For more read Jessi Hempel’s feature story Instagram is ready to take its shot.
I’m a full-time mom. That’s my No. 1 job. Instagram is my other full-time job. I reach out to companies; companies find me. In an average year I make probably more than I would if I had a steady part-time job. I’ve done a campaign with Dos Equis. My sister and I both did that, with a few other Instagrammers. They flew us to New York. We met the “Most Interesting Man in the World.” I’ve worked with Lenscrafters and Bolthouse Farms. Right now I’m working for Travel + Leisure and Capital One.
I started on Instagram full force in 2011. I’ve always painted and created things and taken photos, but the iPhone opened up a new world of creativity for me. I have all these ideas that I would like to paint, and when it comes to putting them down on a canvas it’s much more difficult than picking up my phone. I’m almost all iPhone. All of my editing is done on my iPhone. Everyone always thinks I use Photoshop, and I take that as a compliment.
I post every day. Consistency is really key for building a following. Almost everybody you see in my pictures is either my daughter or my son. I use a lot of silhouettes. A good thing about a silhouette is that the viewer can actually put themselves in that photo and live in that story. I’m sure people will [get tired of Instagram]. We’re an ever-evolving society, and there’s always going to be something new. [But] we’re visual beings, and we feed on that visual form.
More as-told-to and video profiles of successful Instagrammers:
Joel Strong: Adding Leonardo DiCaprio to every party
Anthony Danielle: How a hobby became highly profitable
Shantell Martin: An artist finds her visual voice
Dave Krugman: Bringing art outside of The Met
