Surely, scrolling through the feed on Instagram, you at least once thought: “What is the secret of these bloggers, that they have several thousand followers? I want that too!"
Well, to increase the audience you can turn to the best Instagram growth service, or learn how to take a photo so that users don’t have the heart to ignore your account.
But unfortunately, the functionality of Instagram in photo processing, despite the huge audience reach and demand, is limited. To make up for the lack of options, you can use third-party software. What kind of software? Read below.
Preparation stage
You don't have to use a professional camera to take awesome pics for Instagram. But getting a basic knowledge of photography is still crucial.
First, delve into studying the concept of composition. Composition is responsible for how the objects are positioned in the photo – this helps to make the frame harmonious and interesting.
Follow the rule of thirds. Divide the frame into 3 equal parts horizontally and vertically so that the main objects are located at the intersection of the lines or along them.
The rule of diagonals is also useful. Draw a diagonal from one corner of the frame to the other. The diagonal from the lower-left corner to the upper right one is more “calm”, and the opposite is more “active”. This means that if you arrange objects on an ascending diagonal, the frame will be more dynamic and if on a descending diagonal, it will be harmonious and peaceful.
Also, explore the capabilities of your phone. Play around with exposure, white balance, contrast, and saturation. Try all the features – portrait mode, stabilization, optical zoom, grid, or HDR. All these tools are the magic wand for mobile photography.
Must-have gear for mobile photography
- Tripod
A tripod is necessary to firmly fix the phone to eliminate shake and blurry photos. This accessory makes it easier to compose, frame the scene and choose the shooting angle. Even a small tabletop tripod or flexible “octopus” one will do.
- Microfiber cloth
Even with the most careful handling, the smartphone collects hundreds of fingerprints. Some of them remain on the lens. If you don’t wipe the lenses, your photos will become blurry. Such defects cannot be fixed in the editor.
- Lenses
Clip-on lenses will come to the rescue if your smartphone's camera is not very powerful. This accessory allows you to change parameters such as focal length, zoom, perspective and add a fisheye effect.
- External flash or LED ring
Good photography requires good lighting. When there is little natural light, a compact LED flash or ring will make up for it. With them, you can get clear, bright images at any time of the day.
The magic of filters: best apps for editing Instagram photos
Apps help to fix the light, remove unnecessary things, make the photo brighter, emphasize the details, and bring the frames to a uniform style. The main thing here is not to overdo it with filters – don’t use them to the maximum and don’t shift away from natural colors.
1 LightX
LightX is the most simplified Photoshop for a smartphone with a library of ready-made filters. Some of them are duplicated from Instagram, but the main set is unique. In addition to ready-made effects, the application contains all the basic tools for photo editing.
2 Snapseed
A simple application for editing basic parameters with filters. There are functions of expanding the photo, which enlarges the picture to the desired size, spot correction, double exposure features, which make the pic even more engaging.
3 PicsArt Photo Studio
It is a photo editor with 150 impressive filters and the ability to customize the effect to your liking. There is a separate package for editing a selfie: if you want to cover up freckles or change the color of your eyes, it's easy!
Moreover, the app has a library of stickers and frames, as well as the adding text option. You can create your own stickers, or upload and use the one designed by other users.
4 Pixlr
The application is interesting with the unique Color Splash tool: you can select a certain color in the image and desaturate the rest of the palette to black and white. The application has a set of frames, stickers, and ready-made text. Photos and collages can be uploaded directly to Instagram.
5 VSCO
It is difficult to call this product an application: today VSCO is a community of many thousands of users who publish edited images. The program is an example of minimalism, from the interface to the built-in options. In the basic VSCO set, there are only standard color correction packages and a few free filters. But they are worth it.
Final words
Which application to choose to make your Instagram photos brighter and more original is up to you. There are a lot of tools besides the ones we have listed. In any case, even if you are a fan of natural shots with minimal retouching or a fan of bright hipster filters, you can definitely find something to your liking. Practice, experiment, and be sure to share your results on Instagram.
