As most of you will already be aware (and completely sick of hearing about!), I've recently spent 7 whole weeks traveling and studying in India having the most incredible, life changing experiences. But you know what?
There's one aspect of the trip that has been weighing on my mind, and I can't help but feel a bit deflated every time it occurs to me.
Why? Well, every time I scroll Instagram lately I see all these shiny images in colourful warm tones of all the places I've recently been, and I can't help but feel a bit jealous that my photos don't look even half as good.
Before travelling to India I had a pinterest board full of places to visit and inspiration for the type of images I wanted to take. I had researched all the popular spots on Instagram and planned all the outfits that would go just right with each location. My photos would be full of colour, smiles, saris and elephants. I was finally going to start gaining back some of the followers I'm continually losing, despite my best efforts!
However, the reality of India was that the hustle and bustle, the continual chaos combined with the exhaustion of being continually on the go was just too much, and not a single one of those insta-worthy shots I had planned actually eventuated. If you were to head to my Instagram page right now you'll see that I've posted just four pictures from almost two months in India, the last of these being almost two months ago!
I've become entirely uninspired by Instagram and the comparisons it encourages me to make, and although this leaves me feeling a bit deflated, I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one.
Today, I just wanted to take a moment to point out some of the realities behind all the shiny perfect Instagram pictures, at least from what I observed during my time in India.
To begin with, a large proportion of the places I had on my 'to-photograph' list have become completely overrun as a result of their instagram-induced fame. A lot of them had a line of at least 5-6 people waiting to all take the exact same photo, and this really turned me off waiting in line for that very same image!
Still more of the images I had seen before traveling to India are actually incredibly dangerous, with people standing on ledges, walltops and roofs with nothing but a very long drop waiting on the other side- after seeing the place in real life, there is no way I'd be taking those risks for an instagram picture!
Additionally, there are so many of the outfits I've seen people wear that, whilst they may look good on Instagram with 3 filters layered over the top, would just be wholly inappropriate and impractical for a dusty country full of staring eyes.
Just to add to my frustration with all things photography-related, all my polaroids for the whole trip turned out either way too dark or way too light at least 60% of the time- I can't catch a break guys!
So here's one of my only successful polaroids of the trip- me hand washing a huge pile of our clothes in the shower. Nothing says "I'm a glamourous travel blogger" quite like that!
What are your thoughts on the current state of Instagram? Have you managed to keep your own inspiration despite the algorithm frustrations? If you have any tips, feel free to let me know!
Kate x
I've noticed an over-saturation of "popular" spots on travel Instagram accounts as well, with everyone going to the same few places in a city when traveling and taking the same photos. I now try to focus more on visiting places I'm actually genuinely interested in seeing instead of ones that I think would look best on Instagram, and then even if it doesn't do well on Instagram I still have good memories of the place to think back on.
ReplyDeleteI love this post! It often feels like people spend more time getting the perfect "Insta worthy pic" than actually enjoying the places that they are traveling to! I try to be in the moment when I travel and have found that taking an actual camera with me prevents me from being tempted to get that Instagram photo (as there are no photos on my phone haha). Thanks for sharing!!
ReplyDeleteJenna ♥
Stay in touch? The Chic Cupcake
nearly three years since I left and I'm still sorting through the India photos since I took that many whoops. My travelling around india photos are nowhere near like those so often shared on Instagram for the same reasons you mentioned - a lot of it is busy, impractical etc BUT I LOVE THE HANDWASHING POLAROID I also have many a handwashing my clothes in the shower picture because that is the true peak of hey I'm in India I think hehe, although I instagrammed it and all my Indian friends laughed hysterically at me for weeks. Oh well.
ReplyDeleteKeep sharing your pics though, even ones that seem non insta at first because it's your memories that are the most important
I definitely relate to the feeling of not being able to catch that "iconic" shot or not being happy with my photos. But I think about it this way - what's the point, if a thousand other people already have taken the same picture? So I try to focus on capturing more unusual details, and of course enjoying the moment :)
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