Take Better Instagram Photos

Have you ever looked at someone’s Instagram feed and bemoaned your inability to take such beautiful photos on your cell phone?

Have you ever thought about buying a “real camera” just for your Instagram feed but aren’t sure you know enough about a camera to reap the benefit of it?

Have you ever wished you had more photography skill so that you could showcase your product and life in a more beautiful way?

Welcome. I’m so glad you’re here.

Tools for Better Instagram Photos

You don’t need a fancy camera in order to take better Instagram photos. In fact, the best camera is going to be the one in your hand; whether that’s a DSLR or an iPhone, a camera is useless unless you’re using.

While I did take all these photos with my DSLR (I’m a photographer, after all): each of the photos being taken will be used on a real-life Instagram feed. Yes, that’s right: you don’t need a fancy camera in order to have excellent photos for your feed.

The easiest way to take better Instagram photos is to learn to use your cell phone camera. Remember: you’re smarter than your camera so the more you control the camera and tell it what you want to photograph, the better your photos will be.

(Pro Tip: Tap on the screen to indicate where to focus and then most cameras, even those a few years old will let you adjust your the brightness of your image! )

Lighting for Better Instagram Photos

The best photos will be taken with natural, diffused light.  Sounds intimidating? It’s not. Take your photos in front of a large window (or sliding glass door) with all other lights turned off and you’ll be able to easily create that soft, effortless light that makes for an excellent photo.

Example: these two photos were taken in exactly the same place and with automatic settings.  The photo on the left is using my sliding glass door as my light source with all living room lights off,  the photo on the right has the living room lights turned on.
Same scenario in the photo below: one photo is yellowed, shadowed, and unflattering.  The other is evenly lit without distracting shadows or yellowing.  One photo has overhead lights on, the other has only the diffused natural light.

• Remove distractions for better Instagram photos

 

Only photograph what you want your viewer to see and don’t let your photo distract the viewer from seeing your art.

Change angles to avoid cluttering objects, move unnecessary objects out of the photo, photograph on a solid backdrop.

The easiest way to eliminate distractions? Create a white box! Buy a couple pieces of styrofoam poster board at your local craft store ($2-3 each) and use that as your background. I prop up my poster board pieces on a chair in front of the sliding door for soft light and three-way white space.

Here you can see all these tips in use:

1 – In front of the window
2 – On a whiteboard backdrop
3 – All distracting elements eliminated

    

Final thought: even if you don’t have a set of white poster board, moving 45 degrees and turning off the overhead lights can make a world of a difference.

If you’d like customized help, contact us for a Instagram mentoring session! Chelsea is an excited student whose Instagram game is wildly improved: “The  [instagram] training has given me confidence that I can post consistently and build my brand effectively on social media.”  

If you want confidence online, reach out and let us help!