How do you take great photos on Instagram?

For those regular instagramers, I've just started and it's great it comes with a bunch of filters but how do you make your pictures look amazing? Any tips you can share? I'm a total amateur btw.

Reply 1

katyakay96

To be honest...I don't use the filters..I edit it on pixlr express app before uploading. Follow me on instagram - @KitKatzzz123

Reply 2

username418231

Use the filters.

Or...use another photoediting app.

Reply 3

Pegasus2

Spend time learning and practising...and not using cheap digital filters. (aka instagram)

Reply 4

Sir Fox

Original post by wasabi

... and it's great it comes with a bunch of filters but how do you make your pictures look amazing? Any tips you can share?

Original post by Dee Leigh

Use the filters.

Ah ... ahaha ... aaahahahaha ... NO!

Original post by Pegasus2

Spend time learning and practising...and not using cheap digital filters. (aka instagram)

THIS.

Taking random, meaningless pictures, then applying cheap digital filters and thinking it makes them 'amazing' and 'meaningful' is just ridiculous.

The only way to take good pictures is to invest time and learn the basics (and later beyond that) of photography. Proper exposure, white balance, framing and composition etc.

There is no easy way around it, no shortcut. Everything comes with a price, you cannot simply expect great results without effort.

Reply 5

Drewski

Learn how to take decent photos in the first place, then your instagram shots will look good.

BUT, don't judge them on what people think. Take pictures of what you want to take pictures of, of what you want to remember. If you're doing them just to get likes, then you're playing the game wrong.

Reply 6

wasabi

Original post by Sir Fox

Ah ... ahaha ... aaahahahaha ... NO!

THIS.

Taking random, meaningless pictures, then applying cheap digital filters and thinking it makes them 'amazing' and 'meaningful' is just ridiculous.

The only way to take good pictures is to invest time and learn the basics (and later beyond that) of photography. Proper exposure, white balance, framing and composition etc.

There is no easy way around it, no shortcut. Everything comes with a price, you cannot simply expect great results without effort.

Are you saying that a beautiful photo can be achieved without tweaking it at all?

Also, do you think there's any point investing in a good camera? Or is that something that needs to be earned? I have a bog standard digital camera which does the job but do you think that a good photographer can take a good picture even with a crap camera?

(edited 10 years ago)

Reply 7

Sir Fox

Original post by wasabi

Are you saying that a beautiful photo can be achieved without tweaking it at all?

Simple answer: yes.

More complicated answer: no.

The image you take is kind of a digital negative, a RAW file. In order to achieve the JPEG you later get out, your camera is already processing the image, applying a white balance, reducing noise, sharpening, tweaking saturation and contrast etc. Advanced cameras also offer RAW output, so you can develop it on your own on your computer. With a bit of practice this usually yields better results, because you get what you want, not what your camera thinks you want.

The pictures in the National Geographic and the likes are all edited, but in a professional, non flashy way. Instagram however has only a limited choice of cheap filters that totally overdo it with the editing.

Also, do you think there's any point investing in a good camera? Or is that something that needs to be earned? I have a bog standard digital camera which does the job but do you think that a good photographer can take a good picture even with a crap camera?

A great photographer with a cheap camera will usually produce better results than an inexperienced person with expensive professional equipment. However, a good camera (DSLR/DSLM) definitely comes in handy and I could not have taken most of my shots without one. In the end a crappy camera will always limit you. But as I said, there is only a point in getting one if you are willing to invest some time to learn about it.

There are really good tutorials to be found all over the internet and if you are really interested in photography, it would definitely pay off.

(edited 10 years ago)

Reply 8

Pegasus2

You can make a great image better with propper post processing. Not this selective focus ****.

You can't make a poor image good with post processing.

Instagram is somthing that pisses me off quite a lot. I've lost on some photo competitions to instagram photos that were taken with phones and then filtered. I came to the conculsion the judges didn't know what they were talking about and left it at that.

Anyway, with reguards to what has the most influence on a good picture, it goes in this order:

Photographer > Lens > Camera

(edited 10 years ago)

Reply 9

zedkayes

Original post by wasabi

For those regular instagramers, I've just started and it's great it comes with a bunch of filters but how do you make your pictures look amazing? Any tips you can share? I'm a total amateur btw.

Don't use Instagram filters, they're usually pretty terrible. I recommend taking the best photos you possibly can so it reduces the amount of editing you have to do. Personally, after I take a photo I run it through Photoshop to edit it a bit before I put it on Instagram or use an editing app on my phone. If you don't have Photoshop or if you still need to edit stuff, I recommend VSCO Cam (flexible control over the filter you use) and Afterlight. The free versions of them are good but it's best if you pay to get the full monty because it's totally worth it with many more filters. There are many other apps you can use too but the only ones I use are VSCO and Afterlight, they're the best!

Good luck! :biggrin:

Reply 10

Sir Fox

Original post by zedkayes

Personally, after I take a photo I run it through Photoshop to edit it a bit before I put it on Instagram or use an editing app on my phone. If you don't have Photoshop or if you still need to edit stuff, I recommend VSCO Cam (flexible control over the filter you use) and Afterlight. The free versions of them are good but it's best if you pay to get the full monty because it's totally worth it with many more filters.

For more or less serious photography I recommend no nonsense filters. RawTherapee and GIMP are some very capable, free programs, the first for raw development, the second for digital editing.