Venus Trapped in Mars Sports and Lifestyle Blog Dallas

19 April 2016

6 Ways To Get Great Instagram Photos On Your Lunch Break

How to Get Great Instagram Photos



The other day I forgot my wallet and I was left scratching my head as to what to do on my lunch break. Sure I could have just worked through it, but I feel like breaks are given for a reason. Step away from work, stop looking at the computer and recharge yourself to make it through the rest of the day. I work in a cubicle, so I really enjoy some fresh air and a good stretch of the legs. 

I drove myself to the park just down the street from the office. I was in a fitbit workweek hustle competition at the time and thought I'd try and get a leg up on the competition by taking a long walk. On my walk, I stumbled on these little unicorn trees and snapped some pictures on my iPhone. 





I sat down, pulled up the A Color Story App, did some tweaking to the photo and voila I had content to post on Instagram

If you work in an office similar to mine, you probably don't have access to the same props and backgrounds for great instagram shoots that you do at home. After that day in the park, I decided to brainstorm some ways that I could be a productive instagrammer on my lunch break. Here is what I came up with! 


1. Find a park to go shoot

Like the photo above, you don't need a DSLR to get a great photo. You just need an iPhone and some great editing software. 

2. Find street art to photograph

Who says you have to be physically standing in front of the wall for it to be a great street art photo? Head to a neighborhood known for the street art and snap lots of options. Save the ones that don't make the cut for later. The vast majority of my Instagram isn't "instant." I'll post one photo I like now, then edit and save the others for a few weeks or even months down the road.  

3. Take note of architecture


Simple pictures of historic buildings, skylines and striking architecture generally do great on Instagram. Keep in mind the angle you're shooting. I like the photos that have 70% - 80% sky, and 20% - 30% of the building like the photo above. 


4. Use your trunk as a photo studio 

This might sound crazy, but keep a photo studio in your trunk. I drive an SUV so it's the perfect large flat service to lay out a background or backdrop and a few props to photograph. You've got plenty of space and all of the natural light you could possibly want! Backgrounds I've used in the past include blankets, scarves, foam core white poster board and even something as simple as graph paper.  


5. Hit up the Grocery Store's Flower Section or A Farmer's Market

I'm kind of torn on this one because it always feels like I'm cheating by doing this, but take photos at the flower market or farmers market. Everyone else is doing it... you should too. Peer pressure.
6. Look up hashtags for your city, see what other people are doing + where they're shooting





You don't always have to be snapping pictures to be productive. Spend your lunch break sitting in a park, eating Subway and looking up hashtags relevant to your city. Get a plan of attack on where you could go to get some photos in the future. Maybe you go over the weekend, or maybe you go on your next lunch break. For Dallas, here are some hashtags I follow... try using these and replacing Dallas or DFW with the name of your city.

InstaDFW
InstaDallas
DallasBlogger
DallasEats
DallasDrinks
DTXStreet
IGTexas
DallasFoodie
DallasStreetArt
Daylight and natural light is a precious commodity when it comes to instagram, so you gotta do what you gotta do to get great photos to post. This is especially true in the winter months when Daylight Savings Time ends, and it gets dark before you get home from work. 
Do you have any other tips or tricks to maximizing your lunch break to get great Instagram photos? 

 
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14 comments :

  1. I love the idea of snapping a bunch of pics then saving them for later. I get too impatient and feel like I need to post them right away. I'm going to try and space them out more. Thanks for that tip. I recently wrote a blog post about recharging over lunch too http://bit.ly/1Y1sRQu

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  2. I really need to branch out and start looking at local hashtags. Great tip. Thank you!

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  3. OMG I love these. My new office I will be moving to soon should have some cool spotS. Will have to remember this

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  4. brb going to the park to go take pictures.

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  5. Such a great post! One- it reminded me that I SHOULD take my lunch break if nothing else to stretch my legs haha... I am terrible about just inhaling my lunch at my desk in about 7 minutes and going right back to work. Plus, now I have the added reason of getting out and getting IG pics. There is a lot of new stuff downtown near where I work that I have yet to check out- but that's going to change now :)

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  6. These all are great things to do on your lunch break.

    http://www.amysfashionblog.com/blog-home

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  7. First, these are beautiful and this is a SPOT on idea! sharign and pinning now!

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  8. These are actually really legit pointers. I love fall because i always go to orchards and farmers markets for awesome fall produce and flower photos. And the street art - i def am gonna look into that more !
    XO Ellen from Ask Away
    www.askawayblog.com

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  9. These are great! Way better than just browsing Facebook on your lunch break!

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  10. Love it! I am super new to instagram and am trying to soak up everyone's wisdom and tips!

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  11. Ha! This is friggen rad. The idea of keeping a trunk studio would be amazing - except that I drive a truck.
    Dammit! Foiled again!
    Anyway, thought I'd comment because a) you're funny and b) I posted a similar topic about crafts to do yo on your work breaks. Probably should try and make some sort of tent for the truck and studio idea - your pictures are leaps and bounds better than mine!
    Nice work. Dig it.

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  12. So many great ideas that we can all squeeze into our lunch break! Xo, Stephanie

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