12 poses to stand out on Instagram

Instagram has become quite over-saturated, leaving us all to wonder how the bloody hell are we supposed to stand out anymore?!

Seriously, there are accounts now dedicated to the over use and repetition of the same photo concepts ( @insta_repeat is my personal favourite ).

It’s hard to put this in a box of ‘lack of creative’ as it is rather a nudge/aggressive push from social media into a box of ‘this is where your creativity needs to be put to be successful’.

You see, once people see a particular photo does well they want to recreate that so they can do well, or worse yet, the feature account that we all strive to get reposted on promoting the style of image they love to share so we all blindly follow in hopes of the same validation.

It is becoming more and more evident that we are all getting a little sick and tired of this nonsense so it is time to step out of all of the boxes and get weird.

As the ‘awkwardly relatable’ girl who made a reasonably sized name for herself on the world wide web for being, well, ‘awkwardly relatable’, I don’t think you could have come to a better place to learn some funky new poses to help yourself stand out on Instagram.

Before we get started you should definitely give me a follow on Instagram for constant weirdness and wonderfulness! Okay, NOW we can jump right in…

1 – Get your cartwheel on

I am sure most of you have attempted a cartwheel before and understand that it requires a reasonable amount of effort and skill.

Although this move can be a little exhausting and you may pull a muscle or two it is one of my favourite ways to bring a photo to life.

Tips:

• Maybe stretch a little beforehand
• Do not try this in large crowds as I don’t see that going well for anyone. Although I do see some interesting photos coming out of this hahaha
• Know your limits. The last thing you want to do is injure yourself for the gram… totally not worth it.

2 – When the cartwheel falls off

Don’t even try to deny that you love a good fail photo.

Cartwheels can be super cool when captured perfectly but the wobbly aftermath also brings an interesting perspective to your photos.

I don’t know about you but I always seem to forget how to cartwheel until I, well, cartwheel. At this point it has become like riding a bike, actually, no that is an awful analogy and you would understand why if you have read all about my Amsterdam Bike Tour… Nonetheless, although cartwheels come pretty naturally now I still manage to overshoot or get really dizzy.

I definitely never expected to like my cartwheel fail post more than than the beautiful cartwheel itself.

Tips:

• Have fun with it
• Always check through all of your photos, you don’t want to miss any goodies just because they weren’t exactly what you had in mind
• don’t force yourself to have a cartwheel fail. Let it happen naturally

3 – Shared misadventures

This is almost the same point but it seems important enough to repeat. Move over super staged #instagirl pics, your awkwardly relatable snaps are coming through!

Whether you trip into a garden or have a wasp fly into your eye when you’re trying to take cute pics with your pals, these can be the best types of photos.

It happens to the best of us so don’t be scared to embarrass yourself every now and then.

Tips:

• like the wise philosopher Hannah Montana once said: “Nobody’s perfect, you live and you learn it”

4 – Jump for joy

You will be able to give up your gym membership if you start bringing this bad boy into your Instagram shoot routine.

I always joke around that Instagram is the best form of exercise I get but, my oh my this is no joke.

Not only is the jump great for your fitness but great for the ‘gram. Action shots tend to grab people’s attention more so than your average snap.

Tips:

• Have the camera as low as possible to make it seem like your jump is much more impressive than it actually is.
• Burst mode is your best friend with these jump shots unless you have a knack for timing things perfectly.

5 – Put your leg in the air like you just don’t care

I find myself doing this A LOT.

It’s a weird mix between yoga and wanting to do a cool jump shot but not having enough energy.

Considering this requires much less effort than a jump, it still seems to have a similar impact that people are drawn to.

No one is really sure what is going on with this pose, not even me but it certainly helps you stand out.

Tips:

• Have fun with it
• If you get confused, just pretend you are a dog peeing on a tree (do not literally do this please)

6 – The “I’m about to wet myself”

It started off with me just trying to have my Marilyn Monroe moment in windy settings yet it always seemed to turn out looking more like I was busting to go to the toilet.

Unfortunate? Yes. Funny? Definitely.

People may only be liking these photos in sympathy but again, you will be standing out!

Tips:

• Don’t actually wet yourself
• Dresses and flowy clothing work best
• In saying that dresses can be a real pain to wear when it is windy so wear or pack something to switch into after you snap the perfect pic instead

7 – The “Is that supposed to be yoga?”

This pose can speak for itself.

Tips:

• Don’t

8 – Standing starfish or X marks the spot

This one is all about making yourself seem a big as possible to grab people’s attention.

I say standing starfish but starfishing yourself onto the ground would grab my attention too.

Tips:

• Bring your starfish to life with a little bit of a twirl/dance
• make sure to frame yourself in the right place to make a starfish statement.

9 – Run away from your problems

Not the best advice to follow in general but as a pose, hell yes!

It is almost like a #followmeto yet less obnoxious.

Tips:

• Have a cool background to show where you are running to, just like this beautiful backdrop in Vis, Croatia from my wild week with Life Before Work Yachtlife
• Caption it “running away from my problems” because people love that relatable nonsense.

10 – Literally LOL

I get comments all the time that my insta positivity is infectious so I think it is important for more of us to spread some happiness.

I usually laugh through most of my shoots because I get really awkward and uncomfortable so that is my natural reflex but it really makes a huge difference to your photos.

Instagram can be draining enough as it is so we all need to be having a bit more fun!

Tips:

• If your friends are taking your pic ask them to say something to make you laugh. This goes one of two ways:
  1. they say something genuinely funny
  2. they have no idea what to do or say and now everyone is awkward and laughing anyway

11 – The Insta quickstep

This is another one of those tricks to bring a bit of spice into your gram.

What looks like a bit of a power walk/ jog is more of a hop on the spot. This is because a normal jog is quite hard to capture even in burst so this strange hop/stride allows for more chance of snapping the pic of your dreams.

Tips:

• This is deceptively complicated. Practice makes perfect!

12 – The sloth

Last but not least, the sloth.

My personal favourite and has become some what of a staple across my Instagram.

Undoubtably to most awkward looking position to get in and out of but is sure to get you to stand on on Instagram and in real life!

Tips:

• think of it as a big horizontal hug
• embrace your inner sloth

I really could have gone on for much longer with this but it is time for you to release your creative freedom.

If you do end up putting any of these into practice please tag me @wanderingdonut so I can continue to spread the love!