Instagram

What You Don’t See When You Scroll Past

From the outside, my life looks perfectly framed. Clean outfits, good lighting, coffee cups placed just right. A smooth scroll of moments that seem effortless. What most people don’t realize is how much of my life happens off-camera—and how different it feels from what makes it to the feed.

Being an Instagram influencer isn’t just about posting. It’s about constant observation. I’m always thinking in frames—angles, timing, captions. Even during moments that should be private, a small voice asks, Would this perform well? Learning when to silence that voice has been one of the hardest parts of this job.

There’s pressure in staying relevant. Algorithms shift without warning. A post you’re proud of might barely reach anyone, while something casual suddenly explodes. You learn not to tie your worth to numbers, even though numbers are literally how your success is measured. That contradiction takes time to manage.

People assume this life is easy because it looks light. What they don’t see are the negotiations, the edits, the hours spent rewriting one caption so it sounds honest but not too revealing. Authenticity is expected, but boundaries are necessary. You decide what parts of yourself are public and what stays sacred.

The best moments don’t come from viral posts. They come from messages saying, “I needed this today,” or “I didn’t know anyone else felt like that.” Those reminders ground me. They make the performance feel purposeful instead of hollow.

There are days I step back intentionally. No stories. No posts. Just living without documenting. Those breaks reset my relationship with the platform. They remind me that my life isn’t content—it’s the source of it.

Influencing has taught me discipline, self-awareness, and empathy. You learn how words land, how images affect moods, how comparison quietly creeps in. It’s made me more careful with what I share and why.

At the end of the day, Instagram is a tool—not an identity. The challenge is using it without letting it use you. If someone scrolls past my content and feels less alone, less pressured, or a little more understood, then the frame did its job—even if the moment behind it was beautifully imperfect.

What You Don’t See Between the Posts and the Perfect Lighting

People often think being an Instagram influencer means constant travel, free products, and perfectly curated mornings. And yes, there are beautiful moments—sunsets, brand shoots, and comments that make you smile. But what rarely shows up on the feed is everything that happens between the posts.

My day doesn’t start with posing; it starts with planning. Before I even open the app, I’m thinking about content ideas, captions, trends, analytics, and whether today’s post fits the bigger picture I’m trying to build. Creativity is fun, but consistency is work. Some days, inspiration flows easily. Other days, I stare at my screen wondering how to turn an ordinary moment into something meaningful for thousands of people.

There’s also the strange balance of being visible and invisible at the same time. People feel like they know you—they comment on your life, your choices, your appearance—but they only know the version you choose to share. Behind the scenes, there are rejected drafts, photos that didn’t work, collaborations that fell through, and days when the algorithm simply decides to ignore you.

One of the hardest lessons I’ve learned is not tying my self-worth to numbers. Likes fluctuate. Reach drops. Engagement changes overnight. If you let metrics define you, burnout arrives fast. I’ve had moments where a post I loved performed badly, and another I barely thought about went viral. That taught me something important: you can’t fully control how people respond, only how honestly you show up.

But there’s a rewarding side too. Messages from people saying a post helped them feel less alone. Followers who’ve been around since the beginning and grew alongside me. The freedom to create, to tell stories visually, to turn my perspective into something others connect with—that part still feels special.

Being an influencer isn’t about pretending life is perfect. It’s about choosing what to share responsibly, staying grounded, and remembering there’s a real person behind every screen—including mine.

The feed may look polished, but the journey behind it is very real.

In My Camera Roll: Stories I Never Planned to Share

People often assume my life as a creator is perfectly staged, but the truth sits quietly inside my camera roll—unedited, unfiltered, and often hilarious. Half of my content ideas are random sparks that hit me while waiting in line for bubble tea or sitting in an Uber stuck in traffic. And honestly, that’s the charm of this job: inspiration hides in the most unexpected corners.

This week, a simple stroll turned into a full-on creative discovery. I found this tiny street mural—bright blues, messy yellows, almost like the artist painted in a rush of emotion. I posted a quick story about it, nothing planned, no outfit shoot, no aesthetic coffee cup in hand. But that post got more replies than any polished brand collaboration I’ve done. It reminded me that people connect deeply with the moments that aren’t curated.

Behind the scenes, it’s a cycle of filming, editing, and second-guessing. Sometimes I take 30 clips just to use one two-second shot. Sometimes I scrap an entire shoot because the vibe feels “off.” And sometimes—my favorite times—I post something raw, something imperfect, and it resonates more than any trend ever could.

Balancing creativity with consistency is still the biggest challenge. Algorithms are unpredictable, audiences evolve, and staying relevant requires constant reinvention. But I love the rush of turning small pieces of daily life into something that makes someone smile, save the post, or feel understood.

At the end of the day, being a creator isn’t about looking perfect. It’s about telling stories—mine, yours, ours. The camera roll may be chaotic, but inside that chaos is where the magic usually hides.

When the Camera’s Off

Being an Instagram influencer sounds glamorous — free trips, fancy brunches, and perfectly timed golden-hour shots. And yes, sometimes it is exactly that. But most of the time? It’s me sitting on the floor in sweatpants, surrounded by half-open PR boxes, trying to find decent lighting and the motivation to smile for a photo I’ll delete ten times before posting.

People see a highlight reel, not the bloopers behind it. Like the time I spent two hours shooting a “candid” coffee photo that ended with a spilled latte and a burnt tongue. Or the travel vlog where I looked calm and radiant, even though I’d missed my flight that morning and hadn’t slept in 30 hours. It’s funny — how something that looks effortless can take so much effort.

What most don’t realize is how lonely it can get. You spend hours online connecting with thousands, but sometimes forget to look up and connect with the person sitting right next to you. I used to chase likes like they were validation, thinking success meant numbers. But the truth is — the best feeling isn’t when a post goes viral, it’s when someone messages me saying, “Hey, what you wrote helped me through a bad day.”

Over time, I’ve learned that influence isn’t about being perfect; it’s about being real. The internet doesn’t need another flawless face — it needs more people who are okay admitting they’re figuring things out too.

So, when the camera’s off, I still try to live the moments I post about — messy, unfiltered, and genuine. Because someday, I want my followers to remember not how my feed looked, but how my words made them feel.

After all, beyond the filters, hashtags, and edits — I’m just another person trying to make sense of life, one post at a time.

5 Free tools every Instagram content creator needs in 2025

Today, with how quickly Instagram moves, it’s not enough to slap up some pretty pictures. You need strategy, consistency, and the right tools to simplify your life. Be it with style guides, uplifting messages, or documenting life’s recurring moments, we recognise the magic in how influencers leverage cost-effective products to enhance their work.

It’s easy to get burnt out when working alone, so using tools to achieve the most impact with the least effort is essential.

All content creators should use five easy, free tools:

These help to plan, design, edit, and grow your page.

Canva– your design bestie

Imagine creating time-saving, pre-made posts for your feed in just a few minutes, and having an entire library of templates and designs that give you creative freedom. That’s Canva in a nutshell.

It’s a set of compelling styles, layouts, fonts, illustrations, and even pre-made stickers that’s simple to customize. Canva also has a vast library of stock photos readily available for use on your designs.

CapCut – the easy reels editor

I spent hours editing every video in different apps, which led me to try this video editor. The difference has been incredible. It’s now my secret weapon for producing viral reels. It’s super intuitive, allowing you to learn and craft your video. It lets you cut down video clips, introduce background music, and auto-generate captions in fun and flashy fonts.

It also lets you know the secret to making those smooth fly-through transitions from your phone.

Preview App – for planning your grid

Unlike other tools, this one allows you to preview your future posts without waiting until they are published to your profile. You can drag and drop your posts to preview them.

You can pre-write your captions and hashtags and schedule all of your posts in advance. This can help you identify which posts are doing a good job and which may need a refresh.

Notion – for brain dump & ideas

It functions as a digital corkboard, too, my personal favorite. It’s like a magic tool in how it helps me outline and structure my ideas, efficiently reminding me what I should be doing, what I need to plan for, and how much time I can save if I get my act together and do X sooner rather than later.

From custom templates and trackers to keep your brand collabs on track and plan your content calendar, to save your 2 am random thoughts — it’s all in there. The most exciting part is that you can make it your own.

Snapseed – your photo editing sidekick

Those days are over with Photoshop. Snapseed is a potent tool and easy to use when it comes to editing your photos. Whether you need to repair the light, make your colours more vibrant, or even blur the chaos of your home office, we can help!

There’s a very nifty healing tool to remove your photo bombs or unexpected t-shirt stains, which is cool. Honest to goodness, if you can avoid checking these boxes during a shoot, you can get one gorgeous shot right out of the box! An absolute game-changer

It’s simple, free, and takes your photos to the next level.

You can create something extraordinary with Canva, CapCut, Preview, Notion, and Snapseed in your toolkit!