Five Tips For the Future “Instagram Husband”

Five Tips For the Future “Instagram Husband”

Every day, social media is flooded with photos. Instagram alone has around 95 million new posts each day. While it’s the faces in those endless photos that receive most if not all the attention, including the ever-growing population of online influencers, behind most of those beautiful or handsome faces is a diligent photographer.

Social media influencers are beginning to ditch their selfie sticks and outstretched arms in favor of acquiring what has become known as an “Instagram Husband”. It is the job of an Instagram husband to basically make sure an Instagram star looks their absolute best in photos. While the term may suggest that an Instagram husband is always male, this is not always the case. The term has come to be defined as any person that aids an online influencer by becoming a bit like their own private photographer.

Anyone can be an Instagram husband regardless of their gender, age, occupation, and association/relationship status with an online influencer. The main duty of an Instagram husband is to make certain your subject always looks as flattering as possible and while this may not sound all that difficult, there is a lot that goes into becoming an Instagram husband. It often means clambering up trees or on walls, getting down low in the dirt or mud, and maybe even stopping pedestrian or car traffic, all to get that perfect shot of your Instagram star.

For many, the job of a truly devoted Instagram husband will entail more than just snapping a few photos here and there. It often becomes an almost 24/7 job where you must always be ready to capture your partner or friend whether they are simply sipping that artistic looking latte, displaying the latest fashions, or are visiting exotic locations around the world.

Many Instagram husbands end up becoming an integral part of an online influencer’s business, albeit from behind the camera and behind the scenes. They often go on to tackle extra tasks like editing photos, getting up to make an Instagram video, scheduling posts, corresponding with clients/businesses, and possibly even helping to manage a blog. If done right, being an Instagram husband can prove to be  a lucrative career. While today’s easy to use camera phones and DSLRs mean even amateur photographers can become Instagram husbands, there are factors which can make you excel as an Instagram husband photographer. Let us take a look at a few ways you can become a highly praised and devoted Instagram husband.

Be aware!

First and foremost, one of the main jobs of an Instagram husband is to be aware of the surroundings. You need to know what to include and what to exclude from your photos unless you want to spend hours editing images on a computer later. You often have to think quickly about how to set up shots, because influencer photography can often be spontaneous.You must know where your subject should stand, what color combinations look the most flattering, what your subject’s best angles are, and how to capture the essence of what you’re trying to convey.

Think about what times of day offer the most pleasing light and when places may be less busy to avoid unwanted traffic in the background of your shots. Those who simply pay no attention to background or foreground noise and simply exclaim “we’ll edit it out later” can give birth to unnatural pictures or perhaps some of the most spectacular Photoshop fails ever recorded.

Being aware of your surrounding from the beginning will save you tons of time editing and will allow your images to exude a much more natural feel that viewers will appreciate.

Learn to Give Clear Instructions

Taking pictures of people is hard work, even more so when neither the photographer nor the subject is a professional. Sometimes, this can mean the difference between producing a “meh” photo or an exceptional image. To snap great pictures of your Instagram partner or friend, you need to learn how to communicate efficiently with your subject. Be as clear as you can but also be concise. Also, be aware that your subject might be nervous or uncomfortable. Not all online influencers are born models despite how they may be portrayed in well-crafted Instagram images.

Search online for how to take photos of people and maybe take notice of examples of poses you want to have your model replicate. Having access to images and showing them to your subject can help them to better understand how you want them to look in photos. Always be encouraging towards your subject and try not to show frustration. It often takes hundreds of shots to get that perfect image where the right hair, eyes, smile, and limb positions all come together to create a truly quality image. By communicating effectively with your subject and avoiding arguments, you are more likely to eventually capture the images you both are after.

Get the Correct Angles

Having the right angle can often make or break an image. You can easily give your model longer legs or a more pleasing figure simply by the angle you shoot from as well as the various angles of their poses. As a general rule, you should avoid snapping pictures of people’s faces upward. The nose is the most prominent feature on most people’s faces and not something that you want to bring attention to even more. Instruct your subject to tilt their head down until their nose is no longer the main focus.

You the photographer generally want to keep your back to the sun unless you’re going for a silhouette effect. Avoid placing your subject where other objects will easily distract viewers. You want your model to be the main focus, so you may want to place them in a position where it’s easier to create a shallower depth of field that is void of a lot of clutter.

Don’t be afraid to lay down or climb a step ladder to achieve the perfect shot. It is the creative images which get noticed most, and these images often require the photographer, NOT the model, to be the one getting themselves into awkward or precarious positions. Create angles that draw viewers’ eyes around an image and towards key areas you want them to focus on, adhering to the famous “Rule of Thirds”.

Focus

It should go without saying, but making sure your subject is in focus is vital. It can be difficult when out in the field to make sure your images are crisp, especially when previewing images on smaller phone screens or when the sun makes it almost impossible to view images due to glare. Avoid shooting in low light as even the slightest vibrations or shaking from your hands can create subtle blurs. You may want to use a tripod during the late evening or early morning and especially at night. Camera phones are generally more forgiving than DSLRs with long lenses when it comes to focusing and taking photos in low light conditions.

Focus can especially be difficult to achieve when shooting in High Dynamic Range (HDR) mode.This is when your camera takes multiple photos at different exposures in rapid succession and then blends them together to create a single image. It is often used in high-contrast situations and can create stunning images. This, however, can also create an unpleasing double image effect or blur certain areas of your images if not careful.

Sometimes it’s more about knowing what not to have in focus rather than what is in focus. For instance, if you’re lining up a shot where she’s holding out her phone, and the phone should be the main focus (maybe she wants to show viral likes on an Instagram post) focus on the phone, which allows her to be a bit blurred in the background. Knowledge of depth of field will allow you to simplify your images and can help bring more attention to the main subject of your photos. Sometimes it is the products your model is showcasing or the surroundings they are in that are more important. In such instances, you may not necessarily need or want your model’s face to be in crisp focus as it is not the main element of the image.

Take care of yourself

Finally, let’s cover one topic that is vital in the life of an Instagram husband and that is to take care of yourself. Some people go to great lengths to find the perfect spot or the perfect angle from which they can take the perfect picture of their subject. They often forget to think about their own personal safety. There have been many instances of Instagram photographers getting injured or killed, including falling from cliffs or being hit by objects due to the fact they were devoting all their attention to their subject and not their surroundings. You want to make sure you and your subject are always safe. In the end, an Instagram picture is simply just a picture. No photo is worth risking your life.

You also want to make sure to enjoy time with your subject especially if that subject is your spouse. You don’t want to spend every minute of every day thinking about capturing great images. You need to learn to live in the moment and not think you need to document every waking minute. Instagram husbands and even influencers can easily get burned out if they don’t take breaks to focus on their own mental health and happiness.

You should also learn to take photos that you enjoy taking and capturing moments that are rewarding to you. Falling into the trap of always wanting to please your followers will make both the role of an influencer and an Instagram husband seem like a rather unpleasant or demanding job.

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Of course there are many other ways to improve your photography skills through reading books and simply continuing to practice, but these key helpful tips will give you a great head start to saying “I Do” to becoming an Instagram husband.

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Author: Michael Jerrard

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