07 Apr 25 Famous Instagram Accounts: Then And Now
There’s something to be said about an artist’s evolution. Some artists get into art, without knowing that they’re getting into art – they stumble into it accidentally. Some people don’t even know they have a creative layer (which is of course silly, because everyone is creative, but hey, not everyone believes it). Luckily, with the help of Instagram, a lot of people are uncovering hidden talents (or are finding their lives change) because they have been given a project to work on, or have made a public commitment to documenting something.
We spent some time (ok, A LOT of time) scrolling through thousands of images, looking at some OIGs (Original Instagram Gangsters), and some of our favourite artists, photographers, and foodies that we have (at some point) discovered on the platform, to see how (if at all) they have evolved from the early Grammers they were, to the present-day Grammers they are now. What began as a curious project to see the evolution of a few people’s Insta feeds, quickly became a lesson in the evolution of artistry, modern-day photography, and personal branding. As two members of the Instagram generation, it actually felt quite nostalgic, looking back on the evolution of the platform itself – we reminisced on the days when posting your ‘Gram with a border was all the rage, and square crops were your only option. Remember those days?!
Well, although a few peeps have remained loyal to the square crop, almost all have:
- Become artists – no matter who they were, what their subject was back then and what it is now, why they were doing it, what industry they were in, and what their intention with Instagram was and is – they’ve unequivocally improved as creatives;
- Upgraded their photo-taking equipment (or at least the quality of their imagery has improved across the board) – either because phone cameras have improved, the IGers have made a concerted effort to invest in better camera equipment, or they’ve moved away from on-the-go happy snaps, into stylised and art directed photoshoots (or all of those);
- Become better at packaging their feed (and therefore their visual online presence) into a more consistent story – almost like a personal magazine – allowing each person to create their very own distinct look and style (we’re not sure if it’s the social pressure, or love of craft, or simply the business opportunity (or all three) that’s come from Instagram, but it’s clear as day).
So besides taking you down memory lane, what point are we trying to make with this post?
No matter who you are, where you live, what your interests are, how big your name is, or how successful someone may appear, they all started somewhere, and have improved in their pursuit, simply by sticking to it and doing it over and over and over again.
We hope you enjoy looking back on some of the highlighted IGers’ early posts as much as we did, and we hope, if anything, this post inspires you to start a project today, even for the sheer joy of seeing how you improve over the next few years.
Enjoy!
If you enjoyed this blog post, you may want to follow our journey on Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter, browse our online photography shop, or get yourself a copy of our TRAVEL AROUND THE WORLD eBook.
@AndrewKnapp – one of our favourite doggies on Instagram, has gone from happy pooch to star pooch.
@Bejamin – it’s been so good to watch this photographer grow.
@Brahmino – one of the most stylish feeds we know.
@BryanAdamC – same beautiful model, incredible new look.
@ChrisBurkard – passion for surfing remains, but the crafted depiction is inspiring.
@Desserted_In_Paris – a little more thought, a lot more punch.
@DoYouTravel – we love everything about this evolution.
@DrCuerda – the style’s been around since the beginning, but the crafted finished product has beautifully developed.
@EzgiPolat – growth of a stylist and photographer.
@FurryLittlePeach – a simple and great example of personal brand growth.
@George_And_Troja – we feel the improvement here has gone from enjoying Irish Setters, to wanting one for ourselves.
@HappyGreyLucky – as the kiddies grew, so did the ideas and creativity.
@HoboPeeba – turning us into cat people by the day.
@Jacob – same passionate love for photography, a new and fresh approach to it.
@Kpunkka – does it get better than this?
@LilyRose – we’ve loved watching Lily grow by the day – inspiring to say the least.
@MuradOsmann – the birth and growth of Instagram’s (arguably) biggest project.
@Nois7 – from beautiful reality to surreal fantasy.
@Ravivora – we want to frame this one.
@SamLarson – one of our favourite artist stories.
@StevinT – sensational growth in the outdoor photography space.
@ThisWildIdea – Maddie makes almost every single one of our Instagram Case Study posts – do you blame us?
And of course we had to take a look at our own evolution over the last few years:
@HowFarFromHome – it seems the number on our board is not the only thing that’s grown
@ChanelCartell – same subject, new light
@StevoDirnberger – making boats look better since 1986
If you enjoyed this blog post, you may want to follow our journey on Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter, browse our online photography shop, or get yourself a copy of our TRAVEL AROUND THE WORLD eBook.
No Comments