6 Ways to Curate the Perfect Food Instagram Feed from the Foodtography Desk

FOODTOGRAPHYSCHOOL.COM 6 WAYS TO CURATE THE PERFECT FOOD INSTAGRAM FEED FROM THE FOODTOGRAPHY DESK

HEY THERE, Foodtographer!

So you’re trying to curate the perfect food Instagram feed, huh?

Well, you came to the right place! In this guide we’ll go over 6 ways to curate the perfect food Instagram feed. Everything from what feed organizing tools to use, to working in dichotomies and with varying perspectives, to the 1-2-1 rule and MORE! Because, let’s get real if you want to stand out in today’s Instagram world, it’s no longer enough to simply take beautiful photos. You have to take beautiful photos, post them consistently (like every day), organize them in a feed, and make that feed not only aesthetically pleasing, but cohesive.

Curating the perfect Instagram feed is like curating an art gallery.

You need both pieces that stand on their own, but that also can coexist as a unified body of work. We talk a lot about how to market your work in Foodtography School, our virtual food photography school (with over 2,500 alumni to date!), but today we’re bringing some of that knowledge to you FOR FREE. So put that pot of coffee on and get ready to learn, people! We’re about to spill some tips to help you plan out your food Instagram feed so it’s pretty AF.

Last, now that you’re a Foodtography Insider, you’ll be the first to know about special happenings, retreats, and discounts to courses. Love & Brownies, Sarah

FOODTOGRAPHYSCHOOL.COM 6 WAYS TO CURATE THE PERFECT 01. FOOD INSTAGRAM FEED

Use a feed organizing tool

Plann, Planoly, UNUM, Snug, & Preview are all “feed organizers” that help you plan out your IG feed in advance. They let you move photos around a mock grid, allowing you to plan your feed with photos you haven’t Instagrammed yet.

This is #1 on our list because it is the first thing you need to implement in order to create a stellar Insta feed. The upgraded versions of the apps are great because they allow you to save captions to your photos so when it’s time to actually post your picture, the majority of the legwork is done; simply copy and paste, et voila.

Many have unlimited squares to load photos into which means you’ll never lose one in the depths of your phone again. So instead of looking through the 8,000+ photos on your phone just go into your app and choose from the 20-30 already edited, Insta worthy photos you have cued up in your feed planning app. This saves SO MUCH time when you’re curating your feed.

You can also edit and crop your photos within the tools, though tread lightly, because cropping can sometimes warp your photos, putting weird vertical lines across it giving a striped effect that you don’t want. For this reason, I recommend to leave editing tools to editing apps, and just use feed organizers for content visualization.

FOODTOGRAPHYSCHOOL.COM 6 WAYS TO CURATE THE PERFECT 02. FOOD INSTAGRAM FEED

The dichotomies rule

It’s hugely important to have a diverse collection of photos when you’re laying out your feed. As in, photos that contrast each other from one to the next in terms of composition, style, and patterning. This will ensure that your feed is well balanced and not too repetitive.

The easiest way to do this is by working in what’s called dichotomies. Dichotomies are two things that are polar opposite one another. The ones we’ll focus on today are: Simple vs. Busy, Singular vs. Repetitive, Center vs. Left/Right Aligned, and Organic vs. Manmade.

When creating your IG feed, make sure that you’re paying attention to The Rule of Dichotomies. If you just posted a shot of a single piece of cake, you might want to contrast that by placing a photo of a tablescape next to it. Or if your feed is looking a little busy, give it some breathing room with a more minimal, simple shot.

FOODTOGRAPHYSCHOOL.COM 6 WAYS TO CURATE THE PERFECT 03. FOOD INSTAGRAM FEED

The varied perspective rule

Along with dichotomies, shooting from different angles is supremely important to the overall look of your feed. You don’t want your feed to end up as all overhead shots, or all straight on shots. You need a good mix to have a fabulous looking feed. Bonus, this will show your diversity as a photographer!

FOODTOGRAPHYSCHOOL.COM 6 WAYS TO CURATE THE PERFECT 04. FOOD INSTAGRAM FEED The 1-2-1 Rule

You’re probably thinking, “what’s the 1-2-1 rule?” Well um, you don’t know yet because we made it up but basically you DO NOT want any of the same dichotomies or perspectives next to each other. Here’s an actual screenshot from the Broma Bakery feed to explain! 01. 02. 01.

See how both the photos marked 1 are similar in composition, shot type, color and height? (extra points for color & height). Here’s another example… 01. 02. 01.

See how the 1’s are similar in composition and shot type, but the 2 completely diverges? Using the 1-2-1 rule gives your feed a really nice symmetry. And symmetry is universally appealing to the eye, so this is going to look great to everyone.

FOODTOGRAPHYSCHOOL.COM 6 WAYS TO CURATE THE PERFECT 05. FOOD INSTAGRAM FEED

Look at your feed in blocks of 3, 9 & 15 When you’re planning and designing your feed, we suggest looking at your photos in blocks of 3, 9 and 15 together. Make sure it looks balanced in those increments. Within blocks of 3, ask yourself if you’re using 1-2-1 rule. In blocks of 9, make sure you’re using a variety of dichotomies and perspectives.

And in blocks of 15, make sure you’re hitting all of the big picture things that your brand is about. Let’s take my Broma Bakery feed for example, within every block of 15 photos I want at least 1 savory image, 1 restaurant/travel image, 1 image of myself, and 1 apartment/dog photo. The rest are my core product offering aka baking images, of course!

FOODTOGRAPHYSCHOOL.COM 6 WAYS TO CURATE THE PERFECT 06. FOOD INSTAGRAM FEED

The rule of diamonds

A good way to ensure a feed has balance is to look at it in a grid of 9 photos to make sure photos 2, 4, 6 & 8 all make sense together. Look at the grid above, see how photos 2 & 8 are similar in terms of a non-food subject, and a far away crop? And see how photos 3 & 9 are similar in terms of center aligned and a top down perspective? We can also say the same about photos 1 & 7. If you printed this out and folded it over it would almost be completely symmetrical!

FOODTOGRAPHYSCHOOL.COM Bringing it home EXAMPLE 01.

• In general, I’ve followed the Varied Perspective Rule. In this grid we have overhead, straight on, and 45° angle perspectives.

• I’ve also followed the Rule of Dichotomies by placing varied photos next to each other. For example, in row one we have a Singular vs. Repetitive dichotomy.

• I’ve also also followed the 1-2-1 rule across all 3 rows. For example, in the middle row,the photo of carrot cake is overhead and up close, the beach shot is straight on and far away, and the pizza shot is overhead and up close.

• The Rule of Diamonds is almost perfectly executed here. Photos 2, 4, 6 & 8 are all top down shots, and take up most of their frame.

• Something to note, whether it’s a shot of you, your table at a coffee shop, or your dog, adding a personal touch to your feed gives people a chance to connect with the person behind the feed. This is really important! People are on social media to connect with people. Hence the photo of me from my trip to Mexico.

FOODTOGRAPHYSCHOOL.COM Bringing it home EXAMPLE 02.

Now that you’re super knowledgeable, can you come up with a few reasons why this doesn’t work?

Here’s what I’m seeing —

• The top right corner is far too busy. There are too many components in each photo, making for 3 busy photos touching each other. This goes against the Simple vs. Busy dichotomy.

• The opposite bottom left corner is lack luster; those three photos are too simple. Plus, they’re all straight-on shots, which goes against the Varied Perspective rule.

• The left column has too much negative space compared to the overall grid of 9. This again goes against the Simple vs. Busy dichotomy.

• I’m not seeing any of the 1-2-1 Rule, nor am I seeing the Rule of Diamonds in this feed.

FOODTOGRAPHYSCHOOL.COM 6 WAYS TO CURATE THE PERFECT INSTAGRAM FEED