Instagram series: how I take a picture

Post number three in my Instagram series. Last week I shared with you my tools and how I edit my pictures. Today I want to tell you about how I take my pictures; there are two or three scenarios.

Travel
This one is quite obvious, when I travel, or when I’m going around in some part of the city, I don’t know what I will see and the pictures I take are all spontaneous. I can have something in mind, for example when this summer I went to the aquarium here in Milan, I went because I wanted to visit a place I had never seen and because I wanted to take some pictures of the fishes. But when I’m travelling, one of the things that I love the most is just walking around some unknown streets and be fascinated by some little details.

Mood board (or flat lay)
When I talk about mood boards related to my pictures, I talk about that kind of picture I mostly take for Instagram, where I want to show something in particular: a product, yarns, favourites, a moment even. Usually I start with something in mind, for example a product, and then I add other objects, such as flowers or the tea I’m drinking, to add to the picture some more details and contest. It isn’t something I plan, I just look around in my studio or in my living room and when something catches my eye, I then try to see if it’s right for the picture.
All the objects I add to the picture, I call photo props, but they are not anything professional; they are simple day to day objects. They can be fresh flowers, plants I have in my house, dried flowers; or notebooks I’m using for my notes; fairy lights and candles; different kinds of yarns I have in my stash. If you want to take better pictures for your Instagram, the one right thing you can do for sure is to try and try and try. Try different combinations, different backgrounds, try flowers, pencils, mugs, books, anything that catches your eye or related to your world and to what you want to tell with your pictures.

Spontaneous
These are the kind of pictures I take while I’m knitting something and I want to show my work in progress or, usually during the weekend, I’m having a relaxing time with some tea and a book and I want to take one more minute to focus on a beautiful little moment. This can sound strange to you, but for me, taking a picture is something special, I love to do it and after I take a picture that I’m satisfied with, I’m happy. Don’t judge me, everyone has their strange happy little joy.