This is how you earn Instagram’s adoration: Playful photos with paper props and plenty of preparation!
posted Tuesday, July 12, 2016 at 8:59 AM EST
It's a trick we've seen done a fair few times before, but Instagrammer Rich McCor -- aka paperboyo -- has really taken it to the next level. When it comes to popular tourist landmarks, it can be tough to set your photos apart from the crowd. But with the addition of a cleverly-chosen prop, you can inject a sense of fun into your shot and give it a whole new meaning in the process.
That's just what McCor's been doing on his Instagram page for a little while now, and a quick glance at his follower count -- a whopping 175,000 people and climbing -- is enough to confirm that it's working out very well indeed!
A year ago, the 29-year old, London-based photographer was working at a creative agency, and decided to share photos of some of his paper art projects on the popular photo sharing site. From those humble beginnings, his cutout creations headed out into the real world, accompanying him on a vacation to Lisbon. And on his return home, the project continued with a tour of the local landmarks. His too-cute-for-words shots quickly went viral, his follower count skyrocketed, and a year later McCor has now quit his job to travel the world full-time making more great shots like those in this article and on his Instagram page.
Each shot comes accompanied by an interesting backstory or factoid, and as time has gone on, each has set new watermarks for how many likes and comments it can draw. All from a very simple idea, but one executed incredibly well. It might look easy, but it turns out that the project involves a whole heck of a lot of planning and preparation (and no small amount of luck, as well).
Before he leaves on each trip, McCor scopes out the landmarks and comes up with ideas for photos he wants to make -- then he prepares many of the necessary paper cutouts before leaving home. "Otherwise," he says, "I’d spend most of my trips cutting paper rather than diving for cover in a fortune tellers during a rainstorm, getting utterly lost on a hike in the morning mist, finding a bar that serves the most lethal cocktails you've ever had, and all the other adventures you have when you travel."
To see more of McCor's excellent creations, almost every one of which put a smile on our face, check out the paperboyo Instagram page!
(via FStoppers)