July 7, 2015: As someone who spends (too much) time online, I tend to aggregate pet peeves concerning my favorite networks (you might recall the airing of many grievances in my “10 Twitter Sins” article of a few months back).
As a photographer, Instagram is my current favorite social media site, and I see plenty of sinning going on all the time. But the recent #dontjudgechallenge put me over the edge, again inspiring me to take action.
Are you guilty of any of the following sins? If so, it’s time to change your ways:
1. Hopping on Bandwagons: I get that trending hashtags are a good way to gain views, but really think about any bandwagon before you jump on. Is it relevant? Is it kind? Is it helpful? As mentioned above, the #dontjudgechallenge was a misinformed trend that sends the wrong message… mainly that people are narcissistic.
2. Hashtag Loading: Please, please stop using 20+ hashtags on your images. More than 5 or 6 signify to the world that you’re just desperate.
GIF via giphy.com
3. All Text All the Time: Instagram isn’t your diary. I understand people with huge followings sometimes need to get the word out about an event, but can you at least make it look nice? There are apps that can help you overlay text over images. That Apple Notepad text is just plain ugly.
4. Fake Out: Stop jumping on trending tags if they have nothing to do with your post. I’m so tired of scrolling through #OOTD and just seeing selfies. Research a tag if you don’t know what it means and tag your image with the correct descriptive hashtags.
GIF via giphy.com
5. Misspelling: For those of you who don’t know, Instagram added an “edit” update. You can fix those spelling errors from your post now!
6. Those Giant Images Made By Smaller Images: Am I the only person who hates these? Making 9 posts that comprise one giant square image is just stupid, it’s spammy, and doing this means that your profile is going to look horrible until you post three more images. I see brands do them over and over again with images that I wish were just a regular, singular post. Not impressed.
GIF via giphy.com
7. The Wrong Size: Hey folks: Instagram supports the square format. There are numerous apps that can help you fit your photo into a square if you can’t crop. I hate seeing cut off images that didn’t leave room for the square frame. If you’re shooting for Instagram, leave room around your subject!
8. Insincere Friending: If you add me just do delete me, I will hate you. This goes for all social media spam bots!
GIF via giphy.com
9. #NoFilter on a Filtered Photo: We all have the same filters, honey. I can tell your tan is enhanced by Hefe or your eyes look brighter because of Amaro.
10. Pixilated Images: Again, dozens of apps are out there to help with this. Instagram’s resolution size is 640 x 640px. (and it may be getting bigger!), so make sure your images are big enough.
GIF via giphy.com
Now go forth and sin no more!
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