8 Hours. 5 Outfits. 3 Cities. 130 Photos =

1 Instagram Post:

Behind the Scenes of a Typical Instagram Post

My Mondays are generally spent finalizing my social media strategy for the week. A big chunk of that is Instagram prep: storyboarding, selecting outfits for Tuesday Choose-Day and doing flatlays or on-mannequin shots. On average, I spend 6-8 hours each week prepping for Instagram.

Why?

Besides the fact that I LOVE it and admittedly Lilly is a bit addicted, there is SO much more that goes into every single Instagram post than first meets the eye.  

Here's a sneak peek into what you DO and DON'T see when you look at your favorite Instagram feeds.

WHAT YOU SEE: a lovely photo with a cool pair of shoes, a white bag, and a pithy caption.

WHAT YOU DON'T SEE:

1. 20 shots that didn't make the cut (see cringe-worthy moments below!)
2. hours designing and setting up the shoot so it's as beautiful as possible (lighting, whitespace, overall composition)
3. 2-3 hours selecting the outfits (determining which shoe, bag, etc goes best with which look, finding unique ways to pair specific pieces - down to the black fur pompom)
4. hours scouting for the perfect location
5. 30-60 minutes - sometimes more - editing the photo (color correcting, cropping to showcase a specific element - or hide an unsightly one)
6. about 15-30 minutes writing and editing the caption, selecting the hashtags and determining a call to action
7. often days tracking down someone to actually SHOOT THE PICTURES so I can play dress up

And that's just the tip of the iceberg! As they say - that beautiful duck you see effortlessly gliding atop tranquil waters is actually paddling like mad below the surface. 🦆

But regardless of what you do or don't see, it should all cumulate into a post that hopefully inspires you in some way - either to try something new or to simply take a visual respite in your busy day.

My goal is to make all of this seem seamless and invisible. Like the duck, it shouldn't LOOK like work but instead look and feel like a beautifully curated moment in time.

I love what I do and am continuously inspired by YOU. Your comments and likes literally help keep me going! Thank you for all your amazing support! 

So the next time you see one of my Tuesday Choose-Day posts or anyone else's IG photo that makes you stop and like, think about that little duck paddling like crazy to make it all look easy. 😘 ❤️ 

Typical "Tuesday Choose-Day" posts:

Cringe-worthy moments that (obviously) didn't make the cut:

	Trust me. No one wants to see ANYbody's feet up this close and personal! Plus Lilly needs a fresh pedi!
	Can you say bra FAIL?! My boobs are literally out of control in this pic. Plus what kind of face am I making? Verdict: NOT going on Instagram!
	Deciding on the shoe! This part is fun but can also be VERY tedious.
	What was I thinking? I look, like the Joker's ex-girlfriend - (he unceremoniously dumped me after seeing this picture)! NOT a good look.

Key Take-Away: what makes it to most IG feeds is highly polished and curated. There are loads of UGLY pics in between that never see the light of day!