Should You Show Your Face on Instagram? (+ tips & ideas)

So many people feel pressured to show their face on Instagram:

• Do you need to?
• Will you get more likes, comments and engagement if you show your face?
• More sales?
• Is it ok if I only post photos of landscapes? My dog?
• Is it ok if I only share photos of my products?

My tips are directed to business owners / bloggers out there who struggle to find a balance between showing their products or their face / personal life.

However!! The tips are still useful if you don’t have a business.

If you’re not sure if you should show your face on Instagram, read this:

1. Short answer: You don’t have to show your face
2. Long answer: Are you trying to sell yourself? Or are you trying to sell products or creativity?
3. Photo tips and ideas to hide your face

Let’s start.

1. Short answer: You don’t have to show your face

Some of the most successful Instagram pages out there don’t show their face.

You’ll notice that popular fashion, travel and lifestyle bloggers tend to hide their faces on their photos.

Examples:

• @doyoutravel: He posts photos of him from far away, his face is not clearly visible, yet he is the most popular travel blogger on Instagram
• @alphafoodie: She shares photos of the recipes she creates and fun creations
• @elizabethpawle: She doesn’t show her face, yet she got featured on the official Instagram Instagram page
• @poochofnyc: Only shows the face of the dog (the outfits and captions are hilarious)

You’ll notice that some small Instagrammers don’t show their face on Instagram either. But they are still gathering an awesome community of people.

Examples:

• @mich.elle.imagery: she doesn’t show her face much, if she does she kind of hides it. Her creativity is what stands out in all her photos.
• @lmhallman: She only posts photos of her cooking and has gathered a great community too.

What do they all have in common?

• Their creativity
• Their own personal touch
• Good quality photos
• They’re having fun and sharing their passion

2. Long answer: Are you trying to sell yourself? Or are you trying to sell your products / creativity?

You should decide what your goal is:

• Do you want your face to be known and recognised?
• Do you want to be the face of your account?
• What is your branding strategy?
• Do you want to only show products / creativity?

There is no right or wrong answers to these questions. Do what is right for you and your business / Instagram account.

If you have a business, some people will tell you: “Show your face! Avoid selling too much and pushing your products all the time”.

My answer: “Show your products all the time if it fits with your strategy – BUT – have fun because Instagram is a visual platform”.

Let me explain…

If I’m following someone who makes beautiful, thick knitted blankets, I want to see her beautiful, thick knitted blankets in my feed. I don’t want to see her kids or her holidays in the Maldives… unless:

• She is the brand of her products. In that case people are interested in the product because of the person. Or,
• She takes a crazy beautiful photos of her on a lounge chair in the Maldives with a knitted blanket. That would get my attention. Imagine turquoise water and beautiful thick pink blanket. What the?! That’s right! Nobody thinks of the the beach and a blanket at the same time: The contrast is imprinted in my mind – I’ll remember her account even more.

What I’m trying to say is that I followed her for a very specific reason: I love her products! So I want to see her products.

Again, there’s no right or wrong. You can still rock your Instagram page if you don’t show your face.

3. Photo tips and ideas to hide your face

If you don’t want to show your face on Instagram, that’s totally ok. Like I said before, there are plenty of very successful Instagrammers out there who don’t show their face.

Here are some tips:

Take photos of yourself from far away:

Turn your back to the camera:

Crop your head out from the photos (good for photos of outfits or jewelry):

Hide your face with your hair, hand, a hat, an object or sunglasses:

Only show your hands in your photos (hands immediately make a feed more “human”):

Take flatlays to create a story:

Take photos from above you (extend one of your arms above you to take a photo, or use a selfie stick or tripod):

Share photos of your customers or models wearing / using your products:

Have a “signature prop” = something in your photos that appear often, like a color, an object, your hand or even your pet:

Try to find creative ways to show your products:

• How do you use it?
• How do your customers use it?
• Where can you use it?
• How can you catch the attention of people? Like @laurenastondesigns:

I hope this blog post helped you, and that you don’t feel pressured to show your face – because you don’t have to, if you don’t want to. You can still have an awesome Instagram account without showing your face.