As an active user of Instagram for almost five years now, I’ve picked up some ideas on what makes an aesthetically pleasing Instagram page and how to create captivating posts. Here are five tips on how to make the most of your pictures:
1. Work the angle! Sometimes pictures are more interesting when they have a different angle. Straight-on shots can become very boring, why not spice them up? Straight-on pictures can also look crooked or off centered if they aren’t just right, so using an angle is usually the better option.
2. Play with the warmth. With this shameless selfie, I bumped up the warmth and contrast to show off my summer freckles and sunshine. The warmth setting can also make you a little tanner if you want to look sun kissed without a sunburn! Oh sweet summertime. The weather, ice cream, sundresses… anyways…
3. Sharpen the image. Adjust the sharpness to get a really crisp picture. I wanted to show off my dog’s beautiful eyelashes, color, and happy grin so I made the picture super sharp! I’m not a crazy dog lady, I swear.
4. Think about what’s in the foreground of the picture. I took this one over the edge of a wreath hanging in my living room window. I like that the wreath is of the same texture as the pine trees outside, it adds a good visual component.
5. Use the sunset. Nature has a way of creating the most incredible light – take advantage of it! I like to use the light of a sunset in the background of an object I’m photographing, as opposed to the sunset being the focus of the picture. These are two of my pictures where I use this tactic. The picture of the theatre district in NYC is a bit more subtle but the sun helps to give the picture an illuminated background, making it more interesting.
6. Try out the saturation feature if you don’t want to fully commit to black and white. By adjusting the saturation level, you can fade the colors and still create an eye-catching effect.
7. Try out an app like “No Crop” so your pictures have a white border around them. This can make your overall page look less cluttered and help to create a theme.
Consider these ideas next time you’re trying to post the perfect Instagram picture – you might like them!