Hashtag Authentic

A beautiful book, filled with amazing photography! As a blogger and social media expert myself I thought this book had a lot to offer for people that want to take their Instagramming and general content creation to the next level. In my library I will definitely be encouraging my YA readers that want to use their Instagram or YouTube to create a personal brand to check out this book.

As a blogger this was just THE Book to read!
The pictures in it were full of skill and love and I remember myself just skipping around to look deeper into Sarahs great photographies and thinking by myself how I can improve my own game!

The book is divided in several chapters, all of them helping you gaining more control over your social media canals, your photography and creativity in such a great and understanding way that I had full „to-do“-list the moment I finished reading this cute guide.

I’ve learned a lot about how I can improve my creativity, which things will lead to success and which ways I should overthink when spending so much on my social media accounts. I liked how Sarah doesn’t hide behind pseudo tips - but really opens her own tricks for all of us to use and explains why some will function for everyone and some will not.

It was a great book for everyone wanting to up their photography or instagram game. For beginners, starters and also for people who just want „THE“ guide for growing their account further. I also think I will look into my daily life and the nature in a totally different way than before. For me this book was a piece of long lost happiness!

I know that I will try out a lot of Sarahs tips and I can’t wait to see if they really are that useful in a reality test.

(The last twenty ages were a bit hard to read because all the sentences in the Arc were thrown in chaos, but I bet that will be no issue in the finished printed copy)

A lovely book with lots of fabulous pictures and pro tips. Can see myself dipping in and out of this one time and time again.

This is a beautiful book which will be useful for anyone who wants to cultivate a more beautiful instagram. This book includes everything and anything you would need to know.

Whether we like it or not Social Media is the current way to get publicity for whatever it is that you are trying to promote, be it a book, an event, or yourself.

And although Sara's photos, through out this book, are well composed, and beautiful, in a cold sort of way, they all look staged. But, perhaps that is what photography is. Oddly enough, she tells you to take photos that speak to you, which is usually how it works.

The thing about Instagram is that people see a style, and they all mimic it. The style that Sara is exhibiting is beauitful, but I have seen so many people copying it, I think that they are not getting what she is saying about using your own voice.

<img src="https://g2comm.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Screen-Shot-2019-01-29-at-1.46.15-PM.png" alt="instagram" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-4933" />

<img src="https://g2comm.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Screen-Shot-2019-01-29-at-1.46.05-PM.png" alt="Instagram" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-4932" />

<img src="https://g2comm.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Screen-Shot-2019-01-29-at-1.46.54-PM.png" alt="instagram photos" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-4931" />

The thing is, that everyone uses Instragram for different things. I am friendly with a group of Bookstagrammers, as they are called, who review, or talk about books. There is also an authors loop, where I meet authors. Her advice is to engage, and that is very true. Once you have found what it is you are passionate about, and want to tell someone about, then once you find your people, engage.

It is not just about putting up pretty pictures.

This book is good for people who are having trouble finding their voice. That need to think about what they want the Instagram account for.

Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.

If you’re on instagram, you need this book. Hashtag Authentic is every bit as magical as Sara’s feed and more. Of course the photos are stunning and it’s packed full of tips and tricks. But what really surprised me is the writing. Having read Sara’s blog for some time, I knew she was a great writer, but this book showcases just how good she really is. While it is an instructional book, it almost weaves a story and you find yourself lost among its pages. And one thing you’re guaranteed to believe by the end of it is that you too can have a beautiful instagram feed. Regardless of your body shape or size, your less than perfect home furnishings or lack of photo-worthy pets or kids. It’s all the motivation you’ll ever need to create an instagram feed you love.

I picked this up to review because I love using Instagram as a platform for sharing my personal life and the books I love and want to share. I appreciate that this guides the user/reader into finding out more about themselves as a first step towards providing and creating more engaging and authentic content. I think that's a valuable practice even if you aren't actively trying to increase followers and the prompts Tasker has for doing that internal work are valuable. At the same time she guides the reader on how to see things worth photographing, and brings attention to what you see in the world already, which is valuable to learn if you want to know how to take better pictures. This is a great resource for anyone looking to find a better connection with their social media audience.

I was scanning NetGalley a couple of weeks ago and the person on the cover of the book looked familiar to me. (Sara is correct when she says that you should share photos of yourself on your Instagram account from time to time so people can know the person behind your Instagram! If she had not shown photos of herself on her Instagram, I wouldn't have known it was her book and would have kept on scrolling.) When I read the description, I realized that I follow her on Instagram! I enjoyed the premise of this book and her views on how to get more engagement on your Instagram. I liked the excercises she asks you to try and the photos throughout the book were lovely. Reading the book on a small tablet does not do the book justice I'm sure and some of the sentences in my ARC copy were off and hard to follow. This book encourages you to try to gain more engagement not followers, which is what I'm looking for. You can stage photos if your surroundings are feeling uninspired, but you can still be authentic. Have a reason for the photo and share the story behind it. Be yourself.

An interesting book, full of wonderful illustrations.
It's well written and there're a lot of great ideas and suggestions.
It can be helpful if you have an Instagram account and want to improve the quality of your contents.
Recommended!
Many thanks to Quarto Publishing and Netgalley for this ARC

Ever want a glimpse into the creative mind of a female British Instagram star? Then I would certainly recommend this book.

The author has created a deeply personal brand that celebrates low light, coffee love, and unique angles. It is comfortably curated while still giving off an authentic vibe.

Slow down and discover your true creative longings with the help of this book.

Thanks to #NetGalley, I had an advanced PDF to read and review.

*All opinions are my own and I was not required to post a positive review. *

Thank you so much NetGalley and White Lion Publishing for allowing me access to Hashtag Authentic via ebook. I feel so inspired to go and capture my life. I have always loved photography. Starting with the disposable cameras. I couldn't wait to get them developed. That is something Sara touches on, just the incredible patience you had to have because everything took time. No instant gratification.

There are a lot of great points, and questions Sara uses to get you into the mind frame for storytelling with your photos. It makes so much more sense when she phrases it as she does. This book is so perfect for people who are new to blogging, and photography. It is all about what you want to make if it, and what makes it you. I am seriously so impressed with it. This is one I highly recommend for everyone! Sometimes you can get lost in followers, and what makes others happy. Sara helps you get back into concentrating on what makes you you. I believe there is something for everyone here.

A perfect recipe for your socially awkward person looking for a voice in today’s age. As a new book blogger on Instagram, this was the perfect read for me. We are in a world where every opinion matters, but you want to be true to yourself, but you want to be heard, BUT you want to express your inner self – CONFUSION! This book makes you take a step back, tells you that you can do this and you can do this NOW.

The book is very well organized into chapters that really talks about each aspect of being an Instagrammer but still doing it because it makes you happy. Connection, communication and community – she sums it up into three underrated secret weapons that each person should focus on.

It doesn’t matter if you’re good at it or not, matters if you’re happy with it. – this is the main point of the book and I LOVE IT.

She gives you pointers like showing your face to the world to have them trust you, how to create your own pictures, and tips on how to photo edit.

I would really recommend this book to all those that are trying to start a new blog or a social media page. It makes you slow down and think about why you’re truly doing it versus just get it down. The message of the book was to be patient, be happy and be you. Find you. I can’t wait till this book comes out, with all the artistic photos, it’s the perfect table book – for flipping through and as a conversation starter!

Hashtag Authentic is a book all about Instagram. Sounds simple, right? But it’s really more than that.

Social media is a huge part of our modern lives. And striking a balance of beauty, creativity, and authenticity on an account can be difficult. I wasn’t sure what to expect on this title, but the book was charming and practical. It covers topics such as photography tips, how much/little to share, finding your online tone and voice, and much more.

The digital ARC was difficult to read because of the formatting... it was a blend of text and images from the actual pages of the book, and in some sections the text was out of order due to the layout. I’d caution against getting an ebook of this title until you can verify corrections have been made in that regard. Personally, I’m considering buying a physical copy of the book for the beautiful photos, and to slowly savor the advice offered.

Thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for an advance digital review copy of this title.

Helpful and highly readable, this book gives you the basics of phone photography and the basics of instagram. The author taps into her own experience to encourage and inspire readers to share something of their own worlds with others. Inspirational to those who work with content and social media.

If you've read the blurb then you at least know what this is about, if you're not interested in Instagram or tips about it then I wouldn't recommend this. If you are, then I would highly recommend this, Sara has a really nice writing voice and I have a sneaking suspicion she'd write a pretty good motivational speaker book. She's truthful, she admits though these pictures represent her life and times in it, that they are of course adapted to the photo that she wants (like the waterfall picture where chaos is ensuing in the background which I found entirely relatable). She's taken her experience and tried to help others who are looking for their Instagram/Social media voices. I found it a quick pleasant read and as someone who is trying to interact more with a certain community via Instagram, I found this helpful and even bookmarked a few pages to go back to! I've rated this on how useful and enjoyable I found it, it's not meant to be a literary masterpiece and she gives you exactly what she says she will as far as content goes.

I received a free copy of this via NetGalley in exchange for my HONEST opinion. Getting this for free had no influence on my review. I just call them as I see them.

Hashtag Authentic by Sara Tasker blew me away because of the expectations I approached it with. Sara Tasker is not just a success on Instagram because she takes a lot of photos, but because she knows her stuff and she shares a lot of her experiences, insights, and knowledge in this book.

A lot of people pick up their phone and take pictures, uploading them to Instagram without any thought to story, framing, light, or any of the technical processes that come along with it. Hashtag Authentic has sections that discuss these things and exercises for the reader to actually work through some of these elements, taking a mediocre picture to a great picture.

In addition, there’s discussion regarding the types of photography-related and/or photo editing apps that you can can download to make your photos even better. Most of them are free but the differences come in user friendliness.

All of this extremely useful information is accompanied by Tasker’s lovely, thoughtful photographs and experiences.

If you’re an Instagrammer who wants to take things to the next level, I highly recommend Hashtag Authentic. It goes well-beyond the typical “I became famous by doing this” kind of memoir to a fusion of experience and handbook with lots of guidance as to how you can take pictures like these yourself…except in your own authentic way.

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is a beautifully laid out book. The design and photography is stylish, minimal and completely effective. As a blogger I found it incredibly helpful, but can see it will appeal to people who just want to improve, their instagram feed or create interesting content.

I will be buying a hard copy of this as a reference guide. I love it!

A copy of this book was kindly provided by the publisher, my review is my own opinion.

Ever wonder why your Instagram fails to thrive when everyone else's grows? Than this book could help you. "Hashtag Authentic" can teach you exactly what you're doing wrong with your pictures, and exactly what you need to do to make them better. From photography tips, to caption and hashtag help, and even layout for your page, it really has everything you could ever need.

With beautiful pictures, the book shows you what to strive for, and positively reinforces not only lessons, but also your future career, or hobby, of photography. I feel like I just took a high school class about it, but I really just read a short book. I'm refreshed, and ready to start taking the pictures that I want to take.

If you need an easy to follow book that points you in the right direction, than this is the book for you. Its a fast read, but it's packed full of information, and it doesn't read like a textbook.

Thanks for reading!
(Radioactivebookreviews.wordpress.com)

I really enjoyed Sara Tasker's book, Hashtag Authentic. I'm not very good at using social media, and as a freelance writer, I need to learn more. Instagram, with some 400 million active monthly users, seems to have emerged as particularly important for those who are looking for followers that may lead to paying work.

Although the word "authentic" is in Tasker's title, once I started reading her book, I expected to find a lot more about using social platforms to grow a business, become an influencer and/or make money. I was pleasantly surprised to find that she's really encouraging us to express our true selves and record our daily lives, so we're creating blog posts and images from the heart.

That's not to say that her book isn't filled with practical, useful ideas and applications. It is.

Highly recommended for anyone who needs help and encouragement in the interactive world.

I received an Advanced Reader Copy from White Lion Publishing and NetGalley for my unbiased opinion of the book. I loved this book!!! It is real information that has practical use in today's world. Congrats to Sara making this book and putting herself out there for the world to see and how you yourself can make it happen as well on Instagram. I am reading it again because there is some information and real-life packed into each page, I needed to read it again to make sure I didn’t miss anything. If you want to make it on Instagram with photos and life this is the book for you! It will be money well spent!

4.5 stars.

I've been a follower and fan of Sara Tasker's Instagram (@me_and_orla) for a while now. The calming composition and captions of her photos remind me to take a moment to breathe and appreciate the world around me, and that's the power of human connection.

This is a beautifully written and very helpful guide for the age of social media, offering insight on visual storytelling, smartphone photography, the balance between authenticity and aesthetic. There are thoughtful exercises to help you figure out your style and what messages you want to convey, what distinguishes the photos that appeal to you (and therefore your ideal target audience). Whether you have 10 or 10k followers, the evergreen tips in this book are good for checking in on your process and developing an authentic online community.

I am a huge fan of instragram!! I have always loved photograhs especially natural ones and instragram has given us all a new updated version of our old photograph albums.

With most photos now being taken on our phones I was very interested in this book in an attempt to improve my own photograhs .

The book itself contains stunning photography and Sarah’s honest advice and options are really insightful.

As I love to share my personal life and love of books through instragram , I agree with Sarah when she emphasises the importance of enjoying your feed, engaging with others and using your own voice without comparing yourself to others .

Definitely a book to dip in and out of and hopefully improve my photography as a bonus . Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for my chance to read this delightful book .

Inspiring and essential reading for the creative, photographer, or instagram lover. Sara's storytelling, images, and creativity will transport you to a kind, warm, mystical place where anything is possible.

I've seen this book couple of times and i wanted to check myself. Luckly i found on Netgalley. This book was full of beautiful photos and usefull tips on instagram photography. It was really good. Definitely worth to check.

“Pictures transcend language barriers, cognitive differences and offer a different experience to everyone who sees them.”

HASTAG AUTHENTIC by Sara Tasker is the perfect combination of great photography, aesthetics and how to manage your Instagram account. Not only does Sara share her own journey, but she gives advice on how you can grow your social media accounts and upping your photography game.

As someone who loves photography and Instagram, this was an extremely helpful book. Sara explained assorted topics in detail and then gave some fun exercises. These exercises help you realize what you like and content you should focus on for your account, other focus on telling a story and sharing memories. The book format is clear and straightforward way, making it easy to navigate and read.

“Composition is the beating heart of any image.”

The book also features photos Sara took, and let me just say that they are amazing! I ended up just living in some of the photos. She really has a gift for capturing a moment and making the viewer a part of it. Her photography covers a variety of elements and themes, from lush settings to delicate hands. There is a simplistic aesthetic to Sara’s photos that leaves an impression.

If you are looking for tips to gain followers fast or get a ton of likes, then this book isn’t for you. Sara focuses more on the content and creating an online community. She touched on topics of likes and followers, but it’s brief. I think that is why this book is so great. Sara explains how to connect with people online and how to create everlasting friendship through photography. I look forward to taking my photography and Instagram account to the next level!


* Thank you NetGalley for providing me with this arc in exchange for an honest review.

This book was recommended to me by Renee from The Caffeinated Reader and although I didn't know what to expect, I went into it with an open mind. I am happy to say that this book was fantastic and it exceeded my expectations.

My relationship with photography started many, many years ago, when I was about 11 or 12 years old. I never had the greatest relationship with my maternal grandfather, what with him not being a huge part of our family, but we did have a few things in common, me and him, and one of them was photography. I remember looking at the family albums from when my mom and her sister were kids, and all those photographs were taken and developed by him. Since we're talking late 60s early 70s here, most of these photos are in black and while, with a few of them colorized during - I assume - the developing process. Ever since I first saw those portraits I knew I wanted to learn how to take good photos, but every book I've tried to read in the past about it felt stuffy and I couldn't ever manage to get through to the end, because it always focused on technical knowledge that I couldn't remember. So when I requested this book I expected much of the same, but at the same time I had high hopes because it mentions Instagram, and for some reason Instagram looks friendlier to me for photography sharing than any other social media account out there.

Hashtag Authentic is more than just a how-to book for photography and growing your channel on Instagram. It's a book about the creative process, how to take a simple idea and make it amazing, how to select which hashtags to use, what are the best free and payed editing apps to use, and even ideas on what to photograph. I loved the exercises a lot, because they went beyond "take a pretty picture of a tree and share it" and instead they talk about the reason behind a photo, what you're trying to show, what are the various elements in a photo, what is your desired style of photography, and stuff like that.

I mentioned that the book is about so much more than photography, and it is. It's a book that encourages you to take that camera and use it, even if it seems scary. It's a book that encourages readers to stop being camera shy and think about why exactly you don't like to have your photo taken. Honestly, this last one made me realize how in the pre-social-media part of my life, back when the Internet was just a fancy word that meant a rather distant technology that mainly rich people had access to, I had no problem with being photographed. But once social media started gaining more and more notoriety, and once it became apparent that the photos can and do get used in slightly inappropriate ways, I slowly started to appear less and less in photos. And I love the example Sara gives from her own life regarding the photos with her infant daughter and how she wished she had more photos with both of them from when her daughter was a baby. That's the perfect example as to why you should remember to not hide from the camera.

Another thing that I loved about this book is that in the beginning Sara talks about the difference between film photography and digital photography. I used to be rather good at film photography. Not knock your socks off good, but I took decent photos. My passion were trees, and I loved playing around with different cameras. I had a Kodak one, that was really good, but I also loved the results I got from less-than-great cameras, like a lipstick-shaped one I won in a contest when I was about 14. Now I probably wouldn't even remember how to put the film in the camera to be honest, which pains me. But what Sara said was all true. I remember the care with which I put in the film to try to not damage it, how I had to know how much I had to turn the dial in order to get to the next photo, how to check how much photos I could take, and then the excitement of waiting for it to be developed. It sounds tedious, I know, but it had a romanticism that digital photography lacks.

Since this is a book about photography and Instagram, there's also quite a few discussions on how to use Instagram to showcase your photography in a way that is attractive. I never before thought to plan my feed or to try to understand why some feeds appeal to me more than others, but now I find I pay more attention to that aspect of my Instagram browsing sessions. There's also a discussion about your personal safety, with tips and tricks Sara uses.

The most important lesson for me in this book however has nothing to do with photography or social media. Instead, it's about empowerment and courage. Sara mentions how you should stop procrastinating and just do whatever you want to do, even if you think you don't have that expensive equipment everyone seems to be using. She encourages her readers to make mistakes, which is the most important and powerful thing I've ever read. Maybe it sounds stupid, but I've never before encountered a book where mistakes were discussed as learning curves and opportunities. And I honestly needed that.

I won't go on further, even though I could, because I really hope you guys pick up this book and read it. It's a fairly short book, but it's full of valuable lessons, and I hope you guys will find it useful. As you can probably tell, I really loved this book and it helped me find my courage to pick up my camera again and use it beyond what I do for bookstagram.

A useful book with lots of advice. This will be one of those books that I will come back to time again.

Hashtag Authentic is the perfect novel for anyone out there trying to work on their Instagram presence or image. It doesn’t matter if you’re doing it as a personal account, or trying to get a business going. This novel will help your organize your thoughts, come up with a plan and feeling, and keep you on track.
Sara Tasker is a trustworthy expert in the field, so you won’t be wasting your time with her book. She’s the perfect Instagram coach, as pointed out in this book’s bio. But it’s true, she really does know what she’s doing, and she had no problem laying out the whole process from beginning to end.
This novel covers everything, from the cultural relevance of Instagram, to photography basics, to how to think about arranging your photos, and how to capture everyday parts of your life. From there she progressed into other subjects, such as finding your personal style, how to include nature, pets, family, and whimsy, things like that.
The novel also covers a lot of the more technical elements of arranging photos, such as composition and lighting. She even includes tips on using the camera within your phone – something a lot of traditional photography books will overlook.
Finally, the book also includes tips and advice on your actual Instagram account. Everything from how to include stories, to captions, and how to define your own version of success.
This book is an amazing resource to anybody that is trying to up their Instagram game. I think it’d be a fun read for those that have a personal account for fun, and vital for those trying to make a business out of their Instagram page.

After reading this book, you will be looking at your pictures in a whole new way. Now with the advance of technology, we take pictures every day any moment of the day for just about anything, but we do not always internalize the meaning of this activity. The book inspires us to take a moment and think about the purpose behind our pictures. Is it to record the moment? Are we trying to communicate something? If that is the case, what are we trying to say? So, we want to keep on taking pictures but some us might be interested in adding more meaning and purpose to this hobby. At first, I went through the whole book in one go, just taking in the contents and the pictures. Then I took my time exploring the different chapters and I realize that this book is to be enjoy at a slow pace trying out some of the exercises and suggestions. The book is divided into four major parts. The first looks at finding inspiration and acquiring a photographic style. The second part goes into detail about technical ideas such as composition, the importance of light, choosing photographic subjects, using phone cameras, phone apps for picture editing, and capturing the moment versus creating moments. The third part of the book focuses on the idea of telling our own stories though the pictures we take. Recording our daily life; from major undertakings such as family trips to small moments like drinking coffee in the morning. How all these come together and become or life stories. The last part talks about how sharing our pictures can bring rich new possibilities for more inspiration and more purpose. This is a beautiful book, but also a very helpful book for those of us that would like to do more with our daily picture taking. I received a free copy via NetGalley.

As an interior photography teacher, I consider this book to be a great source of inspiration for my students to get started with a more professional looking Instagram feed. I am a photographer with over 11 years of experience, And even with my professional background, I find Sara Tasker's tips inspiring.
I ordered a hard copy for my reference after reviewing this book (I got a copy through NetGalley). The photography, graphic design, and print quality are beautiful.

Hashtag Authentic was not what I expected it to be. In an era where influencers have no idea what they want to influence people to do other than give them free holidays and things, Sara Tasker lends some gravitas to the art, not asking you to ape other popular Instagrammers, but how to discover things in your own environment worth contemplating. If you need help developing your own style or refreshing your current one, this is a good place to start. The photos are gorgeous too!

This book is a creative idea. The photos are excellent and inspirational. I like the details given, which were very helpful.

I found this book much more helpful for Instagram advice and photo composition than Instastyle, a similar book I read last year. The photos are not my style and they do seem pretty staged, dark and commercial, but I enjoyed the author's voice far more than the other's and it did have useful advice.

While I am on IG, I don't use it as a hard core way to make money or influence people but more as a way to preserve moments and connect with like-minded folks -- fellow foragers, homeschooling mothers, gardeners, tinkerers, cooks... For others like myself, books like this may take some of the fun away from it all. For those who want to be "influencers" (oh, how I hate that word), it is likely to be very helpful and inspirational.

I read a temporary digital ARC of this book for the purpose of review.

This is a brilliant book full of practical advice on how to live and document your everyday life and how you to share that on Instagram. Sara is a master at explaining the complexities of the, often baffling, world of Instagram in a way that everyone can understand while encouraging you to throw caution to it all and just give it a go! She truly is the Instagram Queen.

I never heard of Sara Tasker before. That doesn't mean that she is new in this Business. In fact she already has her own podcast, her instagram has about 216K followers and her blog is well known.
Sara Tasker started out as a mother who started a project on Instagram. One photo every day. Since then she got thousands of fans ans grew an online business all by herself.
At the end I couldn't believe that I never heard of her before.

I myself am a photographer and as a creative I try my best to discover new ways of feeling that creativity. There are a lot of books out there to help you but not all of them are pure gold.
This book however is, at least for me.
Hashtag authentic is a mix about Sara and about Instagram (how to) but it´s especially about living the creativity you have inside yourself. Besides #Authentic, #Girlboss would also fit 100%.

I read this book on my kindle but I want it as a physical copy as well. There are lots of photos inside but on the kindle they are all black and white and while that can be beautiful, I want to see how Sara did them.
Also there are to dos inside. Little plays and lists. I think its way easier to switch back and forth on a physical book. The exercises inside (tasks would be the fun word ^^) are very easy to understand and follow but not unimportant. Actually I think that they are very helpful.

I have to mention that Sara Task wrote so lovely, I had the feeling I was talking to a friend rather than a stranger on the internet.

If you are interested in Instagram and how it works, helpful tips and a new way to experience your creativity then this book is absolutely perfect for you.

Next up on Sophie’s list was Hashtag Authentic by Sara Tasker, the Instagrammer behind the popular me_and_orla account. Sophie wasn’t one of Sara’s followers (although she is now) but had wanted to improve her Instagram feeds (easyqueenie and marnie_salem_and_artemis) – something which Hashtag Authentic promised to help do.

The book is packed full of useful insights into improving your feed, whether you run a commercial Instagram account, one for a specific subject such as your pet or vehicle, or just a mixed bag account showcasing your day-to-day life. Sara advises on how to take great shots no matter what type of camera you own, edit well, use filters effectively, make the most of captions and hashtags, and also how to avoid the app taking over your life. She also guides you through several short exercises designed to help you improve your feed, and steer Instagram’s algorithms toward showing you more content you’ll love.

There’s advice on keeping safe in this book too, both from trolls out to attack you, and from your own inner voice which is probably telling you not to post certain photos. Sara’s comment about how, by posting our own selfies and making sure our bodies appear in our photos, we can help to increase the diversity we long to see online was something that really spoke to Sophie. As was her advice on making sure we don’t try to “please too many people at once” and instead, focus on making something that WE love.

On top of all this, Hashtag Authentic is beautiful to look at. Nearly every page features Sara’s photos from her idyllic looking life in rural Yorkshire and it made Sophie want to take a trip up there immediately. Sophie has been putting Sara’s advice into practice and is already happier with her Instagram accounts which are looking more beautiful than ever thanks to this book.

It’s kind of brave to write a book dedicated to mastering one app in an era that sees so much technology turnover. I’m general, I found myself thinking this would make a great blog post to allow real time updating. While I’m a devoted Instagram user, I wasn’t familiar with Tasker’s account before stumbling upon this book. While it is aimed at Instagram influencers specifically, it’s a pretty book that contains useful photography advice for anyone who wants to improve her photos. A couple of small bits were already out of date as of the date of publication. For example, the “stories” feature has caught on quickly and the author wasn’t able to dive too deeply into that part due to the publication lag time. I can visualize Instagram influencers showing off this book on carefully curated coffee tables worldwide.

I found that this book can be helpful and useful if wanting to do more with Instagram. Different ways to find your way to show your images. It is a nice book overall.

I really enjoyed this book. It is absolutely helpful with my Instagram goals. It's full of prompts and tips and the writer is absolutely amazing with words.

I received a copy through NetGalley for review.

Hashtag Authentic: Be your best creative self via your Instagram online presence by Sara Tasker,
Is an interesting, guided look to curating the images in your life that inspire you.
She helps break down themes and images, helps you open your mind a bit more to the things around you.
It's less for business, and more for the personal Instagram user.
I feel like creating this kind of imagery is great for people who live in lush interesting settings.
I don't. So I can't really seek out these kind of moments she's able to use around her.

But she offers a nice guide in setting shoots up, compositions, using what's around you, lighting, It more a guide to being an Instagram photographer. If you can curate images that all seem to connect through the same kind of lens and color palette.

I was hoping for more guidance on making Instagram as a platform work more for you, than as a miniature guide for this kind of modern photography, but she does have some very nice points, and guidance.

An enjoyable and helpful book on how to develop our Instagram profiles. It was difficult to read as an ebook and I would prefer to have a hardback version to refer back to. Useful tips and an interesting look into how to use Instagram to develop you, or a, career.

Wow. I don’t know what I was expecting when I sought permission to review Sara Tasker’s book, Hashtag Authentic. That’s not exactly true. I was expecting an opinionated, throw-a-hundred-darts-and-see-what-sticks approach to Instagram and hashtags. What I found was completely different. What I found was refreshing and thoughtful.

If you’ve sought to develop on online presence through Instagram or blogging, you’ve probably already read hundreds of articles and books and watched countless videos. Everyone seems to be an expert - and if you want to find success, you must follow his/her advice. All of it. And you must do it quickly.

Tasker’s approach is different in that she isn’t providing any quick-fix answers. In fact, she doesn’t provide any answers initially. Instead, she calmly and methodically asks you to think about what you are doing; what you like; what you hope to accomplish. I find that even her writing style is relaxed. Slowly and deliberately, she asks you to be intentional about your approach. She doesn’t ask you to spend any money. She asks you to devote time and brain power.

In the latter portion of the book, she does provide some answers - but again, it is more “think about this” than “your must do this or risk utter failure.” Through and through, there is a ton of useful information in this book.

If you do nothing else today, at least follow Tasker on Instagram (@me_and_orla). You’ll be glad you did.

I received an advanced copy of this book from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review. The thoughts and opinions expressed here are my own.

I’m still honing my overall voice and vision, but you can find my work-in-progress blog at www.Patch405.com.

I've been following Sara's instagram for a while so when I saw her first book on Netgalley, I had to request it and I wasn't disappointed as it's not only filled with interesting reflective points on photography, instagram and social media in general but it also contains so many of her gorgeous photographs.

It was a quick read with some fairly basic points at times but it was useful in outlining some techniques and ideas to improve photography and to increase instagram clicks. I also liked the very easy, almost calming writing style along with the various 'activities' pages throughout the book which helped me to look at the photos I was posting in a new light. I think it's a great book to go back to if you're feeling disheartened about your photos or instagram account (which is definitely the case for a blogger) and I will be referring back to this book but I think if you're looking for an in-depth, technical guide to improving your instagram or photographs then this isn't the book for you (if that's what you want then maybe her online courses would help). However I would recommend it if you're looking for general inspiration and tips as well as a beautifully put together book.

This is a stunning book, as someone just starting out in the bookstagram/blogger world, I am very impressed with the knowledge and content available in this book. Very easily accessible and just beautiful. Well done.

This book is everything I needed to spark a little creativity back into my life. An avid photographer - usually - I had lost my interest in taking photos. Actually that's not accurate. I still snapped shots all the time, I just had no interest in sharing them. Sara's book brought me back to the joy of coming up with an image, setting it up, taking the shot, editing, and putting it out into the world.

It took me awhile to read it, not because it wasn't good but precisely because it was SO GOOD that I had to read a bit and then put it down to absorb it. There was also one day where I fully intended to read for awhile but I became so abruptly inspired that I had to put the book down and head out into the woods with some props and my phone to take what ended up being one of my favourite photos ever.

This is not a full technical book to teach you how to take photos, although she does cover some basics. Mostly it's a book to help you figure out what type of photos YOU love and want to take and share. If it doesn't inspire you I don't know what will.

Aside from the great information and inspiration, the book itself is stunningly beautiful with amazing imagery from Sara herself. It would be the perfect coffee table book except I refuse to leave it out lest someone ruin it by spilling something on it!

Highly recommended.

Interesting book but short and a lot of the advice is just basic common sense. Pretty to look at but lacks substance.

What a fun, informative read! It really made me think differently about social media and gave me a chance to do a better job of self-promoting. Instagram was always kind of a mystery to me, so it was good to read about how to brand yourself while not coming across as sort of ahem...self involved? It also serves as a how to for pictures—how to make them more attractive and how to be more engaging online. I enjoyed the stories and found the writing to be engaging. There was a lot about this book that I liked and I will for sure pick up a hard copy!

Whether you're a blogger / instagrammed or influencer you NEED to read this, stripping away the phoniness and keeping things honest and straightforward., Easy to follow.