432: How to Curate your Instagram Feed as a Photographer

Summary

The Heart & Hustle Podcast: Episode 432 – How to Curate Your Instagram Feed as a Photographer

Released on May 13, 2025

In Episode 432 of The Heart & Hustle Podcast, hosts Evie McLeod and Lindsey Roman delve into the intricate strategies photographers can employ to curate an engaging and visually appealing Instagram feed. This episode serves as both a strategic guide and a practical tutorial, highlighting essential principles and demonstrating their application in real-time.

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1. The Relevance of Curation in 2025

Evie McLeod opens the discussion by addressing the fluctuating trends surrounding Instagram feed curation. She notes, “Curation is still very much relevant in visual industries like photography, web design, and more” ([00:41]). Lindsey adds, emphasizing the importance of authenticity, “People want real and authentic and unfiltered” ([01:07]).

Despite the shift towards more spontaneous and less curated content across various social media platforms, both hosts agree that for visually-driven professions, maintaining a curated feed remains crucial for showcasing quality and attracting the right clientele.

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2. Core Principles for Curating a Photographic Instagram Feed

Evie and Lindsey outline several foundational principles essential for effective Instagram curation:

a. Varying Minimal vs. Busy Shots

Evie explains, “Principle number one is to vary the minimal versus the busy shots” ([11:00]). Minimal shots offer breathing space and simplicity, often evoking calmness, while busy shots add depth and intrigue.

For example, a flat lay with flowers and multiple details creates a textured and engaging image, whereas a studio shot against a plain background provides a clean and minimalist aesthetic.

b. Diversifying Focal Lengths

Lindsey emphasizes the importance of varying focal lengths to maintain visual interest: “Varying up the shots means maybe post a full body and then post a mid shot and then post a close up” ([16:08]). This approach ensures that the feed doesn't become monotonous and keeps viewers engaged by showcasing different perspectives.

c. Varying the Subject Matter

To appeal to high-end clients, both hosts suggest varying the subjects within the niche. Evie states, “The higher you're charging for weddings, the more you want the aesthetics to matter” ([17:49]). Showcasing a mix of wide ceremonies, detailed Florals, and intimate moments helps demonstrate versatility while maintaining a high standard of quality.

d. Implementing Color Theory

Evie discusses the role of color consistency in maintaining a cohesive feed: “In a grid of nine, you want to keep in mind what colors are being shown” ([22:12]). By correlating colors and avoiding overly jarring hues, photographers can create a harmonious and visually pleasing feed. For instance, alternating green elements with complementary colors can enhance the overall aesthetic.

e. Prioritizing Emotion and Storytelling

Both hosts agree that emotional resonance is paramount. Lindsey mentions, “Emotion and storytelling really showcase what you do well and what you capture” ([30:02]). Integrating moments that evoke feelings—such as a couple’s heartfelt kiss or the joy in a parent’s eyes—adds depth and relatability to the feed.

f. Maintaining a Specific Niche

Evie reinforces the importance of niching down for effective curation: “If you are multiple years into your business and you are still showcasing newborns, families, maternity, couples, weddings, seniors... it’s going to be hard to visually curate” ([28:19]). Focusing on a specific niche helps in attracting the ideal client by consistently showcasing expertise in that area.

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3. Practical Tutorial: Curating a Feed in Real-Time

Following the principles, Evie and Lindsey engage in a live demonstration using the “My Feed” app to organize a mock Instagram grid. They pull in a diverse array of photos—ranging from styled shoots to real weddings—and apply the discussed principles to achieve a balanced and cohesive look.

Key Actions During the Tutorial:

• Balancing Minimal and Busy Images: Evie strategically places minimal shots between busier ones to create visual harmony.

• Adjusting Focal Lengths: By alternating between close-ups and wide shots, they ensure the feed remains dynamic.

• Color Coordination: They pay attention to the color distribution within the grid, ensuring no single color overwhelms the overall aesthetic.

• Incorporating Emotion: Selecting images that capture genuine emotions adds a personal and relatable touch to the feed.

Notable Insight: Evie remarks, “Experimentation is key” ([43:55]), highlighting the importance of trying different arrangements until the desired visual flow is achieved.

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4. Additional Tips and Recommendations

Beyond the core principles, the hosts share valuable tips to enhance Instagram curation:

• Styled Shoots: Incorporating styled shoots can elevate the portfolio, showcasing high-end aesthetics that attract premium clients.

• Personal Branding: Including personal photos within the feed humanizes the brand, making it more approachable and relatable. Evie advises, “If you have no photos of yourself on your feed, big red flag” ([48:34]).

• Carousel Posts: Utilizing carousel posts effectively can maintain the visual integrity of the grid while offering more detailed storytelling within individual posts.

• Use of Apps: They discuss tools like “My Feed” for organizing and previewing the Instagram grid, and contrast it with Canva, noting limitations in drag-and-drop functionalities.

Evie’s Bonus Tip: “To improve collaborative posts, ensure the first image in a carousel includes elements from all collaborators,” she advises ([32:40]). This increases the likelihood of vendors sharing the post, thereby expanding reach.

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5. Conclusion: Embrace Artistry and Consistency

Evie and Lindsey conclude by emphasizing that curating an Instagram feed is both a strategic endeavor and an artistic expression. They encourage photographers to trust their instincts, experiment with different arrangements, and prioritize both visual appeal and emotional storytelling.

Lindsey sums it up: “If you have the capacity or this seems like it relieves pressure from you of like, okay, well let me curate my grid... that’s a great way to do it” ([60:09]). The ultimate goal is to create a feed that not only showcases quality work but also resonates deeply with the intended audience, fostering connections and attracting ideal clients.

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By adhering to these strategies and principles, photographers can effectively curate their Instagram feeds to reflect their brand, tell compelling stories, and engage their audience in meaningful ways.

Transcript

[A]

You're listening to the Heart and Hustle podcast. We are your hosts, Evie McLeod and Lindsay Roman. Welcome back to another episode of the show, my friend. Thank you for tuning in. If you are a longtime listener, please go ahead and leave that five star review. We just adore reading the reviews and it helps our show out so much. So today's episode is a really fun one. We've actually never done something like this on the podcast and I'm gonna tell you right now, if you are listening to this on Spotify or Apple or any listening device, audio only. Yeah. Would highly recommend going to YouTube for this one. It's going to be a very visual episode and even not that you can't listen in the car, but just maybe watch again when you get home on video.

[B]

We're putting a lot of visuals on the screen of examples of what we're talking about.

[A]

Yes, exactly. So today we are going to dive into the nitty gritty on strategy for photographers curating your Instagram feed. I feel like we've gone through up and downs of like, oh, curation is in, curation is not in. And while I still agree for non visual service providers or business owners in general that curation is a little less important than it used to be, I think just with the, with the income.

[B]

Of people want real and authentic and unfiltered.

[A]

For sure, for sure.

[B]

But we are still in a visual.

[A]

Industry a hundred percent, especially for photographers and any other. I would, I would say the same for like web designers or, I don't know, anything that is like the service or the product that you're giving is very visual. I think curation matters more than if you were like an online coach or a fitness guru or something like that. So today we are going to go through strategies and then actually walk you through a tutorial on me and Evie in live moment time, whatever. Going through and curating a feed, it's kind of a conglomeration of both her work and my work. And we're gonna, gonna do that live after we talk about some principles. Yeah.

[B]

All right, so grab your YouTube, grab your favorite beverage and let's dive in. All right, let's talk about Pinterest. You know that beloved site you spend hours upon hours on creating your dream home, closet and wedding. Like, it's fun, right? But it's also more than just fun. Did you know that Pinterest can be an invaluable tool for your own business?

[A]

Here's the deal. Pinterest is an extremely powerful search engine that you can leverage to get your brand and business out there. It's a way to reach new audiences that you wouldn't normally reach through other social media. Which is why we wanted to shed light on this popular social platform and and share a few reasons why you should be utilizing it now to exponentially grow your business and expand your audience. Like honestly, it is the number one traffic driver to my business.

[B]

Yes. If you feel lost on where to start, don't worry. We have a whole pin your heart out freebie ready for you to dive into the marketing and help you start the process so you can snag [e-mail] Pinterest.

[A]

Hey. Hey. I'm Lindsay Roman.

[B]

And I'm Evie McLeod and we are family and legacy focused serial entrepreneurs and the founders of the Hart University, a business education company with a mission to help you thrive in your business and life.

[A]

Welcome to our entrepreneur cocktail hour where business and marketing strategies meet faith, real talk and raw and life changing conversations.

[B]

At the end of the day, we are all in this together figuring out how to navigate the ups and downs, the messy and the beautiful and everything in between. This is a community where you can come as you are, you get inspired and walk away equipped to build a legacy filled life.

[A]

You're listening to the Heart and Hustle podcast.

[B]

All right, friend, as Lindsay said in the intro, if you skip the intro, just why don't do that. We give good information in there. Anyways, as Lindsay said in the intro, today is going to be a little bit more of like a show and tell or visual episode. So if you are listening to this, go ahead and if you're driving, whatever, we're at the gym working out, go ahead and listen. But also I would recommend coming back on YouTube for sure and watching this because we are especially at the end going to be giving like visual tangible breakdown of the principles in action. But we're going to start today's episode with just some principles in general for curating your feed, especially as a photographer or someone in the very visual heavy industry. And we're going to break those down first and then we'll give some tangible examples at the end.

[A]

I'm excited. Okay, so first off, your thoughts on curation. Curation in 2025. I know I said a little bit of this in the intro, but is it relevant do you think? Like I think I mentioned something on Instagram, I think I shared like, like I was doing a grid curation call, like a coaching call with somebody and somebody messaged me and they were like, oh no. Are we having to, like, are we back to grid curation? And I almost was like, did it.

[B]

Ever leave for the photographers or wedding planners or specifically graphic designer? Like, the people who literally sell something that is a visual product.

[A]

Right.

[B]

I think it loosened up a good.

[A]

Bit with, like, TikTok reels.

[B]

Yeah. Yeah. And I think there is an element, for sure, that, like, so much of our culture right now, like, we. We don't want, like, the really filtered, you know, perfection. Like, we're tired of perfection. We want to see real. But as a photographer, and I will say also, I feel like it's. Especially when you break into the higher end, like, the higher bud. I think there's also a huge element.

[A]

There that, like, aesthetics matter, maybe more.

[B]

Yeah, for sure. So I think curation, in my opinion, is. Can be done in such a way that doesn't feel like, forced or fake while still appealing to our. Our visual eye as the consumer.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And I think that's kind of where we are. If you are in a visual industry, I think there's a way to curate in such a way that feels natural and it flows beautifully. It doesn't feel like stiff or forced or posed in any way, but it. It is intentional and strategic with what you're trying to showcase and. And what you're trying to attract.

[A]

Yeah. If this wasn't clear, if you're like a fitness guru or like, somebody that does not have, like, this service or product that you provide is not visual. Like, the visuals of it don't matter. Like, if you're a plumber, this does not apply to you. I don't know what plumber is.

[B]

I was also gonna say there is a slight caveat that, like, in general, if your entire brand and business is, like, absolutely tragic on the visual, like, completely.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

But that's not grid curation. That's more of just, like, you have bad content, horrible, like, brand visual and presence.

[A]

Like, your logo looks like it was made on paint from Windows 95.

[B]

Yeah. Yeah. Like, I think there's an element there that, like, as consumers in general, like, you know, we're attracted to the coffee shop with a really, like, cool, like, logo.

[A]

It's true. Well, and I. This is maybe a good segue to, like, get into our points. I. Overall, I think with everything that we're talking about with grid curation, there has to be an awareness that psychologically, human beings are attracted to beautiful things.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And even if we can't understand it or. Or. Or you're a person that sees your feed or just brushes across your Instagram that maybe they don't know why, maybe they don't know the strategy behind the color theory or whatever. But usually people can tell when something, like, is like, oh, wow, that just looks visually pleasing. And when something's visually pleasing, it makes them want it more generally, versus if something is, like, messy looking chaotic. Again, there's caveats to that.

[B]

I have such an example, and it's so specific.

[A]

Wait, what's this?

[B]

Probably the worst example ever. I'm thinking of a cybertruck right now.

[A]

A cybertruck?

[B]

Like the Tesla cybertruck?

[A]

Oh, gosh.

[B]

I'm thinking it's one of those things that there is a niche demographic of people who think those look. Absolutely.

[A]

There's, like, a freakish amount of them in, like, Flagler and Palm Coast. And I'm like, what? Why?

[B]

But the majority of people, it's. It's. In my opinion, it's a very, like, unappealing car design, which is why a majority of people think they are ugly as heck.

[A]

And, like, hey, we're used to cars looking different. If cars originally looked like that, we probably wouldn't blake an eye.

[B]

Yeah. But, like, I'm even thinking of, like. Like a classic car. Like, even like an old Jaguar or like, something that's just like, it looks so sleek and gorgeous and, like, leather, like, tufted interior. Like, like something like that. We're going to be like, oh, I love it. And then you look at a cybertruck and you're like, okay, but it's. It's one of those things.

[A]

I just think that the person driving it has a small, you know what? And they're trying to compensate. I'm sorry, I cannot believe you just said, hopefully no cybertruck drivers. Follow and listen to the show. If you do, I. Deepest apologies. I also, I just had to speak.

[B]

The truth of your opinion.

[A]

My opinion.

[B]

Because I do want to say I understand there is a niche demographic of people who think they're really cool. And I can see it. They're very out there. They feel very, like, utopian dystopian. Like, I understand why someone would be like, that's cool. That's so unique. But I think the majority of us as consumers look at it and are like, that's an ugly car.

[A]

Yeah. But how does this apply to. Can you bring us back in to the grid?

[B]

You were saying, in general, like, we want something that's really pretty. So, like, a lot of people, majority of consumers will look at a cybertruck and be like, ew, I Don't want that.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Whereas you look at like a really pretty, like, like a, I don't know, a Bentley or like, you know, something that's like a Mercedes, like something that's relatively like objectively beautiful in this cultural standards. And most people would be like, man, if somebody gifted me that car, I would love it. Right. Somebody gifted me a Cybertruck, I'd be like, I will resell that.

[A]

I mean I would have fun like driving it for like a day.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And then to get looks. And then I'd be like, okay, I'm done.

[B]

That was such a random example. But the principle remains, like if, if you're working on like curating your feed and you're trying to attract more people and to have them, you know, at a glance, at a single first impression.

[A]

You want your feed to be beautiful.

[B]

You want to be showcasing beautiful things, beautiful photos. So your best of your best, which is kind of like we'll, we'll get into like some of the principles and.

[A]

There nuances depending on what niche you are in of photography, but even, even within the niches, like what style you are. And also knowing that like yes, beauty is subjective depending on the person. However, there is something that like, I think for all photographers, no matter what niche, no matter what style you are, you want like things that feel like either photos that feel high end or emotional in like pulling photos that tell a story and that like pull you into the image. And we're going to talk about that maybe more so when we show the grid curation. But just keeping that in mind as we kind of talk about the principles before we get into the example.

[B]

Okay. We're going to cruise through these principles. Grab your pen and paper, take notes. Principle number one is going to be to vary the, the minimal versus the busy shots. And what we mean by that is think of the ones that maybe it's a detail shot even and there's, there's like, it's a flat lay and there's flowers and there's invitation and there's perfume and there's rings and there's, you know, who knows what else. Like there's, there's a bunch of different pieces to that picture.

[A]

It's like almost adding more texture and like busyness to the photo.

[B]

Right?

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Yeah. And that's a beautiful shot.

[A]

Or a good example is everyone's going to immediately know the Midwest trees in winter. Y' all know exactly what I'm talking about. Yep.

[B]

Or even, honestly the mid, even the Midwest trees in summer. Like if there's something behind you that's like. There's tons of branches and leaves.

[A]

Like in a forest in general.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

I would say almost every single photo in your gallery, if you're shooting in a forest, unless it's a close up, is going to be busy because of the trees, the leaves, the stems, the branches.

[B]

Yeah. There's just. There's just a lot of texture and depth and layers and shadows and things going on. So that I would consider a busy shot. Whereas a more minimal shot would be something that's maybe shot in a studio or on the beach, and it's just like the background is, you know, mostly sky.

[A]

Even, like a field with a sky.

[B]

Yeah. Something that there's like. There's a lot less layers, depth, texture. It just. It feels like a more minimal shot where when you look at it, it feels like more of a breath versus the busy shot. Feels like more of like. Oh, like. Like intrigue.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

It makes you hold your breath versus the open space. Makes you, like, let out a breath. Does that make sense?

[A]

Yeah, it makes sense. I also think sometimes when you're curating your feed, I almost call minimal shots, like filler shots or. Or like breathing shots, kind of for the same purpose. And it's. It's almost. Sometimes if you. If you look through your portfolio and you notice you don't have a lot of, like, minimal, you're like, okay, Lindsay. And I mean, I don't live on a beach. Thanks so much. Something that you could always do on nearly any session and even a wedding day. Shoot against a wall. Shoot a little bit more farther back against the sky or shoot an angle up on the sky. Um, if I do that, I always have, like, my clients, like, bend at the waist a little bit towards me so that they. It doesn't look like a super awkward upper angle. You can easily get the sky without going, like, shooting from the ground, in my opinion. But. Yeah, but you can also add minimalism by, like, super zooming and cropping in. Also, if you didn't know this, I think this is relatively new. Maybe not by the time this comes out, but I noticed it in the last, like, two months. You can. If you post a photo on your feed, you can go back and adjust the preview.

[B]

A photo.

[A]

Insane.

[B]

Not a real cover.

[A]

Both.

[B]

Well, the real cover has been a thing for a long time.

[A]

Okay. Well, yes, but the photo. Both. Did you not know this? Literally, when I figured this out, I went through all my photos and I was like, which one do I want to zoom in?

[B]

Well, I wonder if that's because they did the freaking. The. They changed it to be.

[A]

I bet that's why, like, I think. I think when they changed it, a lot of people.

[B]

That was one thing. I was like, oh, frick. I've set up my whole feed based on square previews.

[A]

I think that's why they did that. But it's.

[B]

My Instagram still hasn't updated. Mine is still square on my feed, so I have no idea what it looks like. Really non square.

[A]

Interesting.

[B]

I actually should probably look from your phone and be like, does this look tragic to the rest of the world?

[A]

That's funny. But just so you know, if you go to like the three dots on an image to like edit it or whatever, it'll say like, adjust preview. And you can like. So you can do this retroactively too. Anyways, continue.

[B]

Okay, wait, hang on. Question.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Adjusting the preview, does that change how it shows up? No.

[A]

So that's only. I know.

[B]

It's like a cover.

[A]

I know. So like, literally, if they're looking at your feed, you could have like a far. This is dramatic example. But you could have like a couple walking hand in hand, far away, and like they're leaning in, about to kiss. Right? That's the shot that if they clicked on the photo, they would see.

[B]

Or if it shows up on their feed.

[A]

Yes. But if they saw it purely on your feed, for the aesthetics, you could zoom the frick in to their faces. If that like, fit with your cohesive.

[B]

Feed or their hands, like, being held. Question, does that change how it's being. I love my logistical questions on this one. Like, if somebody were to repost it.

[A]

To their story, I think it would show the whole thing.

[B]

This is game changer.

[A]

I know.

[B]

Because it's literally like a real cover.

[A]

It's literally giving you just what you want on your feed, which is where it matters.

[B]

Like, cohesively when I tell you there will be times that I will intentionally post a real primary or move up when I was posting it or whatever, purely because I want a certain look for a cover on like, for my grid.

[A]

Huh.

[B]

Because the COVID photo on a reel is essentially that where like you click on it and whatever you do on reels and.

[A]

And posts.

[B]

Oh, maybe I need to.

[A]

Maybe you can't because you don't.

[B]

I was gonna say, I wonder if it's because I have. Mine hasn't updated.

[A]

Your phone's over there. It's fine. We'll check later.

[B]

Anyways. That's really cool. Okay, so you can. You can adjust but the principle in general is alternating like minimal and busy.

[A]

Just making sure you're a practical example.

[B]

Yeah, just making sure there's not like if you have too much just constant like open space, like blank space, it can start to feel a little like dull.

[A]

Yeah, almost.

[B]

But if you have too much busy, it can feel very chaotic and overwhelming to your viewer. So trying to alternate the two is a really beautiful stretch strategy.

[A]

Second principle to keep in mind is to vary up your focal length. So what I mean by that is not posting like a full body shot of couples or. Or subjects, whoever. One person, if you're a senior or a brand photographer or whatever.

[B]

Like head to toe shots.

[A]

Yeah, head to toe, like in a row. So varying up the shots meaning like maybe post a full body and then post a mid shot and then post a close up and then post like another detail and then opposite a close up.

[B]

Mm.

[A]

Um, that. That more so is with people. Yeah, like that's, that's.

[B]

But I would even argue, I would even argue with details from like if you are a wedding photographer, like details from a wedding day far away. Or you could do like, like a.

[A]

Full and adjust preview actually helps with this because then even if you wanted the full shot, you could zoom it in so that on your grid it's varying up the focal length.

[B]

Like I'm thinking like a floral install or something. Or like a full, like you know, a, A drone shot or something of a ceremony site. Like doing that. And then the next detail shot you post is like a detail. Detail close up of a flat lay or a ring or a ring or something that's like.

[A]

Yeah, that's still varying focal length even with objects.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Or place like the, the. It doesn't. Yeah. Focal length doesn't have to just be people, but I feel like that leads into the next. Apply a lot.

[B]

Yeah. I think the, the third principle is to vary the subject of the photos. So this especially, I will say I think matters a lot. The. The higher you're. The more you're charging for weddings, the more I think this matters.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

With just.

[A]

Because I think higher end weddings specifically care more about the aesthetics.

[B]

Well, because in reality, yes, in a way. Because they are paying, you know, a hundred thousand dollars for their florals.

[A]

They want to see a hundred thousand. Oh, wow, we're bumping to girl ultra luxury.

[B]

Well, that's not even florals, man.

[A]

Yeah, they. They can get. They can get up.

[B]

Like if you're doing like an aisle, if you're doing a full arch. If you're Doing any like your floral budget goes up.

[A]

But anyway, just a level of tax bracket that I have not.

[B]

Yeah, obviously my whole wedding budget was nowhere near that. Anyways, the, the point is the more people are spending on some of these elements of their, their day, they want.

[A]

Them documented well, they want them showc.

[B]

And you know, they're spending money on it. They're like, yes, I obviously want photos of me and my, you know, person and like, you know, the important moments. But I also want to know that that money that I'm spending is not just being like basically thrown away. Like I still want memories of like how that looked and felt and you know, whatever. So I think there's an element. The higher, the more money you charge, the more the installations and you know, the details like that really matter. So I think it becomes even more important because like I really years ago when I was charging you know, three to four or five thousand for a wedding, I really don't think that it was as vital that my feed really showcased like the ceremony setup or you know, the floral arch or the, you know, I feel like my couples were more like, I just want photos of us. That's really all we're spending money. Like we don't have all these other installations and a seating area and whatever.

[A]

I also think this is maybe more for like wedding photographers that are trying to get into a more high end space or trying to get out of like the budget people and you're trying to attract a more high end clientele. Even if it's not ultra luxury. I think I always joke with my coaching students and insiders even where I like, if I'm like editing or not editing, if I'm curating somebody's Instagram or website even and I'm making a note on their portfolio, I'm like, curate your own work and go through every wedding you shot, even every session you've shot and pull out like rich looking items is what I phrase it. Which is maybe not the most politically correct way to say it, but it's, it gets the point across of like any element that looks like very fancy or very much like, oh wow, that was like a high floral budget. Even if it was wasn't like anything that looks like it's more nicer I think helps your portfolio be elevated in general to attract more of a high paying clientele because it's, it's relating to what they're already spending their money on. Yeah. So whether you're you know, trying to go ultra luxury or not, I think any photographer that's like being frustrated by all of their clients being like, oh, you're just too expensive. Try to do this. And like, I think incorporating those elements of details onto your feed is helpful for your website, but we're obviously talking about Instagram feeds right now.

[B]

Yeah. So in general, vary the subject of your photos. I think, you know, this might be a little less vital if you're charging 2,000 for a wedding, but if you're trying to get to a different demographic, I think showcasing the. The variety of your work and the different moments and aspects of a wedding day or a couple, you know, their story that you capture. I think showcasing that in. In general, no matter where the details tell a story. Yeah.

[A]

Because this is maybe a through line that we might. We're not really talking about the content of what the post is about. We're just purely talking about, like, the visuals of it.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

But storytelling sells, like, overall, especially as photographers and so big time. If you can, like, this almost seems contradictory to what I just said of, like, show rich details, but if you can. If you can show rich stories. But also. Yeah. If you can. If you can intertwine that with, like, rich storytelling and that. Rich. I mean, like, what's. What's the definition of that type of rich? What do I mean by that, Evie? Encyclopedia me.

[B]

I mean, I don't know. Deep.

[A]

Deep. That. Yes. Like deep storytelling. That's meaningful.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Then it's like a double whammy. Because now it's visually beautiful and looks high end, but now it's like pulling at your heartstrings.

[B]

Yeah. There's a word that I can't get. It's. It's like right there.

[A]

Meaningful. No, no, it's fine.

[B]

Whatever.

[A]

Okay. The next evocative.

[B]

That wasn't.

[A]

The next principle to keep in mind when curating your feed is color theory. This is where I think it's sometimes hard for photographers because you almost have to. You don't to an extent have control over the. Like the bridesmaids dresses. You don't have control over what the florals look like, which oftentimes or even the venue. Like those things that are obviously in your photos. Present color into your work.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

That you might, may or may not agree with.

[B]

If you agree with, can you clarify what that means? It may not align with your brand. Colors.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

What she means.

[A]

Yes. That's why this is like a sidebar. This is a sidebar. I need to definitely get back on track. But this is why I almost. Unless your brand is intentionally very, like, bold and colorful. I almost, I almost wary photographers from going like super bright color on their branding, unless that's an intentional choice. Because I think there are some photographers.

[B]

Out there, some photographers out there who do that so beautifully because they are trying to attract the incredibly bold.

[A]

Bold, colorful. Fun.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And it like that those colors present, like bright neon colors are presented in their work. But I feel like if you, if your work tends to be a little bit more muted, but then you go on your website and it's like bright bold blue or yellow, it like, it almost distracts from the photos. That's a sidebar. Take that tip or leave it, whatever. But color theory, if you have a session, you can. You can like, help your clients with outfits, and so you can kind of help a little bit there. But like, the colors in your photos are typically what people are wearing where you're shooting. And like, those are the colors that are going to be present. And even if you have like all the colors under the sun in your portfolio, something, when it comes to Instagram curation is keeping in mind that in a grid of 12 or 9, I think at any given time when you look at a feed, I think you can see nine. Especially now that it's portrait for some people, maybe everyone, by the time this comes out, I think it's nine photos. So in that grid of nine, you want to keep in mind what colors are being shown. And something that we like to do is almost like correlating them. And what I mean by that is like, if there's. I feel like green is a good color because that's in almost every single person's portfolio to some extent, because the grass is green, trees are green, you know, that's just. It's nature or blue from the sky. And so if you have a couple of like green, whether it's like from the stems of the bouquet or green grass, trying to almost like vary them up. And again, we'll show you this in the example, but like, maybe not putting like the super green photos side by side so that your eye immediately goes to that one area of the grid of nine, but, like varying that up so it's like almost like a zigzag. And it's just. I don't. Is there a better way to describe that?

[B]

No, I think you're describing. And we'll give the visual example too at the end. I think that's good.

[A]

But it's like, like if there is in the grid of nine, like a, like a bright purple. And that has nothing to do with Your brand or I would hesitate to.

[B]

Post that depending on the vibes. Unless again, your brand.

[A]

Right. But if everything else like kind of goes together and then there's like one color that's kind of jarring it, just keep that in mind.

[B]

Yeah, for sure.

[A]

All right, entrepreneurs, let's face it, you're in a pickle. You're not attracting your ideal clients because your brand visuals are just meh at best. And you're not showing up as a professional ready to make their life 500 times better. Do you honestly feel like your website just sucks? Like your branding feels like you created it in Microsoft's Paint? Anyone else remember Microsoft's Paint? Is that just me? Okay. And your client experience just overall feels like it's seriously lacking and you just need a change right now. But let's be honest, you're not ready to drop 8k on a custom web and brand design. Well, don't worry, that's where we come in.

[B]

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[A]

Cool.

[B]

I got you. The templates come already. SEO optimized with copy prompts from Lindsay and I included. Yeah, you don't just get nonsensical filler text. You get bomb education and prompts from Lindsay and I to help you wow your potential clients and crush your website copy. And we designed a variety of these in different styles so you can find the closest match and then tweak it to make it fully your own.

[A]

If you're ready to save thousands of dollars and hours upon hours upon hours of your time and get clients flooding through your website, you need to check these out. So grab [e-mail] website templates one more time. That's theheartuniversity.com website templates. If you're enjoying what you're getting in this podcast for free, then you're about to get your mind blown with what we offer in our educational courses. If you're ready to uplevel your business, serve your clients like never before, and reach revenue goals that you've barely dared to dream of. Then we're ready to help.

[B]

Our courses are packed full of tools, formulas, strategies and resources to help you kick freaking butt in biz. Whether you choose the Photo Major, a complete course for photographers, or the Content Photo Minor, a mini course on how to finally slay your content photos for your blog, insta, headshots, whatever, you will walk away with more knowledge than you ever thought possible. And here's the reality. We are here to see you succeed always and forever. And that is why we created each and every one of these courses.

[A]

To check them out for yourself, read the reviews and look at each course syllabus, go to TheHeartUniversity.com courses. That's TheHeartUniversity.com courses.

[B]

Okay, one of the last principles here is going to be to have one niche on your Instagram. Now, I know this might ruffle some feathers.

[A]

Also, it's not new. If you've listened to the Heart and Hustle podcast in any capacity. Like, this is not new information. You know this.

[B]

You know where we stand on this.

[A]

You know we've hounded your head with this.

[B]

What?

[A]

How did you. I don't know what that means.

[B]

Pounded you in the head with it, whatever, Something like that. Anyways, I want to caveat this though, that if you were in the first year or so of your business, you're in like an experimental, you know, really determining what niche you really want to specialize in and go for and narrow down on. So please hold this loosely if you're, you know, kind of getting started in your business. But if you are past that, if you are multiple years into your business and you are still showcasing newborns, families, maternity, couples, weddings, seniors, bar mitzvahs, concerts, like, I'm sorry, it's going to be.

[A]

Hard to like visually curate.

[B]

It's going to be a so hard to visually curate, but it's going to be so hard to visually immediately attract your ideal client by showcasing. Like, I am an expert and I specialize in this. So this is in general. I guess it just kind of ties into niching in general and like our beliefs on that. But especially, especially when it comes to curation, to be able to showcase like, hey, this is my specialty, I am darn good at it, and here is a whole bunch of variety. Scroll as long as you want. You're going to see me like killing it at this over and over. I think that's really important when it comes to curation and the initial visual impression that people have. So that's one thing I want to say. And then the last thing, this wasn't technically on our notes and you might cover this when you go over the actual, like, visual examples and is really prioritizing emotion and storytelling.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And I know we kind of touched on that when we said, like, storytelling is a through line and it's so important.

[A]

But like, seriously, the heart comes in and it's not. It's not just like a pretty mood board. It's like, that's where you really get.

[B]

To people really see how does this photographer document the emotions, which is so much of what we do. Like, yes, I want to be able to get incredible photos of their floral arrangements and their flat lays and their tablescapes and, you know, all these things that my clothes clients are spending money on and, and care about and have curated and, you know, mean a lot to them and create a beautiful environment at their wedding or whatever it is. But I also want to get that look on in the dad's eye at the ceremony and like, that's something beautiful that you can also showcase. That's like spend money on the dad, you know, crying during the ceremony when they exchanged vows. But you, you tell a story and you evoke an emotion in such a beautiful way. So that's. I feel like that's something else when it comes to curation is just keeping in mind, don't get so caught up in the technicalities or don't get so caught up in like far away this. That this colors this busy black and white. This. Oh, actually we didn't talk about black and white.

[A]

Um, anyways, black and white can be incorporated.

[B]

I would alternate vibes same with like colors, like, with varying dark.

[A]

I would never do more than like half of the grid at any time. Maybe not even that much.

[B]

I would also hesitate. I mean this. By all means, do what you want, but I hesitate on my feed. And usually when I work with like coaching students, I'm like, I hesitate to put multiple black and whites together because it's the same principle of color theory. If it clumps and it like attracts like, your eye will go to the all the color, all the black and white. But even within that, like, please remember that overarching of all of this is emotion and storytelling and really showcasing what you do well and what you capture well, because that's what your clients want to see.

[A]

I just thought of also a bonus tip that kind of goes with this. I shared this in my insiders and everyone was like, whoa, that's great. And I did it. So if you're going to post a photo and you're trying to collab post it with either the, like, the couple or the subject or any of the vendors, specifically vendors on a wedding day. So I'm thinking of, like, the hair and makeup artist, the florist, the dress designer, like, anything like that. Where. Or the planner, something that I strategically do. I think I'm mostly thinking of makeup artists and florals, mostly because those. Those two have the most visual presence, I think, in a day, potentially. Or the planner.

[B]

I was going to say the planner is a big one. Yeah. Yeah.

[A]

But, yeah, something that I try to do is if I'm posting a carousel of that wedding and I'm trying to collab post it, I try to intentionally make the first photo something that visually has all of those people's work present so that they would be willing to actually collab post it on their feed. For example, say you did, like, a close up of the couple kissing, because that was the most visually appealing on your feed in that moment. However, you're trying to collab post it with the florist, but there's no florals in that photo. They might collab post it, but it's like if you had the bouquet in there, they're much more likely to collab post it.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Or the hair and makeup artist, if it was like, super far away and you couldn't really tell what that looks like. I mean, again, it's all people's perception. But try to choose. If you're trying to intentionally collab post, try to choose photos where the first one, it has, like, as much of, like, the planning, floral, hair, makeup, like, presence possible, so that they're more likely to accept. Yep. Small tip.

[B]

I love it.

[A]

Okay, so now what we're gonna do is we are going to. We're gonna do a little exercise here. Okay. So I. We're gonna pull this up on the screen. I'm sure it's gonna come up like, no. Okay. So this is a planning feed. I believe it's called my feed. It looks literally like Instagram, even though it's. It's not. And we, me and Evie pulled in just, like, a ton of photos right here. Like, this was just a conglomerate of a bunch of my photos, a bunch of her photos. And we're going to play and kind of put these principles into action. So the first thing that I think about when I'm trying to do this is, again, busy, minimal, varying the Subjects and varying the focal lengths, making sure details are present, making sure emotion is present, as well as, you know, not being too busy. I think I said that already. And then keeping in mind color theory. So if I were to. This is, like, daunting. We. We pulled in, like, 60 photos, and I'm just. So.

[B]

We realized after we'd planned this episode, sat down to record it, we were like.

[A]

I'm like, evie, how are you participating in this?

[B]

I was like, you know what? Let's just. You take it away. So we're not going to pass the phone back and forth because that felt a little weird. And we're not going to lean forward because it. It did messes up our angles right now. So Lindsay's just taking it.

[A]

I'm gonna take it for now. I might pass the phone to Evie. Oh, gosh. So she can have some here in a second.

[B]

I don't care. Just.

[A]

I mean, show them. We.

[B]

We literally have taught the same thing for, like, 10 years. What you.

[A]

I would say that's fair. Okay, so again, when we pulled in some photos, some things to keep in mind. And you can kind of do this the same with your own work. When you're pulling in portfolio from your galleries, I would pull them into, like, a camera roll on your feed or. Sorry, a camera roll on your phone. And when you're picking images, pick ones that either are vibey as heck, such as that one that. I don't know if it's view. Such as that one. Vibey as heck. Also, if you're trying to get high end. We love a Prada. We love a Prada drop. I'll just say that. But again, remember, storytelling and emotion. All the crap Abby just said.

[B]

The crap.

[A]

See, like, we like Prada mixed with, like, this, like, Spider man kiss, right? Yes. We love that because we're. We're high end and we're bougie. But now we, like, love each other.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

But there's still love.

[A]

There's still love. Okay, so I really like this flat lay because there's a lot of. That's a really good example. That flower stem with the Prada perfume. It's a really good example of minimal. So I know I'm gonna put that in the middle right there to balance it out. And I actually really kind of like this shot of this bride right here because it's. That's another good example of a really minimal shot. Obviously, this is taken against a white wall on her wedding day or her vow renewal day. And so I like the catty corner. Ness of that. Those are minimal. So we can afford to be a little bit more, like, busy with the rest of it. Let me bring some of Bevy's photos in here because. Okay, wait. I really do whatever. That's a really good example of the busyness. You know what I want to do? Can I zoom in on this? So this is an example of if I were to post this. This shot on Instagram, like, that could be what shows up when they, like, click on it to read the caption or when it's just, like, on the feed. But if I wanted to zoom in to curate it on my feed a little bit more, what I could do. Can I literally zoom in on this? I feel like view. No, I can't. Hold on. Let me look. Details. Can I crop it? Edit. Crop. Look at this, guys. Okay, I want to get rid of this white. The white up here. Just because it kind of took me out of it, and I want to almost, like, zoom in. And because this. This photo has, like, incredible symmetry. I'm doing this one, by the way.

[B]

Nice. That's one of my favorites.

[A]

It's so good. Oh, my mom's calling me. Not now, mom.

[B]

The irony about timing.

[A]

Hold on. The screen recording stopped because she called. Hold on. And we're back. Okay. Sorry. My mom called if that wasn't clear. Okay.

[B]

Can you put your phone on? Do not disturb.

[A]

What?

[B]

Can you put your phone on? Do not disturb.

[A]

I probably can. Everyone's just seeing my phone right now. It's fine. Focus. Do not disturb. Okay, we good? Okay, so I cropped in because I didn't want that sky in, and I wanted it to be a little bit closer and really full of symmetry. So now let's bring that in. Done. See how that just immediately made it, like, pop just a little bit more. And again, we're paying attention to color theory. So I love the grass and the green of the aisle and how that is a little bit connecting to the stem of that. Is that an orchid? I'm not sure. In the lay flat with the Prada perfume, Although, because that's, like, green next to green, I almost kind of don't like those together. I almost would maybe put this down here or. Or maybe even up here. This is where we get to play and we get to have fun. I'm going to bring in. Let's bring in, like, something really dynamic, and actually, let's do this one. This is also this. I feel like we're gonna have some green in here because now we have, like, the Green of the bottom of a tennis court. So it's like you're paying attention to that. And you're also. Let me see if I can. I can't really zoom out because that's a horizontal photo, but I kind of like it because, like, his foot is coming in and her foot's leaving. So I like the variation of. We have a ceremony shot in the top left. It's obviously, like bird's eye view, so it's far away. And then you immediately have the spider man kiss, like very close up, black and white, super emotional. And then you have this couple walking on a tennis court. So we have the green of the aisle with the green of the tennis court. And then I'm gonna put that orchid right there just so it's balanced. And then let's. I want her maybe down here. Let's move in some more stuff. Let's bring up this. Okay. Where are we gonna put that? Goodness. Let's bring in some florals. Because again, like we said, we want some details present, which we. Obviously, we have the detail of the perfume, but. Okay. It keeps, like. There we go. Evie, I'm not doing well.

[B]

How so?

[A]

I don't know.

[B]

I'm just, like, overwhelmed with the amount of photos I.

[A]

We pulled in, like, so much. This is actually aggressive. I'm just pulling.

[B]

I'm. I'm just chilling over here, friends.

[A]

You're like this. I get to renounce. So I. Okay. It keeps autocorrecting down, too. I love the top line. I've done the top line. I really like that. The top row. What?

[B]

Top row?

[A]

Yeah, the top row. That's. Yeah, that's better. I don't love the Prada. Lay flat next to that ocean, like with this one, basically only. I love this photo, but only because it's two minimal photos next to each other. And so because that middle one is a lay flat. I almost want, like a busier. What about this guy? That might be. And then put this guy down here. Okay. I don't hate that. Oh, my gosh. It keeps autocorrecting down.

[B]

This is so. I'm understanding what the audio listeners will be hearing.

[A]

Yeah. Guys, if you're not on YouTube. If you're not on YouTube, you really need to get over here.

[B]

This is kind of useless if you.

[A]

Are not watching this third row. I don't. I don't hate that middle row now. So we have the top, the middle. This third row, we got too much going on. We have blue coming in from, like, this photo. And we have, like, Pink from the sunset on this photo. Let's get the pink out of here. We need. We need it to be gone. There's also, like, literally so many photos down here. Oh, wait, here. Let's bring up this guy.

[B]

I feel like a lot of photographers, though, feel this. Especially if you don't post consistently. You're like, I have so much work to share.

[A]

Uh huh huh.

[B]

Just gotta start getting it out, friends.

[A]

There's something about this photo that I really like. Like, there's like, his suit. It's really dark. It's really black. And then like, it's caddy corner to like, the black of this suit, which I really like. And I kind of like that. It's like, it's almost framing the Prada lay flat. We're just really about that. Prada lay flat.

[B]

I know. I was like, I feel like this is the center of everything you're doing.

[A]

It's like the middle.

[B]

That's a vibe.

[A]

Okay. I'm gonna hand the phone to Evie because. Okay. I. I feel like. I feel like I want fresh eyes. So I did the top line and I feel like the top. Top two lines. I'm loving.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

How are you feeling?

[B]

Yeah, that's a vibe.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

Am I in charge now?

[A]

Yeah, you're in charge.

[B]

So you're. What. What were you doing on the. The third row?

[A]

I don't know.

[B]

Did you.

[A]

Wait, let me see it. Let me see it. The third row.

[B]

It could be improved, but it's also fine.

[A]

No, it's. It definitely needs to be improved. I. The blue on that left, like, reflection shot and then the color of the florals. Like, I wanted color present. But I don't know if I love. Because we have a green through line with the aisle. And can I give. And then I. Tennis court.

[B]

Immediate thought.

[A]

Oh, immediately.

[B]

Y. I personally the blue with the green of the couple at the arch.

[A]

Yeah, I don't love it.

[B]

Something about that. So let me just immediately try putting it in the middle. No, I was like, right beneath, like, the Prada. No, no.

[A]

I also like, there's better.

[B]

It's so many photos in the middle. Hang on, hang on.

[A]

We pulled in so many photos that, like, there's. There's oodles.

[B]

Oh, oh, oh. Let's bring in a black and white. Okay, I'm pulling in.

[A]

Oh, I don't think I brought in any black and white close up.

[B]

Technically, you have the Spider man kiss. I. I don't want that directly beneath.

[A]

I'm gonna sit my coffee.

[B]

Yeah. See, it's very Fun. No, this is too similar to the Spider man kiss. The real close up of the kiss in. In that, like, grid of six.

[A]

Literally imagine somebody listening to this while they're driving.

[B]

I know, I know. Okay, hang on. Let's try pulling in. Oh, what about. Let's try this one.

[A]

The.

[B]

The couple with the bouquet and. Oh, oh, okay. How do you view this one? Not that I'm really showing the cameras.

[A]

Okay, well, they can see it if they're watching on YouTube.

[B]

Okay, let's try pulling this up because I want another black and white in here to kind of contrast. Yeah. And then I'm trying to see if I can get the blue.

[A]

These two to three black and whites in a grid of like, nine.

[B]

No, this one is. Or two stars.

[A]

Or 12.

[B]

Hang on, friends. This is where you get to truly just experiment. Experimentation is key.

[A]

And sometimes that's why I really love. So we're using. I think I said this. The app, my feed. But you can also. I don't know if anybody knows this. If you have an iPhone, if you pull in iPhone, like, I mean, the camera roll on an iPhone is free. Or you could do this in canva, too. Canva's not free, technically. Well, there's a version of it that is. And you could, like, do a grid situation. The thing I don't like about Canva is you can't drag and drop to move things around. Whereas this. This is a paid app, my feed. But if you do the camera roll on iPhone, you can do the same thing. If you hold down a photo on a. Like, a photo you can rearrange on a camera roll on your iPhone.

[B]

I will also say for the last, like, year or so, I have been using Canva. There are some templates in Canva of.

[A]

Did you zone out when I was talking? Because. Oh, I definitely.

[B]

Did it look like it.

[A]

No, no, I did. I just. I mentioned that.

[B]

Did you. Oh, maybe I did zone out.

[A]

She said Canva.

[B]

I was really thinking, because I was the reason.

[A]

The reason I asked that is because you just like. You were like, also, I recommend Canva. And I'm like, I just talked about that.

[B]

I thought you were saying, I don't know. Maybe I did totally zone out.

[A]

It's fine. I said, I don't like that you can't drag and drop and move it around.

[B]

Yeah, you can in Canva. You just. You just bring in different photos. You can detach a photo, put it in a different.

[A]

But it's not the same as, like, holding it and dragging it.

[B]

No, it's not.

[A]

Yeah, but I don't like that free. I mean. Well, kind of. There's a free version of Canva. Yeah, that's what I was saying. Your camera roll is also free.

[B]

I just lost a drag up. Where did that go? I'm trying, friends. I'm trying really hard to get. There it is. Okay, here we are. I'm trying to pull in because the. The bride and groom that I pulled in, I like the black and white, but it's much too similar with this bottom left one of like the bride and groom holding a bouquet with their heads cut off. There's. Because it's literally the same thing in black and white. Different pose, but like the exact same concept. And I don't love that. So I'm pulling up that.

[A]

That looks better also while she's doing that, something else that you can do. Because you can do a carousel with many photos, I think. I think sometimes when you finish a wedding or a session, you can be tempted to make the first photo, like the most jaw dropping or the most show stopping one. It's like your favorite photo of the day, which is great. And like, I would almost make that if it was like your favorite and it's like breathtaking. I would make it maybe the second photo in a carousel, depending on the grid of where you place it. Because I think sometimes we put like our favorite photo on the. On the first photo of the carousel, which is great. But when you don't keep in mind what it looks like cohesively, could just be messy, even though they're all incredible photos on their own. But, like, when you put them all together, it can be like, just visually chaotic. Which is why I really like having like, those filler photos and like those minimal. I would consider the Spider man kiss and the Prada almost like good filler photos because they allow, like, breathing room and like, minimalism. Even the Spider man kiss is minimal because it's so close up. That's really. There's not much details other than their faces.

[B]

Okay, so what I'm. What I tried to do on this third row. I'm gonna get Lindsay's opinion on it.

[A]

I would love. I would love opinions.

[B]

I mean, I pulled in the. So the blue one with like the ocean, like their reflection in the ocean and stuff. Even though in a sense it's more minimal, it also because there's like the feet, the dress, the color, the reflection, it still feels a little bit busy to me, but. But not horribly so. It's like a medium tier. I put it Color wise, directly underneath the. The Prada. Because I feel like that just feels a little more balanced. Granted, your feed will continue to shift, so just bear with. You know, things will. As you add photos, it'll start to all shift around. But I feel like I like how this is looking. What I did instead was I pulled another black and white on the bottom left of. Of just Lindsay. Like, so a portrait of yourself or, you know, whatever. Something that feels more like far away and minimal. Black and white. Tying that in. And then I have the. The busy but colorful florals caddy corner to the busy and colorful ceremony site. And I felt like the combination of those colors and like, focals and busy and light works, but I want to see Lindsay's opinion on that.

[A]

Ooh. Yeah. Like, like top left, busyness from the people's heads at the ceremony, but then bottom right, the busyness from the florals. I really love how that. Oh, and I also, like, we haven't talked about this, but something that we're advocates of with a personal brand is incorporating photos of yourself in your feed.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

Because especially with photography, it is such an intimate art that. And it's an intimate service. Like someone's welcoming you into either a sacred moment, like their engagement session, their anniversary, or like, you know what, like.

[B]

Where they're being close and trying to get real emotions and feel comfortable or.

[A]

The biggest day of their life. Like, that is not something to be taken lightly. And I think when we only post our work and don't have any personality or personal presence whatsoever, this also applies if you don't have any photos of yourself on your feed. Yeah, big red flag. I would definitely put that on there. Something else to keep in mind, though, is trying to take content photos of yourself in the same, like, vibe and aesthetic as your work. So you'll notice, like, the photo that Evie ended up pulling in is a black and white photo of me in a studio. And I feel like it gives enough breathing room next to that blue reflection photo and then even the photo on top of it of like the arch with the couple kissing, but it still has an element of like, you can be present in your feed. Yeah. And I feel like everybody can do this. Everybody can find a studio. Not that you have to have content photos only in studios, but I think if you're. If you find that your work doesn't have a lot of minimalism in it, something that you can always create is like your own content photos and make them minimal again. You can obviously take photos. You didn't do the that light. No.

[B]

Okay. I was starting to. I had pulled in the. The dark reception flash of them, like, cutting their cake and kissing. I started to pull that in, and that's all I did. So that's not curated whatsoever.

[A]

Let's bring in a session photo. Because we only have.

[B]

We're. Let's do one more row.

[A]

Yeah, one more row. Oh, wait, that's too far.

[B]

And hopefully this is, like, ironically.

[A]

I think this is fun to watch.

[B]

Confusing them more.

[A]

I'm gonna bring this guy up. This is really dark. But it doesn't have to be a session photo. I feel like.

[B]

Well, technically, the one on the beach is a session photo, right?

[A]

Yeah. I don't know where that went.

[B]

No, it's in. It's in the second row.

[A]

I scrolled so far down, I don't even know where I am anymore.

[B]

Well, that's why when you were talking about the feed planners, I was so lost in the photos. That's why I probably zoned out. I was, like, trying to.

[A]

I like this guy. I'm bringing him up. Here we go.

[B]

Here we go.

[A]

Here we go. Okay. She had this guy in the middle right there. I don't. Oh, my gosh. It keeps autocorrecting, like, down. Okay, this guy needs to move down. What happens if we put her up here and then we look like that? I don't hate that.

[B]

Why did you do. Just do what you just did?

[A]

Why did I just do what I just did?

[B]

That's a good question, because you didn't explain.

[A]

Oh, I do just know.

[B]

Put things in.

[A]

I. Yeah, you're right. Because Evie chose this dark reception flash photo.

[B]

Yeah. That does not have to stay there.

[A]

No, no, that's fine. But I like it. But there's a lot of innate busyness in it because just the background, there's lots of people.

[B]

It's also a very punchy image, but dark darks, for sure.

[A]

For sure. And so I was trying to balance some minimalism on both sides of it and also lightness. Because it's dark. I mean, they're bright and the cake's bright, but because, like, they're framed with, like, the dark part of the ceremony or the reception space. And it's, like, mostly, like, a black image framed kind of. I wanted, like, a lighter photo on the left and a lighter photo on the right. So that's kind of why I tried to put, like, lighter photos on both sides. But it still feels a little.

[B]

I think something.

[A]

I think these two might.

[B]

They feel too similar with.

[A]

With.

[B]

With the focal length.

[A]

A little bit.

[B]

And the like, embrace Ish. Because it's like the same focal length of like basically like knees up kind of.

[A]

Well, the cake photo is a full body, but I understand what you're saying. It's also like guy on the left hugging girl or kissing her. Yeah.

[B]

There's something that feels too, like, too similar. You could easily do that. It would. Fine, let's wait.

[A]

I don't like that. Let's move this guy. Let's go find another photo that is minimal and different than that focal length.

[B]

What would you say to the person who's sitting here like, okay, great. Lindsay and Evie, this is awesome for you who have two people's photos and 60 plus to choose from in this one example.

[A]

If you don't like your work or sorry, if you don't. If you don't like the work that is currently present in your portfolio. My biggest recommendation is to incorporate styled shoot. Like. Like, go have styled like on. If I'm actually being for real right now. Half of the. Maybe half of the photos in our feed.

[B]

Right.

[A]

Or that we pulled in are from styled shoots. Whether they were taken or. Yeah, yeah. Styled shoots or. Well, yeah, I guess that's just it. And so like, that's a real wedding. That the aisle is a real wedding. Spider man kisses a real wedding. The tennis is a styled shoot. The kiss in the arch right here is a real wedding. This Prada is a styled shoe. This girl looking like a friggin model because she is. Was a styled shoot. The reflection's a real wedding. And then the flowers are a style shoe. So honestly, styled shoots is.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

What I would recommend.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

All right. I just pulled in this invitation on the bottom left. I don't love it. Be two reasons I don't love it. Underneath that black and white of me, it's almost like too minimal in a weird way. Even though the lay flat with the invitations has a lot of texture with like the ribbon, the rings, the flower.

[B]

Like, honestly, if it were just those two stacked on top of each other, I don't think I would mind it as much.

[A]

But it's. You have to remember that as you add to this grid, it will then eventually be next to the flowers right here. And that feels too chaotic and busy.

[B]

There's too much detail going on in both of those.

[A]

I also, for a third reason, I don't like it because we have that orchid with the Prada up above. It's like, that's clearly the same Prada bottle. It's so.

[B]

It's.

[A]

It's not that. I mean, it's. It's far enough away, but it's like, oh, that's clearly from the same shoot. Let's maybe, like, vary it up a little bit. So I'm gonna. I thought he would be good, but he's not good. What about the hands? Something that we could. Let's bring up the hands. I don't love that. I almost don't like minimal underneath that black and white. So I think what we need to do is almost do something that's busier. But do you think that the cake photo next to, like, the cake with the couple eventually next to the floral.

[B]

Try it. Pull them side by side. I mean, you're gonna rearrange a little bit, but it's an easy fix. Yeah, it's not my favorite.

[A]

I don't love that. Okay, so I love the cake photo, but sorry. Bye.

[B]

Wait, hang on. Let me try. Let me try.

[A]

Okay. Yeah, you. Well, now it's all messed up. This is, this is the line that we're. It's all messed up. Okay, Take a whack at it.

[B]

All right. Take a whack at it. Let's bring the cake back up. I just want to see if I, if, if we can do this.

[A]

The problem is that, like, because of that black and white and it's so minimal, I feel like right below it needs to be something either darker, but. But it would then be next to the colorful tablescape eventually. You know what I'm saying?

[B]

Yeah. Hang on.

[A]

Maybe it needs to be like a close up. Like a rich close up that is contrasted with the black and white. Minimal. A photo of me, but could still balance next to the busy florals.

[B]

So I'm skipping all of these. Like this one and this one of her, you know, crying at her vows. Like, I'm skipping all of these because they're all black and white. And I don't want black and white on top of black and white, personally. So I'm skipping all of those. So what's another.

[A]

Let's get.

[B]

So many of these close ups are black and white.

[A]

Well, you could also crop in.

[B]

That's true.

[A]

Like if you found. If you found. Because again, you could do that on Instagram. You could have a full photo. But if you wanted the preview to just be a cropped in photo for.

[B]

The feed, I might hate this. Bear with me, because this is. This might be too many details on top of each other, but let's try. So me trying to get this into place is hilarious. Okay, let's Pull that out. Okay. Okay. I want to see. I want to see this ring shot with these florals.

[A]

Is it varying? Is it that close up of the ring?

[B]

I don't hate this. Hang on.

[A]

Explain what you're doing.

[B]

Well, I'm just dragging it up so people can just see that and not see any photos below. I don't hate this. I think I could continue to tweak it, but something with that. Yeah, sits right. Because it's a close up. It fills the frame so it doesn't feel as empty as the one above it.

[A]

The white minimal bride on the bottom right. And the cake photo. Switch those. So then the white bride, she's like the white like around her. Like the minimal photo of the bride, like smiling is caddy corner to the black and white minimal photo of me. And then the dark of the cake photo is a little bit catty corner to like the reflection and the blue which is a little bit darker. I don't hate that.

[B]

I don't hate that. I honestly think you could do either either way. And it would, it would work.

[A]

It would maybe depend on what's below it too.

[B]

Like if I were to like just this, this. You start screen recording on the phone again, right?

[A]

I think so. Let me see.

[B]

It has a red dot at the top.

[A]

That's what that means, right?

[B]

I have an older phone. Mine doesn't do that. Anyways. If you were to just look at this grid of nine, I think that looks really good. And when I put the, the ring, because I put the ring and the flower shot side by side, because it would be side by side for several. I actually kind of liked it well.

[A]

Because the busyness and the color pop of the florals and like the tablescape, it's really like visually, texture wise, busy. And then the middle of the ring because even though it's so close, even.

[B]

Though it's really close up, it's like the rings feel very like stacked in a line. The, the like dusty rose.

[A]

I think the close up makes it more of like a filler shot almost. Yeah. If it were farther away, I think there'd be more texture and busyness. That next to the bouquet or the tablescape florals would be a little bit messy.

[B]

Yeah, I think you could do that. I also think if you really wanted to. I'm like switching that photo back. I think you could do. I was pulling in the hands to see what I thought of like the hands there. And I was like, let's stopping in the bride. No, I don't love that. As much. But what would it look like if I did another black and white?

[A]

Because that would be catty corner to the. And then you have three black and whites and what a grid of 9 12.

[B]

Let's get this one of the bride, like wipe like crying as she gives her vows.

[A]

We love a bride crying.

[B]

I like that too.

[A]

That's pretty good, guys.

[B]

It also goes to show you that there's so much variety. Yeah. There's so much flexibility in this.

[A]

There's not like a right or wrong answer.

[B]

It's just what looks right to your eye. Also, this is such an artistry thing that like yes, there are principles and concepts and obviously like we just walked through like a bunch of them and why. But also it comes down to like this is also a form of art and like displaying your art that is probably going to speak to your ideal client. So I could easily see people coming in here and being like, why are you doing that? That's like not how I would do it. And that may just be because you're. The way you would present your work is totally different to your ideal client and it's going to speak to them and you know, the way that we're doing ours is going to speak to our ideal client. So just hold it all loosely and like pay attention. Like the thing that I really love about this feed at this moment is especially for us and our like ideal client, it showcases movement, emotion, luxury, detail, storytelling, storytelling, personal branding in there. Like it kind of showcases everything like the bride crying and the spider man kiss. Emotional. The ceremony details like, like there's also.

[A]

High end feeling elements like the, the florals on that tablescape are clearly like well done. We have a Prada so the bride can afford Prada. Yeah, it's a styled shoot, but they don't know that.

[B]

And the one of like them on the tennis court, it's showing like lifestyle and movement in like.

[A]

It also has an editorial spin too.

[B]

Yeah, totally. Like it's a stylized couple session. But like there's like, there's movement, there's you know, activity going on, there's. They're playing tennis. Like, you know, it showcases and attracts our ideal client in the way that we've laid this out. So it's goes to show there's flexibility, there's variety, but at the end of the day, biggest thing, play around with it. Yeah, like play around, mess around. Also, if this is going to be the thing that keeps you from posting, just freaking post. Yeah, seriously, just, just post something. Something is better than nothing in the ultimate. Like if you're not getting anything on your feed, you're not reaching anyone. Even if it's like, even if it's not perfect, like just freaking post it. But if you do have like the capacity or this seems like it relieves pressure from you of like, okay, well let me curate my gr. Like plan my content all around that or whatever. Like, that's a great way to do it. So hopefully this was helpful. Hopefully this gave you some. Here's your phone back.

[A]

Oh yeah.

[B]

Hopefully this gave you some ideas, some insight and some principles that you can follow on curating your feed. But also just remember, create beautiful work for your clients and do your best to consistently show it online to reach new clients and you're gonna do great. That's the end of the. That's the bottom line, ultimately.

[A]

That is the bottom line.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Hopefully this was helpful. And if you ever wanted to know what a speed combined with Evie and I's work is looking like, that's what it looks like.

[B]

Ironically, I feel like it looks no different than our individual feeds.

[A]

It's true.

[B]

Our work is so similar.

[A]

It's true. Let us know if you liked this. If you liked the more like visually, obviously this was kind of useless on audio. Probably this was more featured for YouTube. So if you like this kind of like show and tell style of podcasting, let us know and we'll do more of it and we'll do some. I don't know what else we could do.

[B]

But also if you like more visual.

[A]

Show and tell, we could audit like a, like a Instagram or a website live on the podcast.

[B]

That'd be fun. I was also, I was also going a different direction. I was going to be like, we have many courses.

[A]

Oh yeah, well that's.

[B]

That are very hands on show and tell. It's true that are in our heart shop. So if you ever need something that you're like, hey, I want deep dive like this on like all the topics, we have those in our, our shop. So.

[A]

Awesome.

[B]

All right, friend, well, we will see.

[A]

You on the next episode. Thanks for listening and we'll see you next time.