I just came back from teaching a social media bootcamp in Powell River last weekend to a bunch of what were primarily visual artists.

I love introducing new tools to people. I know Instagram has been around for a couple of years already, but this group was pretty new to it, so it’s always exciting to see people light up when you give them new, creative tools.

For me, I use Instagram as a way to share a “slice of life.” Many people say to me (about social media in general), “who wants to follow me? I have a boring life. I have nothing interesting to share.” But the truth is, people are interested in your life. We are fascinated by what goes on behind the scenes. Especially artists–for much of the rest of the world, our creative process is a bit of a mystery.

So, Instagram is a wonderful way to share what’s happening (via visuals) in your life–I call them “random moments in my travels”–a moment of beauty or inspiration or irony or silliness. On any given day on my feed, you’ll see photos of where I am, food I’m eating, or people I’m with.

One quick note on best practices: when it comes to Instagram, don’t post 4 or 5 photos in a row (it’s called “bleeding the feed”). Make sure your posts are spread out over the day, with time in between, and they shouldn’t all be similar images.

Now get out there and take some photos!