We now live in an era where social media is king, where your online presence is more important than anything else. When spending hours taking #OOTDs of your significant other, for him or her to boost their own public appeal via Instagram is more important than quality time. It’s sad, for the most part, pathetic, but it is what it is—the future.

Singapore, despite being a tiny island, has its own fair share of places where you can nail that perfect shot. With its combination of high-rise buildings, beautiful greenery and sleek architecture, our sunny little island is the perfect canvas for you to play around with to achieve captivating Insta-worthy photos be it edgy, street-style photography or beautiful natural landscapes.

If you are, however, running out of ideas on where to take your next #OOTD or bring your overseas friends, fret not because here is a list of 8 photography spots in Singapore to explore with your squad.

Photo Credit: chowyi

ALKAFF BRIDGE 

If you’ve ever had a staycation at Studio M before, you would have probably come across this vibrant, multi-coloured bridge which spans the Singapore River at Robertson Quay.

The bridge is creatively shaped like a tongkang, which was a light boat that was used to ship goods along rivers in the early days of Singapore. Definitely an appropriate design for a bridge that is just along the Singapore river!

1 Havelock Road
Nearest Station: Clarke Quay

CHINESE GARDENS 

These beautiful gardens are definitely an underrated spot for aesthetic photos and killer #OOTDs. Chinese Gardens is full of majestic Chinese architecture as well as lush greenery that is perfect for that picturesque shot.

With its gorgeous pagodas and oriental vibes, your followers might not even be able to guess that you are in Singapore!

1 Chinese Garden Road
Singapore 619795
Daily: 6am – 11pm
Nearest Station: Chinese Garden

Photo Credit: Cond? Nast Traveler

GILLMAN BARRACKS 

This cluster of art galleries makes for a great place for some artsy, edgy shots for the gram. As the area used to be part of the British military barracks in the past, Gillman Barracks boasts of gorgeous, colonial architecture that looks just as good in photos as it does in real life.

Keep a watch out for their new exhibitions and events which usually means that there will be new photo taking opportunities for you.

9 Lock Road
Singapore 108937
Tue to Thu: 12pm – 7pm
Fri: 11am – 9.15pm
Sat: 12pm – 7pm
Sun: 11am – 6pm
(Closed on Mondays)
Nearest Station: Labrador Park Station

HENDERSON WAVES BRIDGE

The iconic bridge is not just a great place for a nice walk, but it also makes for a gorgeous setting for some pretty neat photos.

This sprawling pedestrian bridge has a fantastical, wave-like shape that is a great as a backdrop in photos. We recommend that you come here at night as well since the bridge is quite a sight when it is all lit up.

Henderson Road
Singapore 159557
Nearest Station: Telok Blangah

HORT PARK 

We feel that this is the underrated and miniature version of Botanic Gardens. Hort Park may be a small park, but it boasts of a wide array of plants and flowers that make a great backdrop for photos.

This place is a small escape from our concrete jungle of a city and is the perfect place if you’re looking to get more nature shots for your feed.

33 Hyderabad Road
Singapore 119578
Daily: 6am – 11pm
Nearest Station: Labrador Park

Photo Credit: chingsantos

RAFFLES MARINA LIGHTHOUSE 

Lighthouses are not a common sight in Singapore, so posting a picture of one on your feed will probably garner plenty of likes and comments from people who want to know where you took that photo.

Raffles Marina Lighthouse is one of these rare finds. Located at the tip of Raffles Marina Club’s breakwaters is a beautiful lighthouse that is a great spot for nautically themed photos. Even though it is a little far out, it is worth the trip down!

10 Tuas West Dr
Singapore 638404
Daily: 8am – 10pm
Nearest Station: Tuas Link

Photo Credit: viscaya_jurnalis 

RAILWAY BRIDGE @ KING ALBERT PARK 

Probably one of the most raved about places on the list is this railway bridge located at King Albert Park. This now defunct railway track is a hot spot for people to take creative shots.

Despite the place being severely overrated, we must admit that there is still a certain charm to these tracks that makes us still want to have our photos taken there even if they have been done so a thousand times by other people.

1 Bukiit Timah Railway Station
Singapore 599938
Nearest Station: King Albert Park

Photo Credit: bern31photowalk 

TOA PAYOH TOWN PARK 

Toa Payoh Town Park is another underrated place that boasts of lush greenery and scenic backdrops that are great for that perfect photo.

Its large pavilion, rustic gazebos and Japanese bridge are some of the many different spots for you to get a shot for the gram and we love how a variety of different shots can be taken at just one place.

Lor 6 Toa Payoh
Nearest Station: Toa Payoh

Wow. 100,000 followers on Instagram! Wow.

I started my instagram account back in Feb earlier this year, and I am loving it so far. Instagram allows me to do what I love – sharing beautiful photos and making people hungry – and it has been a great journey so far.

The growth rate of my instagram is crazy; I’m gaining around 1,000 new followers every day. The best part, of course, is getting to know friends from around the world.

I’ve previously written a guide on getting on Instagram’s popular page, if you are interested, you can read it here. And for folks who do not use instagram on phone, you can follow me at the new instagram web profile – http://www.instagram.com/ladyironchef.

I am addicted to Instagram. It is so fun. I love taking photos, and Instagram is perfect as it lets me share the precious memories with my readers and friends. For those of you who have been living in a cave, Instagram is a free photo-sharing program and social network. It allows users to take a photo, apply a filter, and share it with other Instagram users.

If you are on Instagram, I am sure you would have noticed the ‘Popular’ feed. To put it simply, Instagram’s popular page is where you can see the “most popular photos” by its 80 million registered users worldwide. Note: the key is worldwide. When your photo gets onto popular page, everyone around the world who is using Instagram will be able to see it, like it, and follow you. Which explains why getting on popular page is the fastest way to get more Instagram followers.

Instagram uses a special formula to determine which photos make it to the Popular feed – in short, nobody really knows the exact way to become popular on Instagram. For the past month, I’ve been getting onto Instagram’s Popular Page at least once a day, and from there, I’ve observed certain patterns.

Below, I will share some tips on How to get on Instagram’s Popular Page.

Take good photos. Duh.

Instagram, is first and foremost, a photo-sharing social network. You need to be able to take a decent photo – one that is at least not blurry. Also, you should learn how to match filters with different photos. For example, I like ‘walden’ as it gives a very dreamy look, while other filters like ‘amaro’ and ‘rise’ are good for food, and I find that ‘Lo-fi’ is more for landscape shots.

The 10% rule.

“The goal of the formula is to surface the most recently interesting photos based on a variety of variables. We do not simply count likes. It takes into account much more than that to make sure new people with fewer followers also have the chance of being discovered.”

This is the official statement from Instagram on ‘How the Popular page works’. To be honest, I think this is bullshit. It is highly unlikely that someone with 100 followers will be able to get onto Instagram’s popular page (as compared to another person who has 10k followers). Let’s face it: the reality is we are living in an unfair world, and it helps if you have a substantial following to begin with. However, it does not necessarily guarantee that you will be able to get onto popular page.

From what I’ve observed, you need at least 10% (note: this is just a rough estimate, nobody knows the exact number) of your followers to ‘like’ your photo in the first hour. That means to say if you have 10k followers, you need to have 1k ‘likes’. The first hour is crucial. Once you have passed it, there’s no way for you to get onto popular page.

Everyone loves pretty things.

If you look at Instagram’s popular page, you can see that there are mainly six genres that always appear on the feed: food, travel, good-looking people, pretty things, fashion, and inspiring things. What I want to say is: find your niche, take pretty photos, and people will ‘like’ your photos.

It helps if you are based in certain countries that have many Instagram users.

For instance, I’ve noticed that Philippines and Thailand have many Instagram users, so it’s not surprising to see that there are many Instagram celebrity users – people who are not real celebrities, but have gained a huge following on the social media platform – from the two countries.

Know what your audience wants.

Everyone has different backgrounds. If people follow you because they like your #OOTD (outfit of the day) shots, continue to share more photos of your style. For gluttons like me who post a lot of travel and food photos, people naturally, ‘like’ more of those photos. It is not that difficult to know what people like, you just need to observe. That said, don’t be obsessed with getting onto Popular page just so that you can get more followers. Do what you love, and people will love what you do.

If you like my guide to instagram popular page, please share it with your friends via twitter and facebook. I will also be writing a series – proper rules of Instagram, how brands can make use of Instagram, how you can get more followers on Instagram, how to take better photos on Instagram etc – in the coming weeks.

And by the way, remember to follow me on Instagram: @ladyironchef.