So I’ve mentioned before that I am slightly addicted to Instagram! It is such a fun and supportive community and just full of inspiring images and inspiring people. If you don’t have an account, go and get yourself one today. Okay, good!
One of my favourite things about the Instagram community are all the competitions and challenges people run. No matter what you love photographing – your kids, your house, your dinner, your floor (yes really @ihavethisthingwithfloors) – there will be a hashtag and a challenge you can join.
If you are new to Instagram this is a really fun way to make new friends and find lovely accounts to follow. And if you are having one of those weeks when you have lost your photo mojo joining a challenge is a surefire way to get that inspiration bubbling away again.
I’ve been meaning to write a post about my fave challenges for a while but I had the kick up the bum I needed today when one of my piccies was chosen by interiors stylist Gudy Herder as her favourite from last week’s It’s a moody Wednesday challenge. The photo (above) was taken on my iPhone 5 at the Balmoral Boathouse last week and edited on the VSCO Cam app. I was pleased with how it turned out but I literally fell off my chair when I saw Gudy had chosen it as her favourite from all the images entered last week. What a thrill!
Even if your picture doesn’t get a guernsey, playing is so much fun. Without further ado, here are five Instagram photo challenges you need to know about …
1. It’s My Week: I love this community and the great ideas the moderators come up with to inspire the most incredible photos. Follow @itsmyweek to join in the fun and see the new theme announced on Sunday. We’ve recently had my week of things organised neatly, my week of two tone and my week of anything goes. The best photos are featured throughout the week with a huge grid of favourites at the end.
2. Floral Friday Competition: Photographer Emily Quinton, who teaches the wonderful Makelight photography course I did in September, created this hashtags of gorgeousness. To play, upload a flowery image on a Friday (you have until midnight GST) and tag @emilyquinton and #floralfridaycompetition. Emily features four favourites on her IG account the following week and unveils a winner on Makelight.
3. It’s A Moody Wednesday: The brainchild of interiors stylist, trend forecaster and mood board maker Gudy Herder, the tag is now run by @stilzitat and @jocelynhefner. This weekly challenge really encourages you to get in touch with your moody side. Think dark backgrounds, dusky hues and dramatic lighting. Play every Wednesday by tagging your image with the hosts and #itsamoodywednesday.
4. A Quiet Style: Every Tuesday, blogger Emma Harris asks IGers to share styled images of items they have gathered or found. Remember to use @aquietstyle and #aquietstyle and look out for Emma’s favourite image on A Quiet Style and her daughter Elvia’s pick on Facebook. (This tag was formerly #gatheredstyle).
5: Friday Faffing Competition: If you don’t know what faffing is, let me try to explain! I have always thought of it as messing around without being productive, but it’s taken on a new meaning on Instagram where people ‘faff’ about with flowers, teacups, foliage and all sorts of other things creating the most beautiful vignettes and styled images. Play along every Friday with @katherinedorrington who showcases here favourite #fridayfaffingcompetition shots weekly.
The challenges above do tend to lend themselves to styled photos, but if that isn’t really your thing don’t be disheartened; there are challenges and hashtags out there for you and whole communities waiting to be discovered.
Have you joined in with any of these challenges? Are you a faffer? Have I missed any fab challenges? And if you haven’t already, please do come and say hi on Instagram. Have I mentioned that I love it!
Thank you so much for sharing #GatheredStyle on your blog, I’m so pleased you enjoy my IG challenge. Emma x
Of course, Emma! You have created such a lovely community with that hashtag. I love seeing the entries every week xxx
Oh my you definitely are an addict! 😉
Sounds fun but I am going to try hard not to look at these as I am afraid how much time they would cost me faffing around! X
Ha ha! My sister is making me 5:2 Instagram : ( Five days on and two days off! I do have a problem! X
Love this, I always enjoy finding new stuff on IG!
There is just so much good stuff on Instagram, isn’t there? It definitely needs to come with a ‘rabbit hole’ warning! So much fun though/ xxx
Top selection of challenges, all my favourites too! Loved your moody Wednesday entry, it’s gorgeous.
Georgie x
Thank you so much, Georgie! You know how much I love your art and your photos. Just inspired! xxx
Oh, I didn’t know anything about the Monday challenge, who are the moderators and how can I see the current theme? Thank you so much for including me here! x
You are so welcome, Gudy! Thank you for running the challenge! So much fun! You should have a look at the @its_my_week account. There are several different moderators who take turns running the weeks. But they always have their week and current hashtag in their bio. It’s #myweekofpaper until Sunday! Enjoy!
These are really useful suggestions, thanks Bex. Am hoping 2015 will be the year I finally learn to take decent photos and get into the swing of Instagram. I’ve signed up for Emily’s Makelight course in January, hopefully that will help!
You will love Emily’s course, Rachel! I want to do it again! Can’t wait to see your photos. Enjoy the course next month! And just be warned that Instagram is totally addictive Xxx
So much fun! I’m new to IG, so I haven’t joined any of the challenges, but I might after reading this post! It’s been so busy that I’ve neglected IG for a little while, but it’s time to get back on it 🙂 xoxo
The great thing is you can dip in and out of these challenges every week, Yuko. I haven’t played for a while either, but I still love seeing the images other IGers put together. So inspiring!
I wanted a new challenge for 2015 and had been thinking about doing the #myplaceintime prompts but the motivation behind that is about printing photos not just joining in so I made my own. It is under the user name and hashtag #EyeSpyMyTown and there are 100 prompts that you can do in random order (I am doing them in batches of 10, averaging one a day) Would love more instagrammers to join in. A fun way to explore the town where you live 🙂
Sounds great, Michelle!
Just testing