How to find the perfect location for Instagram outfit photos
Finding inspiration for Instagram photo locations is hard. We can’t all access the pastel streets of London, but that doesn’t mean you can’t take great outfit photos. I spend almost every weekend exploring Manchester for locations, and my tips can be applied to any city or town for those gorgeous, urban shots.
Here’s five ideas for finding the perfect location for your Instagram outfit photos. Please do tag me in any of your posts if you find inspiration here!
Embrace your local architecture
London isn’t the only place with gorgeous buildings, you know! I love wandering around Manchester’s Northern Quarter for gems exactly like Flok and its signature yellow door. The key here is to work the building into your photo, rather than make it the main focal point. It would have been easy for me to stand directly in the doorway (and I do love #doorsofig) but that would feel very unnatural. The best street style photos look effortless, like beautiful buildings like this just happen to feature in your life.
Scope out the street art
Graffiti has come a long way from gangs tagging their patch and is now a must-have for any street style Instagram feed. The key is to find street art that compliments your outfit without overpowering it. Avoid anything too busy, or stand next to the wall, rather than right in front of it. There’s no point styling an amazing outfit for it to blend into the background!
Keep it simple for detail shots
These photos of my accessories were taken on the least glamorous steps imaginable – but it doesn’t matter, because you can’t really see them! Anything can serve as a photo background if you get creative. In fact, sometimes the more mundane the better. A jazzy backdrop would have detracted from my shoes and bag. Stop thinking everything has to be Insta-perfect and get creative! On that note…
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder
These industrial steps next to a crumbling wall can hardly be described as photo ready. But I felt like there was just ‘something’ about them that would take a good photo. Et voila! One of my biggest tips is to pair your outfit’s vibe to your location. So, this grubby backdrop worked well for my rock chick-inspired get up, but if I’d been wearing a floaty, feminine ensemble I would have chosen somewhere else. The real star here, however, is the framing by my photographer. By cropping in and lining up the photo just so, this underwhelming backdrop has become edgy and cool.
Keep exploring!
This location may be my favourite ever ever. It was taken outside a bar and we stumbled upon it entirely by chance. Sometimes when I go out to take outfit photos I try to plan ahead too much, which only stifles the creativity. Go on, take a wander (pack some flats if needed!) and see where you end up. You won’t be disappointed.
Where are your photo go-tos? I’d love to read about them in the comments below.
The photos in this post were taken by the lovely Christie from The Glitterati Girl. Hit her up if you’re a Manchester blogger looking for street style shots!
