Lets face it, we all want to take the best Instagram picture we possibly can. Social media for a lot of us is a huge part of our lives. We tweet daily, upload albums of pictures to Facebook for family and friends to see, pin recipes and crafts that we want to try, and we Instagram our favorite moments so they will be saved forever. For a lot of people I know, Instagram is the unspoken favorite social media platform. It's all about capturing that perfect moment! I have composed a small list of techniques that I use every time I snap a picture to insure the perfect Instagram post!
1. #GridLife
It's all about the grid. I didn't realize this feature until last year when a friend told me to try it. The grid lets you perfectly center your picture wherever you would like! It's great for taking pictures of people because you can capture them perfectly in the center, or if you want them off center, you can control exactly where you want them. To turn on the grid on an iphone simply go to settings, Photos and Camera, scroll down and turn on the grid! You'll have perfectly centered pictures in no time!
2. Lighting
There is no doubt that good lighting make a picture amazing. The perfect lighting really sets the mood for the picture. My favorite lighting is outdoors. Let the sun be your lights! During the day, the sun is the perfect light to really illuminate your picture, and did I mention golden hour? Right before sun set is also a beautiful time to capture the perfect photo. If you don't want to go outside, snap a picture near a big window. The natural lighting will poor in providing the perfect amount of light.
3. Location, Location, Location
Location is key. It can make or break a photo. My all time favorite location for a picture is outdoors! Like I stated earlier, the lighting is always flawless. In addition to the amazing lighting, it also provides an amazing background. There is nothing more beautiful than a natural outdoor background! It provides a clean backdrop, that doesn't distract from the picture, but still gives the picture some dimension! Now of course its not always easy to take a picture outside. Storms can really put a damper on a good outdoor picture. For indoor pictures, its all about finding a simple background. Like the outdoor picture, you want the background not to be distracting, but still add some depth! I love taking pictures in front of fire places and fun walls (murals, canvases, and exposed brick).
4.#NoFilter
I am all for #NoFitler....but it's more than okay to edit your pictures! Even if you don't want to add a filter you have other options. One of my favorite ways to edit pictures is by messing with the brightness and saturation levels. Small adjustments to the colors can really amplify the picture. You can also blur the background, or sharpen it up a little big. With the right editing app, the possibilities are endless!
5. Don't be too serious
Posting pictures on Instagram is fun, but sometimes it's easy to get caught up in worrying about how many likes you'll get, or if other people will like it as much as you do. Trust me, I've totally been there. At the end of the day, Instagram is suppose to be a creative place to share moments and memories.. so if you love the picture, post it!!
