It seems like every other social media app is adding its own ‘Stories’ feature as they are becoming increasingly popular. My favorite app to publish stories is currently Instagram. They’re more formal than a Snapchat story, but not as permanent as an Instagram Post. I personally love using Instagram’s stories because you can get really creative with the features! Here are some tips to take enhance your IG story game:
- Post from your Camera Roll
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Let’s be real, it’s so difficult to get that perfect shot on the first try. I almost never take only one picture of something before posting it. It’s no secret, but Instagram actually allows you to post photos from your Camera Roll onto your story. Here’s how: next time you’re on the Instagram Story camera, just swipe up! By posting from your Camera Roll you can see which photo you like best and you can keep your options open.
- Remember the Ratio
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Stories, unlike regular posts, are intended to fill the whole screen of someone’s phone. Here is the (not so) secret ratio size for those pictures…16:9. Keep that in mind when you take a picture or video, so that you can properly showcase what you’re sharing. You can either crop your photos to be that size, or you can just use Snapchat or Instagram to take pictures. They automatically take photos in that ratio!
- Edit photos on external apps
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I love a filter as much as the next person. But let’s be real, Instagram doesn’t have the best options. My two favorite apps to edit photos on are VSCO and Lightroom. Lightroom is great for editing lighting and colors, and VSCO has great filters. However, if you want a quick aesthetic story, the app Unfold has premade layouts for Instagram Stories.
- GIFs, GIFs, GIFs!
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One of the many features that Instagram offers for their stories are gif stickers. You can search GIPHY and find a variety of gif stickers to add to your photos. A strategically placed gif can really elevate a story from simple to super cute!
- Get Creative with Text
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Instagram has a five different types of font. The great thing about Instagram is that you can add however many separate textboxes to a single story picture. My favorite thing to do is to layer the text! Just copy and paste the same phrase into a seperate textbox, change the color, and drag the phrase over the other. It leaves a really cool drop-shadow effect, and emphasizes what you gotta say.
- Share your stories
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If you want to reach a bigger audience, tagging your friends allows them to add your story onto their own. You can also add your location. If your Instagram is public, your story will be added to the location story for others to view!
Putting in extra effort to glam your ‘gram is a fun way to get a dose of creativity in your day!