Super Creative Selfie Caption Ideas

With 1 billion people on Instagram (yes, you read that correctly, 1 BILLION), being creative with your selfie captions can feel next-to-impossible.

Julia has used the same Instagram caption as Emily. Emily has used the same caption as Lauren. And don’t even get me started on how many times Sarah has copied Kelly.

It’s a cycle. Just like your fav TikTok dance moves, IG captions tend to follow a pattern as well. One person posts a clever caption, it catches on, and soon everyone in your friend group is using some variation of the same caption.

Total yawn fest, right?

I think so, and that’s why today I wanted to give you some tips (and examples!) of selfie captions that will get the creative juices flowing.

Dive in with me...

Use your own voice, damn it!

Sorry for yelling, but if you want to be creative with your Instagram caption, well, then stop sounding like everyone else, okay? It’s time for you to embrace your own voice, letting it shine through, loud and proud. How? It’s easy. Write a caption in the same way you would talk. If you read your caption out loud and it doesn’t sound like you, scrap it.

Lauren Evarts of The Skinny Confidential does a great job of this.

who cares what he looks anyway- like as long as he takes his men’s @ritual vitamins we are good right. seriously tho he needs all the help he can get- & these do the trick: non-GMO, peppermint-y, full of 10 key nutrients...& it keeps him out of MY stash. tag ur bf’s & husbands- code BOSSTICKS gets u 10% off ur first 3 months of any @ritual product #TSCBEAUTYFILE #ritualpartner #tscbody

A post shared by by LAURYN EVARTS BOSSTICK (@theskinnyconfidential) on Jul 24, 2020 at 12:32pm PDT

• Actually share something worth talking about

Sure, go ahead and post the same selfie caption that’s been beaten to death, but trust me, if you’re looking for likes, it’s not going to work. For a creative selfie caption that nobody has seen before, actually tell your followers something. It doesn’t have to be your life story or some big political statement, but a caption that goes a bit beyond a couple of words and an emoji will do wonders for your likes.

Here’s an example of Rachel Hollis talking about running with her dog. It’s not an overly complex caption, but I guarantee you won’t find the same exact caption out there on someone else’s feed. Creativity: check!

View this post on Instagram (post have been removed)

Wit hasn’t quite mastered the selfie yet... but we’re working on it. I’ve been slowly building up her stamina for long runs because she wasn’t running distance before I got her. Today we’re up to 4 miles jogging + 7 miles walking and how have I lived all these years without a big-dog running buddy because it is the BEST?! 🐕 Just a reminder to whoever needs to hear it today... stick to your best habits, especially in the worst times. Moving my body everyday is a touchstone that calms me down, gives me clarity and keeps me centered. Listen to your body— maybe you need to stretch, or take a long walk or dance it out or kick the hell out of a heavy bag while listening to Lizzo— whatever movement will make you feel good should hold a sacred space in every day. #RachelHRuns

A post shared by Rachel Hollis (@msrachelhollis) on Jul 26, 2020 at 10:39am PDT

• Surprise people with the caption and selfie combo

When a caption and a selfie don’t seem to match right off-the-bat, you win creativity points. For instance, in this caption from Julia Berolzheimer, she simply captioned the photo, “best friends forever.” While this isn’t a particularly creative selfie caption on its own, the fact that she’s with her child in the selfie makes the caption stand out more than if she were with her adult best friend. Know what I’m saying here? Get creative by shattering people’s expectations of how a selfie and a caption should match, and it will bring in the likes. Guaranteed.

Best friends forever 💙💚

A post shared by Julia Berolzheimer (@juliaberolzheimer) on Jul 31, 2020 at 7:17am PDT

• Be a little sassy/make a statement

When you have 25.5 million followers like Amanda Cerny, you don’t necessarily have to get super creative with your selfie captions, but I love how in this selfie, she kept the language relatively simple, didn’t carry on too much, but she made a point: it’s her selfie and she’ll do what she wants with it. The point being, you don’t have to get super complex to be creative. Just say what you want to say, and your creativity will shine through.

Sometimes I wear makeup. Sometimes I get pimples. Sometimes I use filters. Sometimes I photoshop. Sometimes I care. Sometimes I don’t. 💫

A post shared by Amanda 𝕮𝖊𝖗𝖓𝖞 (@amandacerny) on Aug 24, 2020 at 11:09am PDT

Yeah, yeah, I know you might get to the bottom of this post and wish I had just told you exactly what to say to be creative, but there’s the deal: When it comes to creativity, nobody can tell you what to say. Your creativity is your own baby and you’ve got to birth it into life all on your own (apologies for the graphic birthing comparison there, but you get my drift).

Creativity DOB: today!