The struggles of being a bookstagrammer

I have been a book lover since childhood and I found various ways to spread the joy of reading. Now as a teenager, I have access to social media, which has not only broadened my horizon as a reader but also as a "bookstagrammer". For someone who pretty much lives and breathes Instagram these days, I was bound to come upon the vast community of booklovers who take blogging to the next level by being bookstagrammers. To clarify, a bookstagram refers to an Instagram account that revolves around books. Of course, the blogs themselves vary greatly in the quality and quantity of posts; but, as long as you post primarily about books, you can be considered a bookstagrammer. As a budding bookstagrammer myself, I think I can name some of the struggles of being one.

Not everybody can be a bookstagrammer. There are some people who are dedicatedly doing this, but most of this population consists of people who have jobs and families to take care of in addition to instagramming about books. So it can be said that one of the top most struggles of being a bookstagrammer is finding the time to take the pictures. What with jobs and studies and "social life", who has the time right? Well, if you want to be a bookstagrammer, you just got to find the time. It can be the second before going to class/work because the lighting looks just right and the background is on fleek, or after carefully decorating the entire room just for the sake of one picture. 

Second, I know the pictures look great and may seem like they got taken in the spur of the moment but trust me, they are not. Behind every perfect snap is a 2-20 minute preparation process. Each background must be arranged with every single product and book in shot, every single book must look its best and the lighting must be spot-on. But the most important question during this time is - what book should you even take a picture of? You don't want to keep on posting the same picture and clutter your feed with it. Sometimes I really lack inspiration, and I haven't posted in days, so I just post something random for the sake of doing so and instantly regret it.

Moreover, themes are something I am constantly struggling with. I know having a nice and pretty theme makes your entire account look beautiful and gain you more followers, but how do you even have one? It's a constant struggle. Not everyone has access to beautiful natural places, or modernistic city backgrounds, or even the perfect lightning in their own room. There are always the annoying moments when you take a really great picture and want to post it immediately but it doesn't match with your theme so you got to keep it aside for the one day when it will (it never does). Ever remember going out with your friends after ages and ending up with 400 pictures and no idea which 10 to upload? Yeah, that's what bookstagrammers have to go through every single day. A single book can look great from multiple angles and you must take them all just to see which one looks best. But the problem is, you can never decide which and you end up procrastinating and never posting it at all. 

After choosing the books, the theme, and the arrangement of the photograph being taken, comes the editing of it. How do you even start editing? Which filters to choose and which app to use is one big question mark. May be this book looks good in retro mode? Or what if I switch over to lo-fi? There are tons of blogs informing you on what the perfect apps for this job are, but are they really? Unless you have been doing this for years and have honed your senses to this risky job, it's just not possible. 

Last but not least, what should the caption be? I never know what to caption my photos with but I also hate leaving them blank. I may settle on a quote I like that doesn't really match my book. Or a quote from the book but that's too long so it's really meaningless to post that. 

After all these, the psychological aspect of bookstagramming can't be overlooked. There's always the constant thought nagging at the back of your mind telling you your pictures are not good enough. What if I like the photos I have taken but no one else does? I know I should be posting what I want, but I'm so conscious of my photos, and I keep thinking that my photos aren't as "pro" as everyone else's and it makes me really nervous.

But in the midst of all these problematic situations that I constantly face, the end results are worth it. I have met so many great people through this community. Everyone is always kind and friendly and open to discussing books and fangirling with you on your favorite characters. People who love the same books share a unique bond and this bond is what makes the bookstagram community such a great place. As long as you love what you are doing and have fun, no hurdle will be big enough to stop you.