What's Your Instagram Story, Sarah?

Sarah Louise Ferguson on Instagram

Today on the blog I am delighted to welcome Sarah Louise Ferguson to my 'What's Your Instagram Story' series of interviews. It was lovely to watch as Sarah's account took off during the summer of this year and it is showing no sign of slowing down. Sarah's pictures are creative, moody and a little bit magical and I find her creativity and courage to just try utterly inspiring.

Hi Sarah and welcome. Please scroll back through your feed to that first ever photograph. When did you post it?

So this is kind of a bum deal for you guys. I deleted my first ever photo when I got pregnant with Wren with a view to becoming a Mummy Blogger… So, that [becoming a mummy blogger] didn’t happen and I cannot for the life of me remember what or when my first picture was!
 
How would you describe your feed in those early days?

Awful? It was literally photos of the beach with polaroid filters, Starbucks cups, selfies, y’know the worst of the worst!! Again, most of that evidence has been deleted, sadly.

Care to share your first few pictures? (Your first ever picture and your first grid of nine.)

I wish I could…

How would you describe your feed as it stands now? 

Oh man, a headache? Haha, it causes me more stress than I care to admit but I do love it. It’s moody and creative and those are two things I am quite happy being!

Why did you post that first picture? What was going on in your life at that time?  

So I can’t remember what my ‘real’ first photo was. But the one that’s there right now, is a photo of me from my fashion blogging days. It wasn’t taken by me, but I kind of love it. Wren was teeny tiny in my belly and I’m sitting drinking coffee in Edinburgh. I guess it was a kind of introduction, although the caption sucks.

What are the similarities and differences between your account then and what it is today?

I don’t think there are any… they were really over exposed and there were lots and lots of shots of my dog. This is really revealing a whole side of me I tried really hard to hide…

 
Tell us the story of your feed. When did you consciously start to style your feed? Can you tell by looking at your grid?

I consciously started to style my feed this year. After Wren turned one and I found that ‘mummy blogger’ wasn’t for me. I can still remember the first photo I ‘styled’ it was our community herb garden and I took it on June 2nd . I then signed up to Sara Taskers Bloom & Grow course and the rest, as they say is history…until I found photoshop, then it became really exciting. 

How has your account evolved over time?

So I guess it’s gone from a personal album of random rubbish to a carefully styled portfolio of my work? Is that narcissistic to say? I feel proud of it now, I work on every image I post and I put time and care and sometimes money into making it look the way I want.
 
What drives you?

Making this my job. One day I would love to create all day every day and for that to be my thing. Right now I get to do it around the things I have to do, like my actual job and parenting etc. (I’m kidding, I love parenting)
 
How has Instagram impacted other parts of your life? 

Well, I now feel like there is something I can do and do well. I’ve always felt pretty average at most things I did so now that I can create something people love and enjoy doing it, that feels pretty great. So I think it’s made me happier, most of the time!

What opportunities has it brought you?

Lots of great stuff has come my way over the last year! I’ve made wonderful friends, some I meet regularly and talk to daily! I’ve working with brands I wouldn’t have dreamt of working with before, Instagram themselves for instance. I’ve been offered opportunities that just wouldn’t have come about with a beer selfie.

Thank you so much, Sarah. I can relate to many of the things you say!

Sarah's blog is Brass Buttons & Confidence.