It’s crazy to think, that it has been over 9 years since I signed up on Instagram as @ladyvenom (in March 2011 to be exact). In these 9 years Instagram has changed a lot – and what used to be a small community of photography enthusiasts is now a global social network. When Eliane from Instagrambloggers.nl asked me for my favourite Instagram accounts I sifted through my list of almost 2.000 accounts I follow to find the ones that inspire me the most!
Quickly I found out that I related most to like-minded female creatives – photographers, film makers and collectives of women who share their work on Instagram.
Therefore I decided to share that list with you and spread the word about my personal Top 10 of female creatives, who make Instagram worth the while with their talent & work and who cut through the noise of mainstream likeable “content” (oh, how that word hurts…)!
1. Lucy Laucht
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Lucy manages to capture not just stunning vistas and landscapes, but emotions. I never really understood the hype of those all too staged and overly perfect photos on Instagram and prefer her natural view of the world – always equipped with her very unique perspective and oh those incredible colours. She also just launched her print shop and I already pre-ordered one of those gorgeous Italy photos for my wall!
2. Lavinia Cernau
https://www.instagram.com/lavinia_cernau/
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Lavinia is a Romanian photographer with a sense of colours, that always sweeps my socks off. I know I’ll never be as good as her, but I keep on dreaming of one day becoming a photographer with so much sensual talent as Lavinia.
3. Emilia Lula
https://www.instagram.com/emilielula/
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Emilie’s main account is already well known, but often almost a bit too perfect for me. I therefore love the secondary account of this Australian photographer, which is more sensual and natural. Sometimes the B roll is the real star and for me personally it is true for Emilie’s work.
4. Nicola von Leffern
https://www.instagram.com/nicolavonleffern/
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From my home country Austria – this film maker not only manages to convey emotions, but also depth and meaningful conversations. I love following Nicola’s point of view and her work since many years and she should have at least 4 million followers not just 4.000 🙂
5. Annapurna Una
https://www.instagram.com/annapurnauna/
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Annapurna was the main reason why I wanted to travel to India. She has covered India from many facets during her many travels and her photographic body of work is diverse and always very truthful and humble. She gets to work for some of the most amazing publications and I hope the day comes when our paths cross in real life!
6. Bell Collective
https://www.instagram.com/bellcollective/
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My friend Alina Rudya started this project as a collective of female travel photographers and I couldn’t be more proud to have been featured in the Bell Collective book, that was published last November. 15 female creators came together to show the diversity of female perspectives with the goal to change stereotypes about female travel and creative choices! When there’s one project that’s dear to my heart it’s this one.
7. The Safari Sisters
https://www.instagram.com/thesafarisisters/
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Speaking about collectives – the Safari Sisters is a new project by Agata Passoni, an Italian/Malawian friend of mine. The idea is that conservation, wildlife protection, community enrichment and female empowerment are all facets of the same goal. And with the Safari Sisters she founded a platform to communicate this via female wildlife photography (which is a rare thing in a very male dominated field) and interviews with some really inspiring women!
8. Freya Dowson
https://www.instagram.com/freyadowson/
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Freya is a London-based documentary photographer who recently gave birth to her first child Rumi. Although I’m not a mother myself I love how she’s balancing her new motherhood with her photography work – sharing stories from multiple travels around the world (her photos from Kenya and India are some of my favourites).
9. Holly-Marie Cato
https://www.instagram.com/h_cato/
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Holly-Marie is another London-based photographer I’ve been following for years. I especially remember her trip to Kenya where she met women of the Maasai tribe and documented their community work. Her new podcast project “AFTER THE BEEP” also sounds really intriguing – she won’t just do normal interviews, but engage with her community and share their voices too!
10. Khadija Farah
https://www.instagram.com/farahkhad/
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Khadija is a Kenya-based photographer with a strong voice for women and an equally strong body of work. She uses her talents for the greater good and is a member of @womenphotograph network of female photo journalists, an initiative I also support – highlighting that there in fact ARE women in that field 😉
Who are your favourite female creatives on Instagram?
