With all the overblown drama surrounding Instagram at the moment, I thought I’d completely ignore that and tell you about some of my favourite Instagram accounts run by people, creatives if you will, who aren’t necessarily bloggers. That’s not to say I don’t love bloggers, because I do, but it’s nice to draw inspiration from other sources and simply enjoy the work of other people from time to time. Here’s a (totally non-exhaustive) list of a few of my favourite not-bloggers to follow on Instagram – let me know with a comment if you see any faves here, have any recommendations for me, or would like to see more posts like this one!
@ruthnotmay
followers: 30.4k
One of my current favourites is model-of-the-moment Ruth Bell. You might recognise her pre-buzz-cut as the face of Topshop’s dreamy summer 2015 film alongside her identical twin sister May (@maynotruth), but since going for the chop she has landed campaigns for Alexander McQueen, Saint Laurent and many more. I like her Instagram because it has a sense of humour, and it’s full of pictures of her face.
@eolhcsheppard
followers: 13.2k
Chloe Sheppard is a 19 year old film photographer who shoots dreamy photographs of beautiful girls, from her friends to recognisable names such as Joanna Kuchta and Anais Gallagher (teen daughter of Noel). Her work has been picked up on by the likes of Dazed and Miss Vogue, and with good reason imo. As well as following her on Instagram, you can buy her photos in print at very reasonable prices on her store – I have a copy of her first zine and it is really lovely.
@naomiwongo
followers: 2.9k
Another young Brit lass, Naomi Wong’s career in fashion and portrait photography has been forged via platforms like Tumblr and Instagram – you might recognise her photographs from campaigns for ~blogger favourites~ Lazy Oaf and Olive & Frank. I follow her on Instagram to keep up to date with her work and the occasional cute selfie.
@devhynes
followers: 111k
Another of my favourite Instagrams to follow is that of Devonté Hynes, aka Blood Orange. Dev is unreasonably, borderline otherworldly, talented across the board; he isn’t a photographer ‘by trade’ but posts a lot of his film snaps on Insta, alongside video clips of his incredible dancing and choreography and, of course, music. As well as following Dev on Instagram, you should absolutely listen to Blood Orange.
@thisismayan
followers: 70.7k
From one glance at her Instagram feed, it is obvious that Israeli born, New York based photographer Mayan Toledano has one of *those* eyes for visuals. Her subjects are mostly young women (including a super interesting recent series exploring the everyday lives of Israeli girl- soldiers) – her ~aesthetic~ is super refined and her Instagram appears perfectly curated. She is also one half of very cool feminist fashion label Me and You (@its_meandyou).
@trustmedaddy
followers: 123k
Remember Rihanna’s video for BBHMM? Of course you bloody do. Rihanna hit her co-star Sanam up via Instagram, and she continues to kill it. Stills from her favourite movies, neon signs, travel photos, jewellery and, of course, selfies on selfies on selfies with an attitude that I am absoLUTELY here for.
@_nguan_
followers: 35.3k
I’ve followed Nguan on Instagram for what feels like forever, without really knowing much about him. I do, however, know that the Singaporean photographer captures buildings, people and random objects in the most calming pastel hues.
@kastorandpollux
followers: 32.3k
I first discovered Kastor & Pollux via its current director Dani Roche @daniesque and contributor Bianca Venerayan @biancavenerayan (two excellent girls who are also worth following). Kastor & Pollux is now a full service digital agency and contributor-based blog run by a team of young (mostly) women with a sense of humour and a 10/10 Instagram aesthetic.
@indiaroseco
followers: 119k
India is perhaps a slight exception to my ‘not bloggers’ rule, however I think that her aesthetic-driven website has somewhat surpassed being a ‘blog’ in the more traditional sense. I really envy people with the ability to present such a visually consistent and refined version of themselves online and India has got that down to a tee – a must-follow, imo.
Following photographers on instagram gives me so much inspiration so I’ll definitely check these out!
Infinity of fashion// Lucy Jane