Jin Soon Choi’s 6 Tips for the Perfect Mani-Gram
When it comes to celebrity manicurists, they don’t get any more iconic than Jin Soon Choi. Not only is she the go-to genius behind your favorite runway, editorial and red carpet nail looks, she’s also the founder of the superlative JINsoon Nail Lacquer and Jin Soon Hand and Foot Spas. If you’re someone half as obsessed with beauty as we are, you’ll know her name; if you’re a true insider, you’ll know her amazing Instagram which features some of the most amazing nail photos—JINstagrams, as she calls them—that you’ve ever seen. We’ve actually been the stars of a few of her Insta-shoots, and trust us; she’s got skills with an iPhone that you wouldn’t believe.
So, because we’re always looking to show off our nails with a perfectly-composed IG shot, we asked for her very best tips to take the perfect mani-gram, and the woman delivered. Get ready to take your insta-feed to the next level.
1. When in doubt, use a plain white background.
“White, with a colored or neutral nail, makes any polish look bright,” Jin says. “Plus, it’s very chic; very minimalist.” It also helps nail art, like this graphic look, really pop in a picture.
2. Use fun colors and patterns.
But don’t think that minimalist is the only way to be: colors and patterns make for excellent Insta-backgrounds when deployed correctly. Jin often uses brightly colored magazine ads and editorials, sometimes layering two or three of them for a creative, multi-dimensional background.
“You can do a collage,” she said, arranging a shot of a textured grey tweed coat on top of an ad featuring grey and blue fur. “When you use a photo from a magazine in the background, on Instagram, it looks like you have the real one!”
Your wardrobe can also furnish amazing mani-gram backgrounds. Look for interestingly pattered scarves, dresses or bright bags to incorporate into your photos, as Jin often does. This bright scarf compliments the deep green nail polish perfectly.
3. Hand modelling 101.
To take a great mani-gram, you need to make sure your nails are displayed to their best advantage. Jin says “You can’t just shoot, you must make sure the nails are showing really well. Some people do it this way—” She mimes a clawlike hand, resting on its fingers like Thing from The Addams Family. “–But then the nails look really bad that way. I do it very relaxed—” She holds her hand straight out, relaxing her fingers slightly. “—Then shoot at a straight angle, from either above if the hand is resting flat on a table, or straight ahead if it’s held in front of a wall.”
4. Accessorize!
Jin often uses props like jewelry to add extra visual interest to her mani-grams. Posing with something beautiful and shiny, like a necklace, not only allows you to hold your hands in a different way, it can add a little pop of additional color to your photo.
This bracelet, which has amethysts at the end, co-ordinates almost perfectly with a purple manicure (which is Soubrette, from the Fall Operetta Collection ($18, jinsoon.com).
5. Think about your lighting.
Lighting, Jin tells us, is very important. “Sometimes under a certain kind of light, there’s a lot of glare, or it makes the color look different, or it doesn’t sparkle as much.” Jin shoots as many of her Instagrams as she can in natural light, or under an artificial light source that is slightly warm-toned. She seldom, if ever, uses a flash.
6. Embrace technology.
“And if something on the finger doesn’t look good”—she gestures to a stress-bitten cuticle—”You can always retouch. There are a lot of apps.” We like FaceTune for editing out redness or uneven skin around our fingers, which helps keep the focus on our perfect manicures where it belongs.
