If there was a party and no one was around to Instagram it – did it really happen? 

There's no doubt social media has changed the social scene – there’s nothing like a wittily crafted caption, esoteric hashtag and expertly cropped photograph to distill a moment in time, telling the world that you’ve just had the time of your life with stylish insouciance.  But there’s a fine line between an effortless posting and images that scream, figuratively, “look at me! Isn’t my life fabulous? I’m so lonely.” 

Taking a cue from last year’s ball, we’ve decided to highlight a few tips and tricks to ensure people are double tapping your photos – and not unticking the ‘Following’ tab – at this year's Tatler Ball. Just don't forget to hashtag #MYTatlerBall2015 in all your wonderful shots. 

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Loosen up

You're not a wax figure at Madame Tussauds -- you're a living, breathing, dancing, champagne-sipping icon of modern society. Save the pose for the classic red carpet moneyshots -- for social media, we want to see those candid personalities. Here, Celest Thoi, Lim Ai Chiin, Raymond Choon, Gabrielle Tan-Helfman, Bernie Chan and Lim Ai San make it work with variations on the theme. 

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Get creative 

The Shangri-La Kuala Lumpur ballroom will always be beautiful -- until you've seen it a thousand times. We love it when guests look outside the box and post images like this one, by Refie Redzuan, showing his point of view of the night. Show off your styling skills and give a shot everyone has seen before a twist of your own. 

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Fashion focus

Let's face it -- we all love to know what you're wearing, and a shot like this by Elena Dolmatova delivers, with emphasis on the details that make the dress. Protip: It would help to include it in the caption which designer you're wearing or where those cute shoes are from, to eliminate repetitive comments like "OMG who are you wearing?". 

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Show some love

One of the highlights of our ball is the awards session, and there's nothing -- save for a glass of fine Hennessy cognac -- that makes our hearts glow warmer than a parade of appreciation for our award recipients. Shirieene Hajamaideen, one of our previous Malaysia Tatler Most Stylish Women, posted this wonderful photo with last year's Most Stylish Woman Meera Sen and we can see the respect and admiration the women have for each other just emanating from this shot. 

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#BFFs

We love bringing people together and the Tatler Ball is always one for friends old and new to catch up after a long year. You can just feel the love in a shot like this from Ming Ne Tan, all smiles with Elizabeth Lee-Yong. Notice also how Elizabeth's flawless hand position shows off her bling to their best advantage.

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Bromance isn't dead

Jwin Ong captured this photo with the dapper SM Nasaruddin SM Nasimuddin and Joon Ong, and we must say, all three of them looked absolutely dashing. Don't let only the ladies have all the fun -- gentlemen, go crazy with the photo-taking too and do share it with us with the hashtag #MYTatlerBall2015. 

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Obligatory mirror selfies

Looking perfect all night long does not come easy and this little nod to keeping up with appearance by Peter Tiong shows us how we're all just human at the end of the day. Anything can be a good selfie opportunity, it's up to you to get creative and use your environment to your best advantage. 

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The camera eats first

While you may be itching to get on the dancefloor, don't forget to look down to your plate -- the kitchen team at Shangri-La has worked extra hard this year to bring us an epic feast, and we'd hazard to say that the dishes themselves deserve their own little red carpet moments. Even the petit fours will be something Instagram-worthy, as Angela Ong shows us from last year's menu. 

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No one left behind

Group shots are a must, so gather your clan and remember to smize. This shot from Shirena Hamzah has no one left out of the group, which is crucial. Thankfully, Instagram's new landscape feature means there will never be another awkward #FOMO moment when someone doesn't make it into the frame. 

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Hashtag to print your best shots

This year, we have another reason for you to take even more photos. We will be having a special photobooth at the ball at which you can print your favourite Instagram photos. You can have your photo taken at the booth with the props galore, or we can also have those taken with your phone printed for you, so long as you hashtag it with #MYTatlerBall2015 and #TatlerFirstElite. Only Instagrams with both hashtags will be printable so do keep the two hashtags in mind.

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Not to worry if you're not able to make it. Just follow us on Instagram by the handle @malaysiatatler for live updates or follow the hashtag #MYTatlerBall2015 to see what our guests are up to.

Alternatively, you may also log on to our dedicated microsite.