Hello Gareth Pon
When I first discovered the #SpotTheGPRocket hashtag on Instagram I thought that it was a community of Igers rallying behind the hashtag to represent Gauteng. A rocket is hidden within each image posted with this hashtag for the of amusement anyone who follows the hashtag.
Needless to say I’ve never found the GP Rocket in any of the images and it turns out that I was wrong about the hashtag being led by a Gauteng community of instagrammers. The hashtag was led by one individual and it wasn’t just for the amusement of those who follow but also a creative means of branding. The GP is not an acronym for Gauteng. The letters are the intials of Africa’s top instagrammer, Gareth Pon, and the rocket is his logo.
The African Blogger Awards winner for Best Instagrammer, who is also a filmmaker and photographer, built a career using one of the fastest growing social networks in Instagram. Amassing almost a quarter of a million followers on his profile, Gareth created a career using something that most of us use leisurely. He is now a creative consultant to various brands and one of his latest clients is Flying Fish. He brought his visual expertise and experience to the table to help the brand create some noise on Instagram for the launch of their Add Some Flavour campaign. ““I’ve never been given such creative freedom when it came to creating imagery for an alcohol brand, as most briefs require event-based photography and the like. This was far more artistic and focused on creating clever images. It was great to be given such sway and insight into shaping the Flying Fish brand.” says Gareth in an interview on the Add Some Flavour portal.
In attempt to add some flavour to our own Instagram profile we asked Gareth Pon to give us a selection of his favourite portraits and let us know what is the most important aspect to consider when trying to take a good portrait.
“A portrait I took for Flying Fish, we had fun in the city and combined the image with some quick illustrations”
“Cheers! From another perspective, sometimes we need to change the way we see the world.”
“A portrait shot in Soweto, this little girl reminded me of the love in life we often miss”
“A ‘Portraits and Windows’ shot I took of my friend from Australia, this is an ongoing series that I post on my profile that showcases portraits in a self-portrait kind of way.”
“Portrait of my good and talented friend @zenography, we explored an abandoned building in Cape Town and we managed to get some great light shining into the building”
“Portraits and windows shot of a stranger in Braamfontein, Johannesburg. Considered as a self-portrait.”
Gareth says the most important tip for taking a portrait is “to capture the story behind the image rather than just the image itself. Every portrait has a story and if you can capture a glimpse of that story then that’s what will make a powerful story.”
Be sure to visit the Add Some Flavour portal below to find out the rest of Gareth’s Top Tips for taking awesome portraits and view more music, culture, fashion, and entertainment related content.
