Instagram is a funny little thing.
Over the past 12 months we’ve seen the introduction of algorithms, pods, and shadow bans, and the rise in sponsored posts and advertising. Instagram has become an increasingly competitive place, which has led to a lot of frustration amongst it’s users.
The lack of engagement can feel isolating, and the competitiveness can lead creatives to question their content.
So for those of you who at some point during this period have begged “please bring back the old Instagram!” - this one’s for you!
WHAT’S INVOLVED….
- For 12 days, you’ll receive daily emails filled with tips and visual prompts to help inspire your food photography for Instagram
- Through a series of daily challenges, you will be encouraged to think outside the (Instagram) square, and try something new. This is intended to inspire your creativity, and in turn to improve your photography and styling skills
- Gain access to a friendly, supportive, and encouraging Instagram community to cheer you on during the challenge
- Receive a free eBook on ‘Instagram Photography’, filled with tips for taking and editing photos on your phone to then share via Instagram
WHAT WILL A DAY IN THE CHALLENGE LOOK LIKE?
Each day you will be sent an email with a daily challenge, apart from the first and last day where the challenges will be optional and/or ongoing. The emails will be sent in the morning Australian Eastern Standard Time (AEST), so for some people, specifically those in America, the email will arrive late in the evening.
The email will outline the day’s challenge - which will be a particular theme or area of photography, styling or editing - giving you an overview of this theme as well as visual examples. Note that the emails will be kept intentionally brief - the aim here is to give you enough information to be able to do the challenge, without influencing your take on it.
(If you would prefer more structure teaching, you may prefer the online courses instead - find out more here)
Once you have received the email and daily challenge, you’ll then be able to go off and create an image from this, using your imagination and available resources to style and shoot the image. Once you have done this, post the email to Instagram with the hashtag.
As you go through the challenge, you’ll be encouraged to use the hashtag to find other participants who you can encourage and support throughout. Participants from the previous challenge noted that this aspect of online community building with such a supportive base was one of their favorite parts!
I’ll also check in each day on Instagram to see what you’ve been posting, and what you’re individual take on each challenge has been.
Only $19 USD
(approx. AUD 25 | 14 GBP | 17 EUR)
Course starts Monday, 12th June
Payment is in USD, by PayPal or Credit Card
I thoroughly enjoyed the 12-day Instagram Inspiration. The challenges and exercises were fun and obviously well-thought-out. I particularly enjoyed the variety of each day’s challenge. It made me rethink my approach to food styling, editing, lighting, storytelling or even what type of camera to use. I also enjoyed the feedback from the other participants and I loved seeing their shared work every day. It was inspiring to see their creative photography work. This course has given me great tips how to keep experimenting and improving my food photography! Thank you!
@mychefsapronLearning from Dearna has been such a lovely experience. I have gleaned fresh perspectives and skills in analysing my images, and had fun experimenting with new ways of setting up and thinking about capturing a shot. It has been wonderful to be pushed out of my comfort zone whilst being supported and encouraged by someone so generous with their time and kind with their words. I look forward to learning more from Dearna in the future!
@my.petite.pantry
As part of the challenge, you’ll also receive an eBook which will outline some tips and other useful information on how to take and edit great photos with your phone.
Even if you normally shoot with a DSRL, there are times when we only have our phone with us, and therefore it’s important to be able to take great photos with our phone as well.
The eBook will talk you through things to look for when photographing food on a camera phone, as well as walking your through my three favourite editing apps, which you may wish to also download to use during the challenge (note however that this is completely optional).
Only $19 USD
(approx. AUD 25 | 14 GBP | 17 EUR)
Course starts Monday, 12th June
Payment is in USD, by PayPal or Credit Card
FAQs
How much work is involved/How much time will the challenge take?
You will receive a new challenge each day, however if you fall behind you can continue to post after the challenge has ended.
Each challenge will suggest a theme or focus, and you can interpret this as you wish. Some challenges may take only a few minutes while others may take a little longer.
What will I learn through doing this challenge?
Please note that the main focus of this series is to inspire you, and though you will receive tips and suggestions, the format is not a “course” as such, and will not be teaching you particular techniques or skills.
Despite this though, previous participants have found that through doing the challenges and pushing themselves, they have learnt a lot, gained confidence, and reshaped how they thought about photography, styling and editing.
If you are after a course that walks you through all aspects of food photography, styling or editing, teaching you specific skills and techniques, you may find my online courses of interested instead - you can find them here.
Can I email/IM you to get individual feedback?
Individual feedback is not included as part of this challenge, though you may wish to ask food feedback and critiquing when you post your image to Instagram.
While this may sound a little daunting, receiving feedback and another point of view can be a great way to reflect on various aspects of your photograph, and improve on them.
Is this challenge solely based around food?
While this challenge is focused around food photography, most of the challenges are broad enough to be applied to other styles of photography as well. If you’re unsure whether this course is right for you, please email dearna@foodphotographyguides.com with any questions.
Do I need any special equipment or programs/software to do this challenge?
You only need a camera phone with the Instagram app installed to do this challenge. Those that shoot with a DSLR or edit on a computer can also do the challenge, however there will be no challenges that are specifically focused on shooting with a particular kind of camera, or editing with a particular type of software other than the editing tools within the Instagram app itself.
Thank you so much for creating this mini-course and executing it so well. It was really lovely receiving inspiration and well thought out tips daily. The engagement amongst the other participants was an added benefit and a real pleasure I hadn’t anticipated. It’s increasingly hard to discover and engage with like-minded people on Instagram, so this course was a wonderful way to not only learn more, but to meet and engage with others alike. Thank you 🙂
@friendlylittlekitchenI absolutely loved Dearna’s twelve day challenge. It had me out of my comfort zone on a number of occasions and trying out styles and compositions that I hadn’t thought of before and I loved the results. Dearna’s feedback was really encouraging and the community it brought together was so positive and supportive.
@sonnyandalfieThe past week has been very inspiring for me, as I was challenged in a gentle way to think about my style and how I want to present my creations. Dearna is a wonderful person to learn from, all the challenges were prepared very carefully, with beautiful examples that illustrated the challenges well. Think it is amazing how much you can learn in such a short period of time and would definitely jump in again!!!
@djoeke_knotterOnly $19 USD
(approx. AUD 25 | 14 GBP | 17 EUR)
Course starts Monday, 12th June
Payment is in USD, by PayPal or Credit Card
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