The new Instagram gallery feature is a bit of a boon for people who like to take a LOT of photos. Ahem, guilty as charged. Although it may be seen as messing with the core sum-it-all-up in one photo core Instagram concept, I think it’s taking sharing images to the the next level and adding a whole new layer of flexibility… 

First and foremost, it makes narrative and telling a story so much easier. If a picture is a 1000 words, then up to 10 is practically a short novel. For me, as I tend to fuss around with multiple angles of the same thing and end up finding it hard to choose which picture it’s lovely to be able to add in a couple, or ten even, which then naturally fills out the tapestry of narrative and takes the viewer on a bit more of an in-depth vibe.

Of course, the possible downfall is that if you’re using blog photos – multiple pictures from an outfit post or travel diary – then the need for people to visit your blog may be totally eradicated. So I would say just consider timings. I shared ten photographs of a jewellery workshop visit which already existed as a blog post, but had been up for a few weeks, so in a way it was more of a revisit than an initial introduction. I think if you overshare in the first instance – which is always my impulse! – you may lose out on blog views. Perhaps.

TELL A VISUAL STORY

Sharing blog content aside, I think the cleverest way to use the gallery feature is to create specific content for it. This works brilliantly for me because I often end up with a series of photos, all of which I like. In silly ways I then create a little story to – from a mini breakfast journey through coffee and croissant to my running kit and subsequent views along the way. I’m quite obsessed with new bag (by Davina Mulford) and loved how it was fitting in so well with the café surrounds. Every angle just set it off perfectly. And of course, I often take pictures of my coffee and hot chocolates and I loved how the two combined. Moving from a full cup to finishing it is a story in itself!

 

 

BEHIND THE SCENES

Galleries are the perfect way to give an insight into how a shot was created. So if you’re sharing an incredible photo, a picture to go with, showing you taking the shot, or getting prepped beforehand in whatever way necessary from hair & make-up to a fortifying cup of coffee or any fun moments is lovely piece of content. This was the moment the gorgeous @ariannasdaily arrived to join me for lunch and a snap of where we were sitting.

---

BEFORE & AFTER

This is something I really have been meaning to do, as it’s such an obvious one and people often ask. But a great little how-to can be so brilliantly demonstrated with the galleries. For me, I would probably be inclined to share a photo editing process – you could even screenshot the actual edits themselves or just explain in the caption. But this would work for any mini tutorial – beauty, DIYing, recipes – which could be shot in a visual step-by-step story. For this image, it was a light edit really, mainly taking the warm, yellow tones out and upping the contrast and sharpness.

---

Shot at Blixen and bag from the new Davina Mulford collection

Photography by myself on the Olympus Pen F on 17mm