Creating an aesthetic has really been my favorite part of this creative journey. Some people love the idea of aesthetics, some people don’t want anything to do with it, but as for me and my brand, we will have an aesthetic.
Aesthetic | adj. – concerned with beauty or the appreciation of beauty
Beauty can be recognized in so many things and when it comes to photos, art and visual creativity, an aesthetic is the visual representation of what a person is trying to express; TO ME an aesthetic shares a lot about a person and allows a person to explore themselves as well, all of that said I’m sharing 6 things to consider when creating an aesthetic.
Your Aesthetic Will Look As Good As The Quality of Your Photos
I always always say, it’s not what you take photos of it’s how you take photos. An aesthetic isn’t a certain type of product or object it’s the beauty that you are capturing from that product or object. Your aesthetic will be as good as the quality of your photos. Before I began building Daily Dose of Luxury especially by way of Instagram, I could not put anything together to save my life. My picture quality was a mess, I couldn’t figure out why it didn’t flow, why it didn’t make sense and most of all why it didn’t make me feel how I felt looking at someone else’s aesthetic.
It wasn’t until I really started experimenting with different types of shots and lighting, etc., that I realized it wasn’t that what I was capturing was bad, I just wasn’t capturing it in a way that was appealing to anyone. Your goal is to captivate your audience with your craft and creativity.
Even if you use a great filter or preset, make sure you’re making your paying attention to photo quality. Natural light is always your best bet.
You Should Be Able to Create Balance and Depth By Using Different Types and Styles of Photos
Finding the balance between different styles and types of photos is helpful for creating your aesthetic. Think in terms of the overall grid, not just the row. If you only think in terms of the row or the 2 photos prior you won’t really achieve the overall look. Anyone can post a really great picture, but can you post more than 1, 2, 3. I like to think in terms of the top 9. When someone visits your feed and all they see are the top 9 photos, what do those photos look like? How do those photos make someone feel? Sometimes the top 9 is all you have to impress somebody.
Playing with angles, distance, close ups and the like add depth and really bring a unique look to what you’re creating and building. Just think, a lot of people take photos in clothes, but some people really capture us, sometime’s it’s all in the angle, sometimes it in the pose, maybe it’s the way they look into the camera. Lorna Luxe* has such a unique way of capturing herself and being captured, it draws people in and this is how she has built her aesthetic. It’s the angles, the way she captures her tops in a selfie like manner, but manages to capture the whole thing. The way she looks over her glasses, ALL of those things play into the aesthetic she has built for her brand. Another example of this is none other then everyones favorite, Amrezy*. She is known for glam, bling, and her killer color series. She has mastered the art of flowing through and creating a whole series of content based on her color choice for the time being. Even Beyonce* has a way of drawing us in that is wildly captivating and she continues to bring that same energy every post.
*See bottom of post for tagged accounts.
If You’re Using A Filter/Preset Does It Enhance or Hurt Your Aesthetic?
You all know I’m here for a good preset, but the preset I chose wouldn’t work if I mostly used yellow in my feed. My filter cancels out yellow and if yellow were my main vibe, that particular choice might hurt me in the long run. I know that this is especially hard for creators of color when it comes to finding presets/filters. We need filters/presets that work well with our skin and don’t make us look ashy or orang-ee.
You have to be very careful, because even if you’re going for a certain look or vibe, a bad preset could really hurt your brand and your look especially if it’s working against you instead of for you.
If You’re Using A Filter/Preset Test It
Presets aren’t try before you buy, you just have to buy and hope that it works out based on the examples you saw. Before I slide into a new aesthetic, which I think I should be okay on for a good while, I test out a WIDE RANGE of photos. If I’m planning to create an aesthetic, something that goes beyond just 9 squares, I need to know how well it REALLY works with a variety of photos. I’ve mentioned this in another post, but things like lighting, colors, direct sun, cloudy/overcast, close up; however you take your photos, you want to make sure it’s going to work for all of those options because if only works for a few and not everything else, it’s going to work against you and be a waste of your time.
Is Your Aesthetic Apart of Your Daily Life?
Now, FOR ME an aesthetic isn’t just something you see online, it has been created in real time and expressed by way of photo. If your aesthetic or what you want is hard to come by are you constantly buying new things just to prove that you have this aesthetic?
Needing clothes and wanting to not be seen in something more than a certain number of times is a job in itself. I never wanted to put that pressure on myself. My daily life consists of timeless neutral pieces, that I like to wear all of the time; that is my real life. Yes you have shoots and build up batches of content, but I didn’t want to do something I couldn’t keep up with, ME PERSONALLY. If you’ve seen me in it on the gram, you’ve definitely seen me in it, in person.
Your Aesthetic Should Make You Stand Out
It’s okay to want a certain look based on someone you follow, but similar to the blush and peachy vibes that used to be rampant all over Instagram, you also don’t want to look like everyone else. Your goal is to always create your own wave. Stop working so hard to be like somebody else and be you!
Are you known for using certain angles or certain backgrounds? Do you create color series? Is everything luxurious and minimal? What describes your aesthetic? What would you want someone to say about your feed or your brand or your business when they come across it?
All of that should reflect who you truly are. The word authenticity is one that is used very often, but it’s very important. You’re aesthetic should have your name all over it.
Your aesthetic should be dope, should showcase the things you find beauty in and shouldn’t be something that stresses you out or causes angst. Your aesthetic is a visual representation of you and the beauty you have to offer in your life.
For those of you who have successfully built an aesthetic, drop your comments below!
*Social Accounts Linked: Lorna Luxe, Amrezy, Beyonce.
