Place you live: Huizen, Het Gooi, the Netherlands

Place your Instagrams were taken? Huizen

Can you sum up Huizen? It’s a small village about 30 minutes outside of Amsterdam. We have a little lake, Gooimeer, which is a much loved subject for my local pictures. There is a lot of nature here, including beautiful moorland and forest. But there are also four bigger cities within 30 minutes. It’s fantastic to bike around and explore the area.

What is a perfect day in Huizen? A day with no plans except to enjoy a good book in the garden (which hardly ever happens!). Even better if I can start the day with a nice bike ride, taking a bunch of beautiful pictures.

How long have you been using Instagram? Since 2011.

Do you shoot with your phone or other cameras or both? For my Instagram account, @mariannehope, and for my business, @seemycity, it’s iPhone only. But I have a second account called @picturelyspoken where I show some of my DSLR shots. Those are mostly pictures from assigned photo shoots.

What is your editing process? As little as possible. Mainly adjusting brightness and sharpness, straightening, and cropping.

Do you create images outside of Instagram? Yes, I’m a lifestyle and family photographer, so I work on assignments and photo shoots as well.

Has Instagram/phoneography affected how you shoot? YES! The restrictions and limitations of shooting with a mobile device have taught me to be creative and find new ways of shooting in difficult conditions. For example, I take a silhouette photo if the back light is too strong. I also find new and more creative angles, simply because the phone is so small and easy to handle. The fact that I have my phone with me at all times has made me notice and appreciate my surroundings more. I always have the opportunity to take a shot of “the little things” simply because I have the camera within reach. Instagram is also where I got the idea for my venture SeeMyCity, a city marketing initiative based on mobile photography and social media promotion.

Can you give a couple of tips to aspiring Instagram photographers? Shoot, shoot and shoot, but think twice before posting a picture to Instagram. Don’t overdo it. Be critical of your own work and ask yourself if you’re really happy with it before posting. Find some good Instagrammers that inspire you and learn from them, try new things and never stop learning. Spend some time learning a couple of photo editing apps. It’s better to know a few very well than to know a little bit about many. And always shoot with your heart. Love what you do, your pictures will show it!!

Who are your three favorite Instagrammers? I follow over 500 Instagrammers and all for a different reason, so to mention just three feels wrong. However I will mention my talented friend @macenzo who is the very best at abstract art, @nathparis who captures Paris like no one else and @ejota_seventyeight who captures his kids in fantastic and eye-catching settings.

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http://instagram.com/mariannehope

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