Look. Let’s be brutally honest. We all like uploading pics of ourselves where we look super stylish or wicked-level hot, because it brings in the thirst-likes from guys/gals, or the triple-digit likes that make us feel damn good. Maybe those intentions are unhealthy or something – whatever. We all do it, and if we don’t and crow on about it being “self-absorbed”, we think about doing it at the very least.
Fact is, yes street-style pics are wanky as hell but they also look BLOODY GREAT and some people even make quite a tidy living off entire Instagram feeds of perfectly curated style pics of themselves.
So we’re here to teach you how to nail it. Maybe you’ll use this article to become a street style star yourself. If you do – HMU for a percentage of your profits since I helped you get where you are, you ungrateful swine.
PICK AN INTERESTING BACKGROUND
Plain walls will make your whole schtick look boring. Find something with texture or detail so your picture has a bit of depth to it. Brick walls are great, as you can see in the before and after pics of me, Mel, Senior Style Editor at Pedestrian.TV (and the writer of this yarn).
See how the brick wall gives the picture some interest? The black one is just.. meh. Also my hair looks better here but that is an aside.
Other great ops are – Wall murals, posters, the outside of buildings with interesting details… look, you can absolutely get away with plain white walls if that’s going to be the overall aesthetic of your feed, too. But when in doubt, go for something that pops. Why do you think people are always taking pics in front of that cool hot pink wall in LA?
TRY MULTIPLE ANGLES TO FIND THE BEST FIT
The old “shoot from above” rule we apply to selfies doesn’t necessarily translate into street style pics. Faces might slim down magically when shot from above, but bodies often look weird from that angle. Case in point: here’s Alex, our babe of an Associate News Editor, street styling for you from three different camera angles:
See how the “from above” one just doesn’t work? It throws Alex’s proportion out of whack and makes her killer pins look shorter than they actually are. But then straight on, and with the camera panning up – GOLD. Basically, when it comes to full-length the rules of selfies do not apply.
ADD MOVEMENT
This isn’t a hard-and-fast rule, but you’ll notice if you stalk Insta-famous bloggers that most of their street style pics involve them walking, turning… whatever. Just some form of natural movement. Why? Well, most clothes look great when in motion – see skirts, dresses, and drapey sleeves. But it also makes the picture more dynamic. Here’s Jack from our Projects team just looking loitery and bored,
And then here he is looking like he’s GOING somewhere with PURPOSE.
If you’re properly trying to turn your Instagram into a street style feed, you need to think of it as a feed, not random pics – and 20 photos of you standing stiff as a board won’t look great, will it?
FOCUS ON DETAILS
All street style geniuses know that sometimes, the gold is in the details. Sure, often you’ll have a fire outfit to show off. But if you’re wearing a killer tee or some awesome earrings, mix it up and take your shot close-up. For example, here’s babetown Dana from our Advertising team.
And here’s Dana when we chose to focus on her Tommy Hilfiger tee and excellent sunnies.
You’re drawing the eye to the stuff you want your followers to notice. It’s also a great option for when you just aren’t feeling the whole look together.
PUT YOURSELF IN NATURAL SETTINGS
It’s great to have straight-up style pics that focus purely on your outfit. But if you feel like mixing it up – and most style influencers do – try taking your outfit photos in a normal setting. Like what we did here with Chris from our Advertising department:
Chris’s standing pic is great. It’s totally great! But…
…Put him in a coffee shop and his stand-and-pose feed is broken up nicely with some “I’m just a normal guy” shots. You can still see all the important details from his outfit, but it feels more “candid”. Mens fashion bloggers in particular seem to adopt this method, and it just bloody works. Maybe it’s because you’re seeing the clothes in a real-world setting.
So there you go, mates. Go forth and snap yourselves into a street style career (or some juicy likes from whoever you’re trying to impress atm). By the way, those Tommy Hilfiger tees we’re all repping like we’re bloody Insta-famous? You can get them right damn now – they’re part of the new Tommy Jeans capsule that just dropped today – Monday, 13th November. Shop it here.
