1. Don’t use zoom.
Don’t use the zoom feature on your phone if you can move closer to the subject. Zooming in by using the phone camera leads to a loss in image quality.
2. Pay attention to colors.
Colors are important when it comes to Instagram. A previous study has shown that photos dominated by blue hues get more like than ones with hues of red and orange. Also, photos that are dominated by a single color perform better than photos dominated by multiple colors.
3. Include a lot of background. The same study also found that photos that included over 90% of background space were more popular on Instagram. This is because ample background space draws our attention to the small area where the main subject is while giving our eyes a lot of rest time while looking at the photo. 4. Don’t be afraid to center the subject. A common piece of advice is to use the rule of thirds and avoid centering. However, placing your subject in the center can sometimes create strong images, especially in a square photo. Strong subjects that stand out from the background work well when centered.
5. Symmetry
Symmetry brings balance and an aesthetically pleasing harmony to photographs. Especially with square Instagram photos, a symmetrical composition satisfies our eyes’ natural desire for order, stability, and completeness. When done correctly, it can create beautiful, striking images but when used too much, it can become predictable and boring.
6. Don’t worry about getting all the details. You don’t have to have the perfect exposure or get everything in focus to create a good photo. Sometimes, the imperfections result in perfect images. Experiment with silhouettes, shadows and light, and motion blurs or blurred subjects to capture movement.
7. Angles Pay attention to the angle when taking photos of different things as some angles work better for certain things than others. For example, when taking a full-body portrait, an upward angle can make legs look longer. When taking photos of food, shooting from the top looking straight down at the plate creates a beautifully balanced photo.
8. Staging Many of those ‘perfect’ photos on Instagram with hundreds of likes are staged. You might think this is unauthentic or fake, but staging things can give you beautiful images and can be used to tell a story. That photo of a beautifully set up table of food and drinks? Everything was strategically rearranged just for the photo. Travel photos of someone lost in the moment in some exotic location? Took that 5 times until they got the right look. While we can usually tell when a photo is staged, decluttering, rearranging, or posing while keeping it natural can allow you to create interesting photos that tell a story.
9. Lighting
If you’re taking photos indoors, use natural light when possible. Your camera’s flash gives photos harsh shadows and bleaches the image. Windows are great sources of natural light that can give your photos soft shadows and aesthetic lighting.
10. Use a photo editing app.
Chances are, an Instagram photo with hundreds of likes were edited with one or more photo editing apps. Using photo apps gives you more control over your photos and allows you to perfect your images. Some good photo editing apps include VSCO Cam, Snapseed, and Camera +.
