We know that in some hipper-than-thou circles chronic Instagram use signals the height of basic bitchiness, but we found that with the right tags, you can avoid having to scroll through all that food porn and faux-artsy-filtered fare, and it pays off with some pretty interesting stuff. 
 

duannnnnnnnn

Why she decided to affix an extra eight “n’s” to the end of her username, we’ll never know. For interesting everyday slice of life shots and peeks at lo-fi hand-made personal projects, follow now.


Image courtesy of Duan
 

beibeibei

For an architectural look at Shanghai’s sights, check out this 'fella. He takes a lot of long shots of his girlfriend but since we can barely see her face, we can’t verify that it’s the same girl or his girlfriend for that matter. But all joking aside, his 'grams really stood out for us.


Image courtesy of Wu Mingshi
 

olivialsr

When she isn’t running her taobao store, she’s modelling her wares online. With likes numbering in the thousands per post and a whopping 139k followers, her minimal muji-esque aesthetic promises to either relax you or wonder why you can’t live a life as effortless.


Image courtesy of Olivia
 

charliedanger

Shanghai-based director and photographer Charles Lanceplaine travels a lot. A LOT, a lot. So while his stuff isn't particularly Shanghai-specific, a peek at what he sees through his lens is nonetheless captivating. "The world has so much to offer, photography is just a good excuse for me to go and capture it," he says.


 

green_apple_kisses

Serving up some hand-drawn (and sometimes inked) psychedelia, Brandon Tucs' Instagram documents a fun mix of his creative process and says, "the weird, the nasty, the gnarly and sometimes the obscene are the things that make me do the things I do. That's what makes illustrating fun and interesting."


Image courtesy of Brandon Tucs
 

zhaopower

Tommy Zhao’s insta-bio tells us he’s a “fulltime adventurer, capturer of motion, occasional framer of life moments and avid food junkie.” Tommy co-founded MIC, a skateboard mag, and makes his bones shooting skate videos, and there's plenty of that on display here. 


Image courtesy of Tommy Zhao

When we hit him up for a comment, he said, "Sometimes I can't believe cameras exist. Just knowing that it's possible to freeze time and capture moments of life to watch later or show others, that shit's like magical to me. I'd feel like I'd be missing out if I didn't shoot or film, like in a way, everyday is history in the making."
 

reycanlasjr

Rey's already been mentioned by The Guardian as one of the best city photographers on Instagram. While he splits his time between Shanghai and London, he's definitely stacked up some frequent flyer miles based on his Instagram subjects. His best shots by far are everyday captures of Xuhui and the people who live in them. 


Image courtesy of Rey Canlas Jr.
 

movable

Filmmaker and photographer Leon Yan shoots local Shanghai life too, and really, what remains of local urban life in China as it transitions into the 21st century. 


Image courtesy of Leon Yan

Unsurprisingly, Leon said "I am mainly focused on visual storytelling and suggesting possible narratives in the photos I take."
 

jmartsjaunt

Meet Jmart, real name: Johnny Martinez, a Shanghai-based graphic designer who's portfolio includes work for a wide variety of clients like Nike, Bund18, and American tween accessories haven Claire's.


Image courtesy of Jmart

An avid skater himself, J says that most of the time he shoots casually while he's on-the-go. His weapon of choice: a 35mm point and shoot camera. "It’s low-key, versatile, easy to carry around. And you get that surprise element of not knowing how much grain there will be, how the lighting will turn out or if there will be some dope photos on the roll that you forgot you took."
 

theflabjacks

"Flabjacks are flabby and friendly creatures, They wear red lipstick, have double chins and contrasting personalities. Some are nice guys, some are mean machines. All in all, they are inspired by real people and real moments, mundane experiences of everyday life. All about good, positive vibes." 


Image courtesy of Ton Mak

Ton Mak splits her time between Shanghai and Hong Kong and sticks her flabjacks in otherwise everyday food items, sometimes she 'grams her flabjacks with celebrities like Angela Baby or, in Brad Pitt's case, photoshops them on.

Text: CH Staff