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How We Create Our Instagram Stories

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We're professional photographers, Mr + Mrs and Mom + Dad. We like to share insights into our industry and empower other photographers to build their biz.

Hi, WE'RE ERICA+JON

PERSONAL

It’s no secret that stories are a pretty big deal on Instagram. They help brands connect and become more relatable with their audience, while also featuring some of the BEST dance moves! (Or maybe that’s just Jon…) BUT…what turns out to be a learning curve for some people is the amount of time it takes to build compelling and aesthetically appealing stories for Instagram. People LOVE the raw + real content. Like Jon shaking his tail feather…I mean you always gotta DO IT FOR THE ‘GRAM, right!? But there is a balance of showcasing raw content AND building engaging and well put together stories for potential clients.

When it comes to our brand sneak peaks or our behind the scenes of us working, we LOVE curating and putting together a “production” to showcase our work. Erica really takes the reins on this one, and these stories have become an important part of our workflow. So without further ado, let’s get into the nitty gritty of what we use to UNFOLD the magic behind our IG stories.

Unfold App

Other than Erica’s social media talents, the Unfold app is really our secret sauce when it comes to telling not only our story, but the stories of the brands we work with on Instagram. We work with a wide variety of brands, so it’s important to us to represent each brand the best we can. The Unfold app allows you to create professionally designed social content at your fingertips with a library of OVER 150 templates and fronts from you to choose from. PLUS the app is super easy and convenient to use supporting both photos and video stories. One of the nice things about the app is that it does not require you to purchase anything. It is 100% FREE to download the app and start creating gorgeous IG stories for your audience and attract potential clients. Since we use the app so much, we personally pay for premium to include a larger selection of features, but again, that’s totally optional.

Step by Step to the Magic

The first step to the process is to search “unfold” in your app store, and download the app. WAH LA!! You are on your way!! Then once you are in the app, you’re going to want to start building and using those creative juices! 

Here are the steps to creating a new story:

  1. Once you open the app, click on the “+” button on the home screen.
  2. Type in a title for your project and then click “Create Story”
  3. Click on the “+” to add the first slide/page to your story.
  4. Then choose a template you like and would represent you and/or the brand you are working with well. (By clicking “another collection” at the bottom, you are able to access more templates.)
  5. Click the “+” again to keep adding more slides/pages to edit.
  6. Let your heart edit away! 🙂

Familiarize Yourself with All the Unfold Features

To become most effective and the most efficient, it is important to become familiar with ALL the features the app has to offer. And yes, we know this can seem overwhelming at first, but the more you’re able to practice and get experience with it, the better you will become. If we compared Erica’s IG stories to when she first started to now, you’d be shocked on the progress she has made and ultimately her spending the time to learn the in’s and out’s has transformed our business marketing to what it is today. Many of the household names we’ve booked and worked with have come through them finding our work on Instagram. Everytime we say this it blows our minds of the true power of social media.

Unfold has countless amounts of features such as adding text, stickers, GIFs, and more! They even have unique filters and presets for your photos and videos. Even though learning Unfold is really important, we also recommend getting to know Instagram’s features as well for things like adding your favorite songs to your posts. 

To help you get started in elevating your stories, we did a whole step by step video tutorial, mirroring Erica’s phone, for our Brand Photography Facebook group! Be sure to join the group and check out the video for a full, hands on learning experience. 

And let us know what questions you have for us! Do you have any pro tips when it comes to IG stories?!? Let us know in the comments! 

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