Recently, I was looking through my Instagram and I was appalled. There’s no better word for it. What reason could I possibly have to still have photographic evidence available on the internet for all to see of the time period when I thought side bangs looked good? Unacceptable. I had to make a change. I archived about 80% of my photos, so only I can view them when I need a good cringe, and thought about the content that I want to upload going forward. I’m still not completely sure how I want things to look, but at least I can rest peacefully knowing that potential blackmail material is no longer accessible to the general public. Here’s a few tips on how to quickly transform your social media accounts from “edgy 8th-grader” to “financially unstable [but still stylish and worldly] 20-year-old”.
Huji
I’m quite surprised that I didn’t know about Huji Cam, or, as the kids call it, simply “Huji” until recently. This app allows you to take photos that appear as if they were taken on a film camera. I have been obsessed with film cameras for the past few years, because the photos come out much nicer and cooler-looking than a phone photo. My local film developer and camera expert back in Kansas City once told me that film will get you better quality pictures than a phone ever could. And it’s true. Although I do own a film camera, I’ve never actually used it because it may or may not be permanently broken and most likely has not been successfully used since 1775 so it’s become a project that I regularly try to work on late at night when I should be doing homework. So, I’ve been using disposable cameras that achieve the same result even though using them in public makes me feel like a vacation dad. But, the kicker is that I didn’t bring any to Australia with me, as I planned to simply order a box of them on Amazon as I usually do. Imagine my surprise when I sat down to do this and it was $116 for a box of five (this should really be illegal). At that point, I thought I was doomed and would be forced to take ugly photos for the duration of my stay here, because as someone who is not photogenic at all, iPhone picture quality is not my friend. My world changed when a friend casually told me about Huji. Maybe this information is not profound to anyone below the age of 35 since apparently people my age have been riding the Huji wave for the past few years. Either way, it makes even the worst photos look beautiful and Insta-worthy, which is more than I could ever dream of. Plus, in true film fashion, it adds a cute little date stamp to each photo (we love authenticity). I think this is probably the most useful photo app that I’ve ever downloaded, and it’s made me so much more excited to create social media content! The only downside is that my personality has suffered from this new discovery and I have become the most obnoxious person on the face of the earth. I can’t eat a meal or pass a beach without holding everyone up to Huji it, sue me.
Highlights!
Another thing that I’m discovering a couple years later than everyone else in the world with access to a smartphone is Instagram stories! I thought that was kinda Snapchat’s thing, but apparently this changed ages ago. I worked tirelessly on Canva to create customized highlight covers, and I’m so happy with the way they turned out! The tutorial I used can be found here. It’s been a lot of fun to take fun pictures of the stuff I’ve been up to, and not to sound self-absorbed, but the way it all comes together in my highlights section is very chic. Again, I know people have been doing this for years (I was much too busy with Vine when this all started, R.I.P.) but if you’re a beginner like I am, this is very important stuff to know.
Food
Based on my research (scouring cool girls’ Instagram accounts for hours on end) if you want to be cool, then you have to upload food pics. I don’t make the rules, that’s just how it is. If you’re scrambling an egg at home or something, then please don’t. But if you’re out on the town, eating at one of the Gold Coast’s many unaffordable restaurants perhaps, then you’ll take a nice Huji of your $40 slice of pizza if you know what’s good for you. Just let the food work the camera, that’s really all there is to it. Photograph from every angle you possibly can, get up on the table if you need to. You paid for it, so you’re entitled to a mini photo shoot in the middle of the restaurant while strangers who act like they didn’t just finish doing the exact same thing stare. It’s free publicity for the restaurant anyway. Just the other day, I was squatting on the ground at the outdoor patio of a coffee shop to photograph an açaí bowl that cost more than my entire undergraduate tuition, and the barista actually asked me to please Instagram it and tag them. So, think of it as doing a good deed.
