101 Guide to a Successful Bookstagram - Photography Tips and more!

I get asked a lot about my bookstagram account. Sometimes people DM me about the equipment I use, sometimes they ask me for tips on how they could make their account more popular, or improve their photos. Some people ask me about the backgrounds I use, and how long it takes me to take and edit my photos... so I figured, instead of replying to each and every single DM and tweet, I will put together a semi-guide with tips and everything I have learned myself so far. I am definitely not an expert, there are so many talented bookstagrammers out there who take more stunning and creative photos than I ever will, but if this post will give you some insights and inspirations, I am happy to share everything I know!
So! If you are trying to get into bookstagramming and you're looking to improve your photography skills, I might be able to help a bit (I hope!). Read on!

(or so) I have decided to start improving my feed around the time I first got the idea to open my Society6 store. I realized the importance of a clean, attractive Instagram feed and I craved one with my entire soul. Of course, this isn't a transition one makes overnight. You don't just wake up to see your Instagram feed magically transformed into something better and more glorious. Nope. It is, in fact, quite a bit of work, but let me assure you here and now that it is 100% worth all the effort you'll put in.
Over the past year (technically, 8 months and few days), I went from this:

to this:

and this is how that reflected in the follower count:

Before opening my Society6 store, I used my Instagram for random, unedited photo sharing - I took photos of the ARCs I got stacked up in a pile, of my dog Wilson, of the makeup I was wearing on a particular day, of something I cooked (if it looked particularly enticing), of my child flipping me a middle finger, of my child making weird faces, of my child drooling.. well, you get the idea. It was all random and I guess more "insta" than "booksta". And I was content with that, until the day I realized that I needed to turn my account into a more professional platform that would help me advertise the products in my stores.
And so I got to work. And it was a lot of hard work, and a lot of effort, but also lots and lots of fun!
So, without further ado, here are some book photography and bookstagramming tips.

I actually don't have any fancy cameras or lighting equipment. I simply can't afford that, plus what I have actually works for me just fine.
I use two things only: A Samsung NX10 mirror-less camera (lightweight and affordable), and an Amazon Basics Tripod.

I have been experimenting with different kinds of backgrounds since day one of my bookstagram journey. I tried so many different things, it's kind of scary. At this point, I can say that I know what works for me and what I think looks good (in my opinion), but I guess the trick is to find out what works for you.
Anything could be a good background. An old vintage looking table, your wooden deck, grass, a shawl or scarf, a map (either vintage one or modern), your bed, your window, your dog (if it's pretty enough and stationary enough).
What I find works best for me right now is:
- Two 22inchx25inch white paper sheets from Dollar Store (they sell 2 for $1). Sometimes I use only one, sometimes - if I need more working space - I put two together and just make sure the background looks seamless in the photo.
- My wooden balcony floor. It's brown wood, it looks very organic and it's great for warm-feeling photos.
- A vintage map I purchased from Amazon for $10. It's fancy, it looks great, if I need to, I can turn it upside down and I get a white background!
- White bed sheet. For those photos that I use for #SockSunday, or when I just want to showcase some pillows or stage a natural looking setting (like I'm just drinking coffee and reading in bed or similar). Works great and it's probably the easiest to arrange!
- Scarves. I designed some bookish scarves and you can find them on RedBubble. I own two of them - the Alice in Wonderland pages and Pride and Prejudice first chapter (the second is no longer available), and I use them in a lot of photos, they make fantastic backgrounds and are so easy to store.
- Book pages. I cut out some book pages from old ARCs I no longer needed/wanted, and use them as backgrounds. I think they look very cute and allow me to easily stage a great looking photo!
What I learned didn't work for me at all:
- My carpet. It's just ugly, ugh! - Wrapping gift paper. It looks fancy and you get a variety of prints for a good price, but it gets wrinkled easily.

Now that you have your backgrounds figured out and you're all set up and ready to take photos, the next step would be to arrange everything you want to showcase in your photo in a way that will nicely fit into a square.
Don't be afraid to experiment here. It doesn't all have to neatly fit into the Instagram square. You can have some items showing only partially, as long as the main item you need to show is clearly visible, you're all good. And keep in mind that Instagram allows you to zoom your photos out so that they actually don't show up as squares, but rectangulars with black color on the sides. Personally, I think squares are better, but in the worst case, you can always do that.
It's always best to take a wider photo and crop it later, than shoot with your camera upclose, because then the focus will only be on one small part of the photo. Wider shot means better, more evenly focused result.

Photo props are extremely important to me. I invest in a lot of them, I collect them (ok, I HOARD them), I am obsessed with making my photos look pretty and arranged in a way that shows that I care.
You don't actually have to have a big budget for photo props, because it's not very hard to get creative and use just about anything you can imagine. Food could be a great prop (your breakfast, fruits, chocolate, drinks). Seasonal outdoorsy stuff makes great props, too (anything from flowers, dry leaves, acorns, dry branches to tall grass and pinecones). If you are into stationery - awesome, anything cutesy and artsy adds a lot of charm to photos. If you are into jewelry making - beads make fantastic colorful props! Seriously, even colorful cups and plates can be your prop if only you think it trough and get creative.
Here are my favorite props that I use in most of my photos:

- Candles. Not only do they add a lot of charm and warmth, they also brighten up your photos quite a bit.
- Coffee cups, tea cups, nice pottery. They're just lovely and great for all sorts of staged photos.
- Flowers. I love taking photos with flowers and am always super excited for spring. Dry flowers and tree parts make lovely props too.
- Colorful pens and stationery. I love tiny "kawaii" sticky notes and washi tapes the most.
- Any sort of bookish merch I have. Pillows, pouches, scarves, socks, bookmarks, candles, mugs.. you name it.
- Fairy lights. They're just so lovely in photos.

I believe in editing your photos. I know not everyone does, and some people are so good at staging and setting up the right lighting, that they really don't have to. Personally, I love my photos bright and clean, and I know that without the edit, they just won't be bright and clean enough for me.
I only use one photo editing software and I consider it the best. And that is Adobe Lightroom. It's super easy to use, plus you can get all sorts of pretty presets for more professional and creative looks. And even without the fancy presets, you can simply crank up the brightness, add a bit saturation, change the warmth of the photo, do a vignette style, add contrast, add or reduce clarity.. the possibilities are endless and it's well worth the time!
I also crop my photos in this software, so it's a one-stop editor for me.
Here, take a look at what you can do!

Makes quite a big difference, doesn't it?
Here are the settings I usually use (give or take few points, depending on how bright and clear I want it). The program gives you a preview and anything you do can be reversed with ctr z, so no worries about permanently changing your photos!

If you are only using your phone camera for taking photos, don't worry! These days phone cameras are almost just as good and there are many phone apps that allow you to edit your photos in ways just as good as desktop programs do!
When I am on my Samsung Galaxy S4, I use Lightroom Mobile app for editing. It comes with pretty much all the necessary tools for photo editing. As I have bought my Lightroom, I get to enjoy the full version of the app, but if you just want to try it and see if it works for you, you can first get the free 30 day trial!

Aside from Lightroom, there are many other photo editors and apps that are FREE. Some of my favorites are Pixlr, Gimp and PhotoScape, but there more and you can read about them here.

- Natural lighting is everything. Yes, you can adjust exposure and brightness in a photo editor later, but if you're taking a photo in a dingy room, your photo will be too grainy, blurry and yellowish to fix. I always take my photos in the morning, in the sunny room, or outside on the balcony to get as much natural light as possible.
- Using a tripod helps avoid blurry shots. This is especially important on those days when it's dark and gray outside and you just have to take those shots, no other choice. Putting your camera on a tripod and setting a short timer will make your photos perfectly focused.

Bookstagram isn't all about the photos. Sure, they are the core of your bookstagram existence, but they are not everything. Here's a couple more things that I find very important, too:
- Caption - the text of your caption should be engaging in some way (try asking your followers a question related to the photo or something you just want to talk about), it should be well written (bad grammar is a serious turn off) and spaced well. I can't tell you how important spacing is - it makes your caption easy and pleasant to read!

If you are struggling with the spacing, here's a tip: hit enter immediately after the last letter(or dot) in the sentence right where you want to add that extra line of space (don't hit space and then enter, hit enter immediately after the last letter/sign). That doesn't always work (sometimes it's glitchy and even when you hit enter, the caption shows up all glued together), so if it doesn't for you, hit enter, place a single dot, and hit enter again. You will have a nice, clean caption that will be clean and easy for your followers to read.

- Hashtags - use relevant hashtags to make your content visible to more than just your followers. Some great hashtags for the bookish crowd are: #bookstagram #instabook #reading #yalit #bookworm #booknerd #currentlyreading #booklove #igreads #bookgram Try putting the hashtags in the comment on your post, instead of directly in the caption - it looks much better and is more professional!
- Keep your feed clean. If you are serious about your bookstagram and you want it to look professional, make sure it isn't filled with giveaway entries. It's off-putting and a lot of people won't follow an account that is all about the free stuff! (It's totally okay to do that sometimes, just make sure you're not spamming your feed too much)
- Get Involved in the community. I think the best way to expand and grow your account is to provide good content and interact with other bookworms. Bookstagram is just like the blogging world, you need to comment and interact with others to attract people to your account and make them stay.

- Need Inspiration? Join a Bookstagram Photo Challenge! There are always at least a dozen of them happening every month. They are hosted by other book lovers like you, and they give you a list of daily prompts you follow to take your photos. You use the same hashtag every day to post your photos, and this is how other book lovers find you! It's a great and effective way or meeting new friends and growing your account. (If you are wondering how to find those, well, there isn't any one place that lists them, you just have to keep your eyes out for announcements at the end of each month.).

And remember, there is no pressure to post every single day, if you don't like the theme for a specific day, skip it or alternate between different challenges!

- Consistency is the key. I think posting something every day (or every other day) is one of the most important things when it comes to bookstagram. Especially, if you want to apply to be a brand representative, or if you're hoping to work with publishers on Instagram campaigns (they are awesome and well worth the effort). Both your followers, and businesses/publishers want to know if you're active on this platform. No one is going to follow or work with a user who only posts once a month.
and last but not least
- When taking photos for your feed, always take multiple shots from multiple angles. It seems like a lot of work, but trust me, it is way worse when you need to go back and set things up again because your one shot you took was blurry or something wasn't arranged properly.

I really hope this post was helpful in some way. As I said, I don't consider myself a bookstagram expert or anything like that, but I tried my best to give you some helpful tips! Should you have any questions or suggestions, please leave a comment below, I am always happy to hear from you!