I have been looking back at my IG profile, and been wondering if I should clean up my pictures. Make sure they tell a consistent story, have some colour consistency across the timeline and turn my instagram feed into an online portfolio only showing the best of the best. An artist portfolio one can show off. Remove those that are out of place or did not get enough likes. Quite a few folks keep clean ship in their feed and only keep the best of the best. And I am sure the IG algorithm likes it that way and will recommend those that are selling the dreams in a beautiful way.
Yet, I have a hard time deleting any of the pictures. It is not so much the picture in itself (I have quite a few I could get rid of easily when I just look at the intrinsic image quality). It is the context of the time and place when I posted it that prevents me of deleting it. Sometimes I vividly remember a comment that made me smile, or the circumstances that made me post it. Also the quality of the work evolves. If I look back at when I started with an iPhone some good 4 years ago, some of the work make me smile and go all warm inside, yet I am sure that any new potential follower scrolling back in my feed will wince a little at some of the images and may decide after all to hop off.
Yet, I cannot delete them.
I tried a few times, but I cannot get myself over hitting delete and remove them from my social timeline to keep a clean ship. For me IG is a trip into my memory lane. A joy ride of personal emotions filled with images some folks may not understand.
So how are you using your Instagram ?
As a scrapbook into memory lane or a tight run portfolio with only the best of the best ? And how do you look at someones feed when you decide to follow him or her. Are you sceptical when you only see superb work without a glitch, or is that just a characteristic that is attracting you.
I am very interested to hear your views before I start cleaning up my ship.
Me2
Taking plastic places.
Exploring my inner child and following Me2’s wanderlust into untold stories for generations to come.
100% Stuck In Plastic.
I use mine as a scrapbook, though I take care not to post any old thing to it anymore. I’d feel wrong editing my IG history by deleting posts. Mistakes or not-so-good pictures still have value, and editing them out is like airbrushing on models in magazines – it gives viewers a false impression.
So true, but a lot of models are airbrushed in magazines. You just dont realise it most of the time :)
Definitely a scrapbook, because I don’t have an artistic reputation to maintain. I’m at best a mediocre photographer, but my early pictures were stories that I hope inspired others to create better illustrated stories, and my current ones are photos of MOCs and layouts that other builders may want to use. I leave my editing for my novels and in fact stopped shooting stories with minifigures because I felt it was draining creative energy from my fiction.
Thanks Lyn.
It is most interesting to see how one activity can eat away from the creativity pool.
Great reflections! I’ve had similar thoughts and decided not to delete anything. It’s a scrapbook, a mix of all things *me*. I started the blog to be my showcase but haven’t used it much. I think it feels too much like a job while Insta and FB are fun, and I want to have more fun.
Oh my, I see your problem here being stuck and struck between two sides… Am thankful that it´s mostly a hobby (strange word, errrr) to me. So i´m preferring the memory lane here reminding me of where I´ve been and of the road taken to get to my personal here and now. I must admit that I´m usually suspicious of feeds that are too perfect. Too great pictures, too many likes, too little personal stuff- even more now after having seen that sometimes I need to meet people to understand the pictures they posted. Please keep your special moments in… Read more »
I’m not sure any social media site can really double as a portfolio. A portfolio should be a static collection of what you consider your best representative work for the purpose of showing potential “customers” what they can expect of your photography. I use the term “customers” very loosely, it could be someone actually looking to commission you, or someone who’s just found out about your work is is thinking about following you on some social media channel. I think of my website as my portfolio, it’s not updated very often, but it doesn’t need to be, only images I… Read more »
I used to curate my IG feed more than I do now. About a year ago I went through the images from the deep dark past and removed non-lego photos images that were just terrible. Of course I left a handful that were important to me for historical reasons or reminded me of particularly good memories. So I consider it my lego photography history, just the light version. I occasionally post non-lego photos or photos that are responding to some recent IG meme (stop drop and selfie, best images, etc…) and these I remove after a certain period of time.… Read more »
Thanks. I feel a part II coming :)