Hashtag Authentic: Finding creativity and building a community on Instagram and beyond

by Sara Tasker

In Hashtag Authentic, social media guru Sara Tasker provides tips, advice, and guidance on how to turn your personal Instagram account into a profitable creative outlet.

Since setting up her Instagram account (@me_and_orla) while on maternity leave in 2013, Sara has become a celebrated influencer and iPhoneographer, and through her calm, atmospheric, and authentic style has garnered legions of followers. Here, Sara presents the lessons she has learned along the way.

Sara's nurturing voice and enchanting photography provide guidance on:

- storytelling, with tips on finding your own visual style and personal niche;
- making pictures, including composing for Instagram, finding the best light, and getting the most out of your camera phone;
- archiving your life, with tips organized by themes like Craft & Making, Family & Pets, and Food & Ingredients;
- and sharing your world, detailing the keys to Instagram success and beyond.

Hashtag Authentic is both an inspiring manual and an interactive tool for finding an online voice, growing a tribe, and becoming an influencer.

Genres: Nonfiction, Photography, Social Media, Business, Art, Self Help, Crafts

192 pages, Hardcover

First published February 19, 2019

Reviews

[Valerity (Val)]

Hashtag Authentic: Be your best creative self via your Instagram online presence

I have Instagram but I don’t spend any time on it. I’m just too busy with my other stuff to ever make it there. So when I saw this book I thought it would be a way to get a look at one perspective of it, and maybe learn a bit about it. Well, that I did, and then some in this informative book by Sara Tasker. She shares how she got stared herself and gives lots of great tips on how to improve your Insta if you are posting there. She gives ideas on how to get started, finding your style, and finding your voice.

There are lots of tips on composition and composing for Instagram and getting better pictures in general. Plus lots more. So if you’re really into Instagram and posting there, you might want to check this out. I think it will have something in it for you to improve your posting. My thanks for the advance electronic copy that was provided by NetGalley, author Sara Tasker, and the publisher for my fair review. 3.5 Stars

Also shown on my BookZone blog:
https://wordpress.com/post/bookblog20...

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a great book to settle in with on a quiet afternoon - breezy, heartfelt, with beautiful photos on every page. It’s part handbook for Instagram, part meditation on thankfulness and the nature of creativity, part story of a young mother searching for connection.

All in all, an optimistic view of social media, and all the best things that can come through sharing on this platform. Being quite an amateur when it comes to photography, I loved her chapter on taking better photos and visual storytelling - she offers exercises too (that I didn’t do but seem helpful!).

This is absolutely not for everyone. What resonated most with me was using social media to find a community that isn’t present in offline life: I’ve done that many times over. If that’s not you, skip it. If it is and you want to use social media to connect and create, read on!

[PinkPanthress · Rating 4 out of 5]

Since I have 'partially' become a Quereinsteiger last year with my job as a Social Media Manager I've read a few books regarding this topic.

I have read professional Books as well as non-professional ones regarding IG, Social Media in general, Copy writing & Digital Marketing.
While Books like this one -> A beautiful Mess (Read my Review) were not to my liking… Sara Tasker knows how to guide you through a little journey to create a better IG Feed.

¦ ߹ ¦ · ¦ ߹ ¦ · ¦ ߹ ¦ · ¦ ߹ ¦ · ¦ ߹ ¦ · ¦ ߹ ¦ · ¦ ߹ ¦ · ¦ ߹ ¦

A 4.2 Star Rating.
While I didn't really learn much new from this Book, I enjoyed reading it none the less.

If you want to get new Ideas for your personal IG Account and polish your Feed and such… and just so happen to get your hands on a copy of this, read and enjoy.

It is filled with aesthetically pleasing photographs and great tips if you are rather new to Instagram, or do not know how to start your journey.

Anything goes… there are no rules! 😄


♾️

[Haley The Caffeinated Reader · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you've read the blurb then you at least know what this is about, if you're not interested in Instagram or tips about it then I wouldn't recommend this. If you are, then I would highly recommend this, Sara has a really nice writing voice and I have a sneaking suspicion she'd write a pretty good motivational speaker book. She's truthful, she admits though these pictures represent her life and times in it, that they are of course adapted to the photo that she wants (like the waterfall picture where chaos is ensuing in the background which I found entirely relatable). She's taken her experience and tried to help others who are looking for their Instagram/Social media voices. I found it a quick pleasant read and as someone who is trying to interact more with a certain community via Instagram, I found this helpful and even bookmarked a few pages to go back to! I've rated this on how useful and enjoyable I found it, it's not meant to be a literary masterpiece and she gives you exactly what she says she will as far as content goes.

I received a free copy of this via NetGalley in exchange for my HONEST opinion. Getting this for free had no influence on my review. I just call them as I see them.

[Isabelle | Nine Tale Vixen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received a review copy of this book from Netgalley. This does not affect my rating or opinions.

4.5 stars.

When we shoot moments instead of things we capture the feelings as well as the facts. [...] A great moment, photographed, makes us nostalgic - in fact, it should feel that way even if we only shot it yesterday.

I've been a follower and fan of Sara Tasker's Instagram (@me_and_orla) for a while now. The calming composition and captions of her photos remind me to take a moment to breathe and appreciate the world around me, and that's the power of human connection.

This is a beautifully written and very helpful guide for the age of social media, offering insight on visual storytelling, smartphone photography, the balance between authenticity and aesthetic. There are thoughtful exercises to help you figure out your style and what messages you want to convey, what distinguishes the photos that appeal to you (and therefore your ideal target audience). Whether you have 10 or 10k followers, the evergreen tips in this book are good for checking in on your process and developing an authentic online community.

Also recommended by Haley @ The Caffeinated Reader.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Whether we like it or not Social Media is the current way to get publicity for whatever it is that you are trying to promote, be it a book, an event, or yourself.

And although Sara's photos, through out this book, are well composed, and beautiful, in a cold sort of way, they all look staged. But, perhaps that is what photography is. Oddly enough, she tells you to take photos that speak to you, which is usually how it works.

The thing about Instagram is that people see a style, and they all mimic it. The style that Sara is exhibiting is beauitful, but I have seen so many people copying it, I think that they are not getting what she is saying about using your own voice.







The thing is, that everyone uses Instragram for different things. I am friendly with a group of Bookstagrammers, as they are called, who review, or talk about books. There is also an authors loop, where I meet authors. Her advice is to engage, and that is very true. Once you have found what it is you are passionate about, and want to tell someone about, then once you find your people, engage.

It is not just about putting up pretty pictures.

This book is good for people who are having trouble finding their voice. That need to think about what they want the Instagram account for.

Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.

[Jaye Rockett · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book arrived today and I finished it today, it was so beautiful, so well written I couldn’t bear to put it down. Not only is this perhaps the most beautiful book I’ve ever seen, Sara offers insightful, intuitive advice in the kind of friendly, coffee with your pals kinda way I absorb information best. A combination of her beautiful photography and well thought out journaling/worksheet prompts have already left me feeling inspired, motivated and creatively charged. I’ve spent most of that making lists of photos to take & exploring what I hope to get out of my photography and instagram! I can’t wait to pick up this book, open on a random page and use that page as a prompt. Not just one for the instagram lovers out there, this is a gorgeous tool for anyone creative.

[Šarūnė · Rating 5 out of 5]

Authentic, artistic, and inspiring to be yourself on social media.
This book has been an art therapy course for me as I was reading it. Also, reassuring that people do long for connection and authenticity on social media, 'social' indicates that we should be social creatures there, not just obsessed with numbers of followers.
Having published it in 2019, this book has a lot of great insight on Instagram's ins and outs, authentic community building, and of course, as a professional photographer, Sara shares a lot of great thoughts about aesthetics, framing, etc.

"Don't take any unfollows to heart. Anyone who doesn't like or get our work is not someone we should want to keep around. I see it as a little like panning for gold: you scoop in the dirt, give it a shake. We're only interested in collecting those glittering nuggets of golden brilliance. Everything else is just noise, and is welcome to fall through cracks." (p. 176)

"Accept there's no magic wand. There are no shortcuts here: only by figuring out who we are and what we really want to share with the world can we build something of value online.<...> it's the people with a unique voice, a clear and consistent message and a strong sense of self who really stand out and succeed." (p. 185)

"Don't compare your real life to someone else's highlight reel." (p. 188)

[Heena Rathore Rathore-Pardeshi · Rating 4 out of 5]

A surprisingly beautifully written book which touched on a lot of topics which Instagram enthusiasts, like myself, often wonder about. It also tackled the big issues of finding one's identity and being unique while also being your best creative self, in general, very well!
If you spend even an hour daily on Instagram, then do read this book!

[Eustacia Tan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of beautiful photos and more exercises than I expected on finding your voice and style on Instagram.

I like what she says about photography being a time capsule of things you want to remember, but I also wonder if taking many photos of the moment takes you out of the moment. Still, I might come back to this if I want to try to improve my photographs - it's not very technical but there are concrete suggestions here

[Janelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I tend to hang out in relatively niche corners of Instagram. As such, I came to Hashtag Authentic completely unaware of Sara Tasker and her Instagram feed. Never heard of her, and her images don't show up in my Explore feed. But the description of Tasker as an "Instagram coach" twigged my curiosity enough to make me want to read this.

What this book is:
A gorgeous primer on the hows and whys of Instagram. Tasker teaches basic lessons in photography for social media. (If you're familiar with how to use a camera--if you already know what an f stop is and the rule of thirds--you'll breeze over about a quarter of this slim volume.) She offers recommendations on editing tools, and also discusses a little of the business of editing, both in terms of individual images (go easy on the filters, everyone) and
also one's grid in general.

Tasker's voice is generous and kind, never smug. It's all very down-to-earth, and that will make it easier to hear her message. She's your favorite cousin, here to urge you to be yourself and never mind your follower count. But her message is advice one might cull from any number of sources over time, or might learn on one's own over time. (Raise your hand if you went through an unfortunate phase with blink tags in the early days of the internet, and had to unlearn that behavior.)

What this book is not:
In the middle of a how-to on image composition, Tasker mentions moving items out of frame for a better shot, and I was seized with a question about what that meant for the word "authentic" in the title. Why authentic?

I took a couple of pictures for Instagram earlier this week. I discarded the first few iterations because a dried spill on the table showed in the foreground. The later shots were angled upward a bit to keep it out of frame. Which is authentic? My dirty kitchen table?

There's an unexplored truth underlying the book: we decry seemingly perfect lives as presented on social media but we don't actually want to see imperfect lives on social media. We lambaste parents who share images of their children mid-tantrum. We grumble about the relative who shares their every ache and pain online. In a medium like Instagram, we zoom in on beautiful pictures and gloss over the rude and difficult. We don't want authenticity.

Tasker urges people to share their failures and messes, but... you know... pay attention to how it lays out in your grid.

Despite all this, I did find this to be a lovely book. Tasker's photography is attractive, and I would not hesitate to make a gift of this to a teen who wants advice on "how to Instagram".

At the time of this review, the hardcover edition of this book is less than $1 more than the Kindle edition. The hardcover is well worth the additional expense. Much of the content of the book is visual, and e-ink would not do it justice.

A complimentary copy of this book was provided to me in order to facilitate this review.

[Kayleigh · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lovely way to spend a day, dipping in and out of this beautiful book.
Sara has written in a way that makes you feel as though you’re a friend, like she’s someone to take advice from and who’s supporting you 100%.

Not only is this book full of beautiful photos, it has great advice and personal experience to help you to find your way with your own Instagram and the style of photos you’d like to create whether it be of the little things in life, flatlays or showing off your artwork.

A really good read for anyone looking to grow their Instagram account authentically.

[Beverley Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

I flew through this very beautifully presented book. It's very aesthetically pleasing on all counts, from the creative flair of the photography inside to the weight and feel of the paper.

For those who don't know, Sara Tasker is an Instagram coach and a social media influencer. Whilst I normally roll my eyes at the last term, I've been following Sara for a long time and find her words and insights very thoughtfully crafted.

It's a very interesting peek into how social media (Instagram) works with its continually changing benchmarks of algorithm shifts and hoops to jump through. Sara tells how she built up her following, how she uses light and mood in her photography, and also some of the *cheats* involved.

Pick it up if you're interested in hearing a genuine voice and/or if you're trying to build a community on Instagram.

[Cecily Wolfe · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a really helpful and inspiring look at how anyone can use Instagram to share their lives and loves with the world, and have fun doing it. If you aren't great with a camera, you'll find lots of tips and tricks for both cameras and phone cameras in this book, and plenty of practical advice on how to design an Instagram page that truly reflects who you are and what your life is about. This is wonderful for individuals and business owners who want to connect with others online and in real life in meaningful ways, and has a lot of beautiful photos with explanations of what makes them good for Instagram use.

[Tomi Ola · Rating 5 out of 5]

As someone who uses Instagram to promote a message on fashion and sustainability, Sara Tasker's book was precisely the right fit. She tackles questions about the platform from the perspective of community over follower count; engagement with your core message over ❤likes.

I also love her writing style. It is soothing and reassuring.

If you're looking to build a community on Instagram around a core message or even your personal brand, I'd recommend picking this book up.

It doesn't hurt that it looks luxurious on a coffee table too.

[Claudia Mangeac · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really loved it but i really wish it would have loved for it to be longer - I felt like the chapters were great but they could have been double the size with even more examples.

[Charlotte · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wanted to love this but it wasn’t for me. I think I need to stop reading books about Instagram!

[Cherniakhivska]

Почала, не дочитала, не планую завершувати, тому просто переношу в папку прочитаних для обліку.

[Kelsey Mech · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a beautiful, calming and inspiring take on Instagram! It felt like such a comforting read for navigating Instagram these days.

[Alicia Bayer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book much more helpful for Instagram advice and photo composition than Instastyle, a similar book I read last year. The photos are not my style and they do seem pretty staged, dark and commercial, but I enjoyed the author's voice far more than the other's and it did have useful advice.

While I am on IG, I don't use it as a hard core way to make money or influence people but more as a way to preserve moments and connect with like-minded folks -- fellow foragers, homeschooling mothers, gardeners, tinkerers, cooks... For others like myself, books like this may take some of the fun away from it all. For those who want to be "influencers" (oh, how I hate that word), it is likely to be very helpful and inspirational.

I read a temporary digital ARC of this book for the purpose of review.

[Sarah Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is calming and beautiful to read, very pretty graphics from various influencers form Instagram. Even though they were different people a lot of them looked very similar in style. The book has some good information on taking pictures and how to brand your Instagram feed. However I am not sure why Authentic is in the title as much of the instruction in the book is how to arrange pictures to look better than real life probably is. This is why I marked it down one star. I'm sure this author and other influencers take much more time than the average person does to get the perfect picture. If you are looking for this, then great read this book. If your an amateur you can get some information out of this book as well, but some information won't be your reality. I know personally I can't spend hours a day staging the perfect picture.

[Sascha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Confession time. I don’t spend a lot of time on other forms of Social Media besides my microcosm. I have accounts on Twitter, FB, Instagram, etc., and I contribute (sometimes), but I remain blithely ignorant of many of the trending influencers of Social Media. This is why I came to Hashtag Authentic expecting one thing and receiving another all together.

Hashtag Authentic by Sara Tasker blew me away because of the expectations I approached it with. Sara Tasker is not just a success on Instagram because she takes a lot of photos, but because she knows her stuff and she shares a lot of her experiences, insights, and knowledge in this book.

read more: https://saschadarlington.me/2019/02/1...

[Dux [My week is Booked] · Rating 2 out of 5]

The photos inside are really pretty, but it's not very instructional. For instance it shows a photo at a cool angle and recommends taking photos like this for Instagram, but it doesn't tell you how she accomplished taking a photo at that angle. Is someone taking it for her? Does she bring a tripod and her phone to a coffee shop and set a self timer? We'll never know!

[Bev · Rating 5 out of 5]

Common sense advice, great tips and beautiful photos make this an enjoyable and informative read.

[YvonneN · Rating 4 out of 5]

Vor einigen Wochen hatte mich der Bloggerblues gepackt und ich machte mir verstärkt Gedanken darüber, wo es mit meinem Blog und dem Instagram-Account hingehen sollte, den ich passend dazu irgendwann aus dem Boden gestampft hatte. Stagnation und Langeweile waren meine Grundempfindungen, wenn ich über beides nachdachte. So rannte der Fotografie-Newsletter vom Rheinwerk Verlag bei mir offene Türen ein, als er mir ein Buch empfahl, das den Namen „Hashtag Authentisch“ trug und mir versprach, meinen eigenen kreativen Weg zu finden. Ich hatte Lust darauf kreativer zu werden, wollte mich aber nicht in der Zurschaustellung einer Welt verlieren, die nicht meiner entsprach. Das Buch machte mich neugierig und schon bald hielt ich es in Händen.

Ein wunderschön gestaltetes Buch, gespickt mit vielen Fotos, die Sara Tasker auch auf ihrem Instagram-Account @me_and_orla zeigt. Bilder und Gestaltung verschmelzen zu einem harmonischen Gesamtbild und laden zum Wohlfühlen ein. Unterteilt ist das Buch in die vier Themenbereiche „Storytelling“, „Bilder machen“, „Das Archiv deines Lebens“ und „Teile deine Welt“. In darin enthaltenen Kapiteln wie „Digitalfotografie kann jeder“, „Finde deinen Stil“, und „Sich zeigen“ nimmt sie den Anfänger an die Hand und beseitigt auf sympathische Weise mögliche Schwellenängste. Beim Lesen gewinnt man tatsächlich den Eindruck, auch selbst so einen wunderschönen Instagram-Account mit eigenen Inhalten befüllen zu können. Denn die Autorin gibt viele Themen und Beispiele an die Hand, die zum ausprobieren und nachmachen inspirieren. Aber Sara Tasker ist nicht darauf bedacht ihre Vorgehensweise als einzig seelig machend zu verkaufen, sondern sie inspiriert mit einer Leichtigkeit, die nicht einengt und vorgibt, sondern vorschlägt um eigene Wege zu finden. Sehr sympathisch und angenehm. Die unkreative Seite Instagrams, also die Seite, die sich mit Technik und Statistik oder Ähnlichem beschäftigt, sucht man allerdings in diesem Buch vergebens. denn es beschäftigt sich mit der Gestaltung und der Schaffung von Inhalten für den Instagram Account.

Für mich war es ein sehr interessanter Ausflug in die Insta-Welt, der mir dabei geholfen hat meine eigene Blog- und Instagramgestaltung zu überdenken. Und das, ohne die Vorschläge aus dem Buch zu übernehmen, auch wenn sie mir gefallen haben. So werde ich auch weiterhin keinesfalls optisch in den Mittelpunkt rücken und auch nicht versuchen meinen Alltag gestalterisch ausdrücken, nur damit ich um jeden Preis Inhalte produziere. Aber ich liebe die Fotografie und lasse sie nun stärker mit einfließen. Fotos mag ich entwickeln und Schönes betonen, aber ich mag keine Filter, die über alles einen Schleier legen oder mit einem unnatürlichen Farbkonzept verfremden. Ich mag jedoch manchmal experimentieren und neben Lightroom auch Photoshop benutzen. Bei der Gestaltung der Bilder, bei denen Buchtitel zusammengestellt werden, die ich nur digital besitze, gebe ich mir künftig mehr Mühe. Et voilà – Stagnation und Langeweile sind verschwunden und mir gefällt besser, was ich auf Blog und Instagram sehe. Es ist zwar immer noch nicht so richtig harmonisch und aus einem Guss, aber das bin ich ja auch nicht. Und genau das ist wohl auch #authentisch 🙂

[Jared Woods · Rating 3 out of 5]

When I recently hit the modest but commendable 2K Instagram follower milestone, I hollered my pride towards my female companion. She looked at me with repulsion, the skew glance of the "euw", poking at my mental fires of shame. She questioned my admiration for such superficial stats, then so did I. My brain spun back to front and double-checked I was where I still wanted to be. I was. More Instagram followers meant more people viewed my art, and I desired to meddle in as many lives as possible. My mind reversed its 180 then kicked that lady out of my house, never seen again. There's more to the story but it's irrelevant.

That incident inspired the purchase of this publication and if the pretentious title nauseates your threshold, rest assured it grows into itself comfortably. The author, Sara (aka @me_and_orla), earns her authority due to her potent threeway combination of images, text, and platform proficiency. Her passionate eye reflects life's simplicities through a profound lense of magic before her caption wraps up the gift, hugging a moment into place. Considering our modern world, a healthy relationship with social media is one of the internet's rarest of qualities, but Sara has obtained a balance, now genuinely helping others to enjoy the same online expression. Her likeable personality passes education without intrusion, and I would happily accompany her light path of wisdom anywhere. Not a negative word thus far!

Until now: this book was not what I wanted. As Sara herself admits, Hashtag Authentic sells itself as an Instagram guide but is more about photography meets social media engagement, a midpoint where Instagram so happens to fall. It's fantastic advice if you're seeking your niche or style and will benefit you if you're living a life like hers (a mother comes to mind). However, if you're someone who uses Insta for their hand-cranked art (such as myself @legotrip hi), then the book's majority photography advice will do little to improve your influence. I just wanted tips to get followers, dude! Then again, I must accept my minority demographic. Many people would pick up this guide to improve real-life-snaps and it's silly to complain about this inclusion simply because I misjudged the cover. I can't blame the book for my oversight, and to be fair, I still learned new techniques that inspired me. See? Even my complaints are compliments.

From another perspective, I now doubt if this pursuit is for me. I fancy Instagram above most platforms, but I recognise how the top dogs roll and where the desperate parasites copy. It makes me sick. Encouraging engagement by asking questions or begging users to tag their friends is one of the uncoolest looks online, I could never. I struggle to post a story without feeling dirty; that's how old school I am. But if you're like me or even if you don't use Instagram whatsoever, this coffee table piece maintains its worth in presentation alone. You can zip through it for helpful information, or you can take your time to admire Sara's masterful talent at capturing the attention from our deficit disorders. I am curious to see if her tips will be remotely relevant to my #legobiscuits, but even if I gain nothing, she has gained something. A new follower.

[Liz (Quirky Cat) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received a copy of Hashtag Authentic through NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Hashtag Authentic is the perfect novel for anyone out there trying to work on their Instagram presence or image. It doesn’t matter if you’re doing it as a personal account or trying to get a business going. This novel will help you organize your thoughts, come up with a plan and feeling, and keep you on track.
Sara Tasker is a trustworthy expert in the field, so you won’t be wasting your time with her book. She’s the perfect Instagram coach, as pointed out in this book’s bio. But it’s true, she really does know what she’s doing, and she had no problem laying out the whole process from beginning to end.
This novel covers everything, from the cultural relevance of Instagram, to photography basics, to how to think about arranging your photos, and how to capture everyday parts of your life. From there she progressed into other subjects, such as finding your personal style, how to include nature, pets, family, and whimsy, things like that.
The novel also covers a lot of the more technical elements of arranging photos, such as composition and lighting. She even includes tips on using the camera within your phone – something a lot of traditional photography books will overlook.
Finally, the book also includes tips and advice on your actual Instagram account. Everything from how to include stories, to captions, and how to define your own version of success.
This book is an amazing resource to anybody that is trying to up their Instagram game. I think it’d be a fun read for those that have a personal account for fun, and vital for those trying to make a business out of their Instagram page.

For more reviews, check out Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks

[Sophie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A visually stunning book about getting the most from Instagram crammed with the author's own photos for inspiration, but did feel lacking in actual content.

The book is split into 4 sections, the first ('Storytelling') and the last ('Sharing Your World') are great and are by far the more interesting parts. In the first section, the author talks about finding your personal style and includes some exercises you can do to help find the kind of imagery that appeals to you. The final section talks generally about instagram, including writing captions and getting more engagement, using the story feature effectively etc. Unfortunately the other sections let it down for me. The second section ('Making Pictures') reads like a beginners guide to photography and also talks at length about how to use your phone camera (and how to use your DSLR if you're fortunate enough to have one). The information seems quite basic, for example, taking photos by a window using daylight takes nicer photos than artifical light at night, tapping the screen changes the focus of your phone camera etc. I think it's unlikely that somebody who would pick up this book wouldn't know these things. The third section ('Archiving Your Life') seemed like nearly 50 pages of examples of the types of photos you could take of various subjects, for example, if you wanted to document 'Family & Pets', you could capture a range of facial expressions.

Overall I did feel more inspired afterwards, but all of the advice felt very centered around a personal Instagram, whereas I tend to use it more for my online shop so didn't find that much of use here.

[Nina · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've been following Sara on Instagram/her blog for years now and I love the content she puts out so it only felt right to buy and read her book aswell. And it didn't disappoint.

I've "recently" been stuck in a slumb when it comes to my Instagram. The motivation and inspiration to take photos and be creative just isn't there, although photography was always one of my biggest hobbies. And while this book *obviously* didn't completley cured that, it did give me ideas as to where to start looking when being a bit lost. The tips and tricks Sara shares in here are easy to follow and not specific for one type of content. What I really liked about this (and Sara in general) is that it's never about the numbers or growing fast. It's always about natural engagement and finding your audience which I find refreshing in the Insta world.
The writing is super easy to follow, it essentially reads like her blog or e-mails.

With that being said there is not too much in there that is completley new to one, if they follow Sara anywhere else. You can find these tips and tricks on her various platforms if you want, however it's really nice to have them all in one place and tbh the book is just really aesthically pleasing.

[Shelly Seward · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was scanning NetGalley a couple of weeks ago and the person on the cover of the book looked familiar to me. (Sara is correct when she says that you should share photos of yourself on your Instagram account from time to time so people can know the person behind your Instagram! If she had not shown photos of herself on her Instagram, I wouldn't have known it was her book and would have kept on scrolling.) When I read the description, I realized that I follow her on Instagram! I enjoyed the premise of this book and her views on how to get more engagement on your Instagram. I liked the exercises she asks you to try and the photos throughout the book were lovely. Reading the book on a small tablet does not do the book justice I'm sure and some of the sentences in my ARC copy were off and hard to follow. This book encourages you to try to gain more engagement not followers, which is what I'm looking for. You can stage photos if your surroundings are feeling uninspired, but you can still be authentic. Have a reason for the photo and share the story behind it. Be yourself.

***I received an eARC of this book from NetGalley for an honest review.***