Finding Inspiration from other Instagram Accounts

One of my favorite things about Instagram is finding inspiration. There are so many creative and talented people in our community and I am always finding fabulous ideas to try in my own home. In fact, I have some really big projects I tried in my family room that were inspired by my two favorite Instagram feeds (which will be shared soon, I promise!)

This got me thinking. Is there a right way to use inspiration from someone else? In fact, is it ok to use any idea and do you ever need to ask permission? Or, if you give proper credit to the original creator, is that enough? Finally, how often do you need to give credit? Every time the photo is shared online?

These are interesting questions and I don’t think there any answers published anywhere. (Perhaps a manual on the do’s and don’ts of Instagram would be helpful. Tee hee.) But I think a lot of common sense applies here. It really comes down to the difference between being inspired and just copying an idea. When you see a great idea don’t forget to take it one step further and add your own ideas. It takes a little more work but it’s so much more rewarding.

I reached out to one of my favorite Instagram friends, Erin of @cottomstem, and she addressed this issue perfectly. She commented,

“The difference between being inspired by and just straight up copying is being generous with giving credit and shoutouts. If you put a spin on an original idea, look or concept created by another, just send some love their way for all to see! Community over the competition. Everyone wins that way.”

Be sure to add your own ideas to one another’s inspiration and always recognize the person who inspired you! That sounds like a great plan to me!

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