Fridays & Photos: Working with your Instagram Husband

My husband has been my Instagram husband for longer than he has been my actual husband! I have had Brandon shoot my photos for my blog, or Instagram for about 7 years now and even though we still fight about it here and there, he has been really great at going along with it and helping me out whenever he can…. now It is true that Brandon owned a nice digital camera and had an interest in photography far longer than I have been around, HOWEVER, shooting outfit photos or photos for a blog is very different! In fact, that has probably been our biggest contention point. He is not a fan of shooting in front of a wall (because its “flat” and “uninteresting”) and when I ask him to shoot certain “details” of an outfit, we both can get frustrated he can’t get the shot I’m looking for. (I totally get it - I have a fashion blogger frame of mind and he doesn’t!)

I have assembled some tips on working better together with your beau-tographer (and ways to get the shot if he’s unavailable!)

this shoot ended in a fight over something stupid.. I don’t even remember what it was now. Fights still happen from time to time, but we’ve learned a lot over the years! Here are ways we have learned to work together better!:

Inspiration Photos

Personally, I love to change up poses to make it interesting, and although a good stand + smile photo is great…. I like to have a library of “poses” to go to when its time to take a photo. What has really helped Brandon see my vision for a photo is showing an image I’ve saved as inspiration to him right before we shoot. I have a private album on Pinterest where I keep my ideas, as well as just my bookmarked section on Instagram that I pull up frequently. It makes it easier to SHOW him rather than just explain it. Try to pick out a few ahead of time so that when you are there to shoot - its quick and you aren’t scrolling through your phone for 15 minutes trying to figure it out (its been known to make Brandon a little crabby)

^all photos I showed B and “inspiration photo” for and then we re-created^

Make it a routine

We aim to shoot every Sunday afternoon for outfit photos - its a goal for me to have the shots planned/ outfits/ locations/etc. going into Sunday and we both know that thats what we will be doing that afternoon. I think the max its ever taken us for 4 or 5 outfits is an hour. For one outfit, its 5 MAYBE 10 minutes. A good argument.. if they drag their feet… is to just point out its ONE (or less!) hour out of an entire week! That is .5% of your week. (I just did the math.. its literally .5%!) Go to dinner or grab ice cream afterwards, make the shoot a part of a fun experience you can look forward to.

OR just have them shoot a couple photos when you are out doing something for the day or night

If I have an outfit on that I like, I always ask for a quick photo. We always make a joke and Brandon always says “we do it for the gram!” Again I think the more you do it, the more they will get used to doing it for you. Something we’ve had to work through is the little bit of embarrassment they (or YOU too) experience if your taking a posey photo in public. I struggled with this WAY more than Brandon ever did. So much so that it scared me from wanting to continue in the very beginning. Now I could really care less. Bring on the judgement from others because it doesn’t phase me anymore! (Also if YOU are confident in public. it makes it easier on the guys as well!)

Invest in a digital camera (for more than outfit photos!)

{I always try to sneak in a little endorsement of “the camera” in general anytime I talk about blogging or photography.} Brandon has been bringing his camera around with him since I met him. Our life together is heavily documented because of it, and honestly I am thankful every single day for it. Blogging more than just outfits (even though that is the reason why I started in the first place - here is my post about my blogging journey and how I got started!) has been so much fun - we have SO MANY MEMORIES saved in images and stories because of this very blog. I am a visitor to my own blog many times to look back on memories - it is like a lifelong yearbook. I encourage everyone to get a camera and start taking picture of their lives. The guys…. they will appreciate the photos and the act of shooting more if you can both benefit from the end result - PHOTOS THAT LAST A LIFETIME!

Here is my Beginners Guide to Cameras Post if you are interested in getting one!

Patience for the process!

If you are new to the blogging scene, or you just started asking your beau to snap your photo… just know that it takes time to work well together. If they drag their feet and feel awkward - don’t worry, so does every other guy in the world of Instagram husband-dom. {in fact we should get them started in a support group where they can talk about their frustrations all together} If this is something that you really want to do, keep going. Explain to them how much this means to you and ask how you can work better together.

Self-Shoot!

OK so when all else fails - if they aren’t available to take your photo - there are ways around that! If you have a digital camera - Invest in a tripod! (We have this one, and it is awesome!)

I have taken numerous photos of myself using my mobile phone and the remote function within my cameras app I have installed on my phone. (I have a highlight called “photography tips” on my Instagram page that I share exactly how this works). I can’t tell you how useful it is!

If you just your mobile phone - it may be more difficult but its still possible to shoot yourself using a tripod made for phones and a self timer (getting yourself in focus may be the hardest part, but its definitely possible) Here is a mobile phone tripod that we use!