Seven Tips to Make Your Instagram Feed Outstanding
So you’ve got Instagram for a while and upload photos on a regular basis, but nobody seems to care. No likes, no subscriptions, no comments. Boo. Try these tips, sad instagrammer.
Turn that frown, uh, phone upside down
Adding foreground elements is one of the easiest ways to make a photo more interesting. According to photographer Taylor Rees ( @taylorfreesolo ), one of the easiest ways to add foreground elements using your smartphone is to flip it upside down and shoot the subject from the ground. Consider these two photos of my Tina desk toy:
One shot from the ground is much more interesting to watch. You can get a better look at Tina and her “erotic fantasy girlfriend,” the photography has become deeper, and the earth acts as a subtle foreground element. This obviously works very well with low-ground objects, but it works with all other objects as well. Try to remove from a table, table, railing, etc.
Adjust your phone’s camera settings
Most of us take Instagram photos with our smartphone camera, so you need to know how to use it properly. Here are some quick tips:
- Underexpose your shots : Many amateur photos are too bright and all highlights are washed out (especially if you shoot in the middle of the day). Adjust the exposure and shoot the subject slightly darker, then adjust the exposure later to brighten the subject without ruining the photo.
- Disable HDR : If your smartphone’s camera can take photos in high dynamic range, that is, it takes multiple exposures and combines them into one shot that your smartphone’s camera considers best, turn it off. It can make your photos look over-processed and exaggerated.
- Don’t rely on autofocus all the time : autofocus is great for quick snap shots, but it’s helpful to learn how to use the manual focus functions of your smartphone’s camera. In most cases, this means simply clicking on your object on the phone screen.
- Burst photos are useful : If your smartphone’s camera can take photos in burst mode, use it. Sometimes you can’t completely transfer the magic with one click.
- Avoid the flash : This is sometimes useful, but most of the time it drowns out the lighting and makes your photos look like they were shot with one of these groovy disposable cameras.
You don’t need to learn all the technical details of digital photography in order to take decent photos with your smartphone, you just need to become familiar with these basic things.
Be selective with your photos
Don’t go overboard with posting photos on Instagram. As I mentioned earlier with regard to vacation photography, quality should be prioritized over quantity. This means that you cannot upload 20 photos at a time to the feed. Photographer Elizabeth Brentano ( @elisabethontheroad ) suggests that your feed be more like a carefully curated gallery of photos, rather than a place to drop random photos that people probably don’t want to see.
It can be helpful to ask yourself what do you want your channel to be about? Is there a theme you want to choose? This could be your dog, adventure, nature, you modeling, your cat, or something more abstract like being a mom. It can also help define your brand identity. Do you like bright and colorful things? Or do you like dark and dark things more? You don’t need to be too focused unless you’re trying to be some kind of professional Instagrammer, but it can still help you decide which photos to showcase and which ones to keep with you.
Use Instagram Stories Like a Pro
If you’re not using Instagram Stories, you should probably change that. It’s a great way to show your friends what you’ve been doing lately, it gets more followers, and it’s fun. The catch is that you can only post photos or videos from the last 24 hours. So, if your regular Instagram feed is like a carefully curated gallery, Brentano says, your stories are like a traveling exhibit.
Instagram Stories can be a big topic on their own, however, so if you’re unsure of where to start, this guide from The Verge will be very helpful . At the very least, you should know how to get around the 24 hour rule. You can download apps like Story Uploader or MetaTrixter , or take screenshots of photos you previously took on your phone. You can also try my way, which works like this:
- Swipe left on the Instagram home screen to open the messages page.
- Click on the plus sign and enter your Instagram display name.
- Tap the photo icon in the “Write a message …” section and select the old photo you want to post to Stories.
- Send this to yourself.
- Now touch and hold the photo until you get the option to save the image.
- Save it to film.
You now have a new copy of the old photo with new metadata stating that it is brand new. This process even works for videos.
Don’t go overboard with filters
Instagram filters are good, but sometimes less is more. Don’t settle for a filter and spoil a photo’s great natural lighting just because you think every shot needs a filter. You might be better off not using them at all and instead edit the photos in a dedicated app.
However, if you are not going to edit and must use a filter, try to be consistent. Find one or two filters that you really like, and consider sticking to those that will help keep your feed in line with the topic.
Frame and crop photos now
When you are about to make a new Instagram post, you will notice that grid lines pop up as you move your photo. Use them! They can help you center your subject in the middle of the frame, or easily apply the rule of thirds to really get a precise composition of your photo. The grid lines will also help you line up any lines in your photo. Finally, if you are going to crop your photos, try cropping all your photos the same way. People love consistency, and it makes your channel page – or your grid – look prettier.
Use signature space wisely
Instagram photo captions are often as important as the photos themselves. Don’t waste this space! Photographer Melissa Vincent ( @misvincent ) invites you to use captions as an opportunity to grab the attention of your audience . If you have thousands of followers or just a few family and friends, choose a signature that grabs their attention. Ask a question, share interesting information, write something that is more than describing what they are already seeing .
Also use hashtags. They attract more people to your feed and earn more subscribers. You can even search on popular hashtags and see what’s trending right now. Maybe you have a photo that fits one of these themes. But whichever hashtag you have, don’t only upload the title of 30 of them. It looks bad. Put a few important ones in your caption, and then write a comment on your photo filled with even more. Just make sure all of your hashtags are up to date.