Need help creating your aesthetic?
Aesthetic | adj. – concerned with beauty or the appreciation of beauty
Your closet will tell you a lot about yourself and your current aesthetic. What colors are already in there? What do you see the most of? What do you gravitate toward the most? That is actually your current aesthetic; whether or not you like it is up to you, but your real life aesthetic is currently defined by your closet. Now if you don’t like what you see, this is where you will begin to switch things up and switch things out. That said, welcome to your beginners guide to creating your aesthetic.
Create a Mood Board and Visuals That Match Your Ideal Aesthetic
A mood board is totally necessary for creating your aesthetic; it needs to be new and not something you see on the internet already. It’s easy to like the look of how others do things, but there is a reason behind it; make sure your mood board is specific to what you actually want your aesthetic to be. This foundation is what will guide you to creating your aesthetic.
Pinterest, Canva there are a ton of tools out now that allow you to make a quick mood board. If you’re investing in your brand and working with a brand designer, there should be a form of mood boarding in that process. All of these little things keep you aligned when it comes to creating your aesthetic.
Quality of Photos Play A Role in Creating Your Aesthetic
I still stand my by statement “it’s not what kind of pictures you take, it’s how you take them”. As long as your photos are clear and in proper lighting, as it pertains to your brand, you will succeed at creating your aesthetic. You can use your iPhone or you can use a camera, whatever works best for you, just make sure it’s clear. I still use my iphone for a good amount of photos, but I notice how easy it is to use my content when I use my camera.
Having quality photos is actually more important than the preset or filter if you ask me. Sometimes a photo NEEDS a filter or preset to achieve your desired look, but when the photo is clear and just good on its own, you’re at an advantage when it comes to maintaining and creating your aesthetic.
A lot of the photos I’ve shared from my stay at the Waldorf Astoria Monarch Beach during our anniversary weekend are unedited. The lighting was great enough that everything worked. That’s a win.
Your Aesthetic Should Be Unique and Memorable To Your Brand
Creating your aesthetic should be unique to your brand and your personality always. An aesthetic that isn’t yours is hard to maintain. You have to really be diehard for your aesthetic and that vibe you are creating with your brand, channel, personal blog, etc. What can you maintain, that you enjoy, that is unique to what you have going on?
The location in which you take your photos is a way to begin creating your aesthetic; maybe there is a certain type of pattern on your feed; these little details become memories and points of reference that cause your creativity to be remembered. Usually when people see aesthetic branding and details, they are moved at how well it’s executed and that causes them to stick around.
Your aesthetic can be whatever you want it to be, but whatever it is, make it something YOU actually like; something you actually enjoy creating and maintaining.
Determine Your Filter, Preset or Custom Photo Edits
Once you have your mood board and desired aesthetic style, you can then decide if a filter or preset is necessary. I will always advocate for a photo edit of some sort that can be duplicated into creating your aesthetic, but a strong filter or preset isn’t necessarily required. In the beginning filters were strong and very particular, now a good amount of people are going for a no filter filter look. Neutral feeds and minimal vibes are running strong and when I rebranded I went that same direction myself.
When I only use my iPhone, I do tend to use one of my presets; when I use my Canon M50 I don’t often use a preset over the picture because the clarity, lighting and colors work well. Saying that to say, whatever your aesthetic is, whether you decide it includes a filter, preset or just a set of edits, knowing which you will use, won’t use and the like plays a major role in creating your aesthetic.
Use Characteristics of Your Photos for Creating Your Aesthetic
When it comes to creating your aesthetic are you creating indoors or outdoors? Is there anything that can be pulled from your current content to drive the direction of your future content? For me, outdoors and or out of the house settings are where I feel like I thrive. Environment and experience is big for me, so when I’m in the process of creating my aesthetic those are the things that I take into consideration. This is why I may do a bit of extra work by arriving early if I know I’m meeting girlfriends. If I’m “only” shooting content when I go out, I gotta make the most of it. I don’t shoot as often because I tend to build up my stash of content.
I like the peek of blue from the sky in my photos, I like natural light, those are the things that I gravitate toward consistently when it comes to creating. Creating content outdoors during the day, I’m bound to get some blue in there. Taking pictures outside of my house or in Santa Monica, I’m bound to get the palm tree vibe I wants. You get to decide what that thing is and when you decide, use that. Stop making yourself guess what it is you have to do.
As you become more comfortable creating your aesthetic, you get to decide what that looks like over time. Yes the filter is dope, but what I notice from others that have an aesthetic is how it comes across as a lifestyle. It’s weaved into every photo in some way and it ties things together. THAT is your aesthetic. Find ways to continue the story, continue the imagery, it all comes together. I don’t care if a picture gets less likes than another, OVERALL my feed is and has an aesthetic and that is how I will continue to create.
- 5 Ways to Create Aesthetic Stories
- 3 Tips for Taking Aesthetic Photos
- 7 Ways to Turn Your Aesthetic into A Lifestyle
