Squaready for Instagram // Social Media Tips

Today’s blog post is a quick one, but definitely helpful for anyone – even if you’re not a business owner! I remember when I first entered the wide world of Instagram, thinking it was just a cool photo filtering app. I had no idea it was a social network! Times have changed since then :)

I used to see people post non-square pictures all the time and think, “How in the world?!” I love the idea of a whole lot of neat little squares, but sometimes square cropping cuts off faces or even just a part of your picture that you didn’t want to leave out!

Solution? Squaready for Instagram! (A similar app for Android is SquareIt) Squaready allows you to take any picture of any size and make it fit into a square. Just click on the top left icon, add your picture, and use the buttons on the bottom to fit the whole picture into a square without cropping. You can use your fingers to zoom in or out, depending on how much of the picture you want.

Then just tap the top right icon and save it to your album, or upload it straight to Instagram. There’s your beautiful picture, cropped exactly how you want it, with no faces or body parts missing. Beautiful, right? :)

I hope this quick tip was helpful for you, no matter who you are!

Click here for more social media tips!

Taking A Quick Break // Personal

Although it's hard for me to practice what I preach, I truly am a firm believer in taking a break from things you do over and over again. Doing what I love is truly a blessing, but with it comes the responsibility to make sure I continue to love what I do by not getting burnt out.

I can't imagine ever getting tired of meeting new people. I don't think that seeing the love that is so evident at weddings will ever get old. The genuine laughter of couples and families absolutely brings joy to my life in a way I can't describe.

Sometimes, though, the things that surround what we do are more draining than the actual work. Social media is both one of the best and worst things for my business. It allows me to publish my work to the world, to reach people I never could have otherwise, and connect with the amazing couples and families that allow me into their lives for a day, a month, or years. At the same time, it can be so draining and distracting. Seeing what every other photographer does is both inspiring and tiring, because the only person I should ever compare myself to is who I used to be, and who I want to become. The distraction is completely my fault - it's so easy to jump on any one of my social networks to check it. Even if I don't get sucked in for a long time, it breaks my rhythm completely, and disrupts my workflow.

For this reason, I'm taking a short break from social media. I have a number of days in mind that I want to be out, but I'm not going to hold myself to something strict. I need time to not look at what others are doing. I need time to learn how to completely focus my attention on what I'm doing and not constantly be distracted. I just need time away.

I'm grateful beyond words for the ability to connect with people every single hour of the day, and I can't wait to do it in a new, fresh, and healthy way when I return.