowledge how powerful colour can be for an Instagram page. But, at the same time, the trouble with limited colour schemes is that, at a glance, everything can start to look the same, even if you’ve got a good range of photos going. Let’s say you go with a red, white, and blue theme. Pretty soon, every single photo is going to look like it was taken on the 4th of July.
True, red, white, and blue is an extreme example, but the same goes for other colour schemes, too.
Instead, focus on a particular tone or ‘colour family’, rather than a particular set of colours. Consider playing with pastel tones, primary colours, bright and bold and vivid tones or dark and moody shades in your photos. That way, you can use the full rainbow (and more besides), without losing that sense of cohesiveness.
2. Take advantage of carousels
It was way back in 2015 when Instagram introduced their carousel feature. This is what allows you to post multiple photos in one post, which your followers can swipe through from their feed without scrolling back through your page to look at each photo individually. It is an absolute lifesaver in so many different situations, most notably when there’s an aesthetic to keep up.
If you wind up with a ton of photos you wish you could post, but can’t quite convince yourself they’ll fit with the vibe you’re going for, then don’t just jump to creating a secondary Instagram. Instead, post them ‘behind’ the photos you do want to have on your feed, using the carousel feature. That way, when you’re scrolling back through memories or picking photos to put through our photo book maker, you won’t feel like half your life is missing.
One of the fastest ways to get bored of a particular theme is to keep running up against it, and feeling like you can’t express yourself fully. Instead, just compromise, and keep the first photo of every carousel ‘on theme’, before letting real life take over.
3. Make it you
Okay, so while we stand by what we said, and maintain that the fastest way to get bored with an aesthetic is to restrict yourself too much, the second fastest way to get bored with an aesthetic is to pick it on a whim.
Lots of aesthetics look good. Tik-Tok favourite dark academia? Incredible. Barbiecore? Iconic. Coastal Grandma? We don’t know what that is, but we like it already. It’s easy to feel like these different styles look fresh, eye-catching, fun, and immersive…but does that mean the same thing as finding something that really resonates with you, your sense of style, and your personality?
It's easy to keep up what comes naturally in the first place, but not so easy to stay engaged with something that never really felt like ‘us’ in the first place.
If you want to get your Instagram following a theme, then more power to you – just don’t put yourself into a box that doesn’t feel comfortable, or you’ll start to pull away sooner or later.
