How to Take a Good Instagram Photo
This is going to be a fun, short, simple one that EVERYONE can benefit from.
Some of these tips have just stemmed from pet peeves of mine, but others are really just good practices!
POSING //
+ PUT THAT ARM DOWN +
Remember the days where we would all put our arm on our hip? Those days are over. Jury is out! It actually makes your arm look bigger. Putting your arm down by your side can take off like 20 lbs by making your middle part look a bit slimmer! Sometimesssss it works for the vibe, but most times it doesn’t!
+ FIND YOUR GOOD SIDE +
We all have one. Make sure you weasel to that side of the photos you’re taking with friends. You’re going to like a WHOLE lot more of the options afterwards.
+ DO THE TOE LIFT +
Lift one or both of your feet (like, almost tippy toes). It will lengthen your legs!
EDITING //
+ THROW ON A FILTER +
Try to use consistent filters to give your feed a good flow. It makes a huge difference!I like Afterlight, FaceTune, VSCO, Photoshop, Lightroom, and KUNI.
+ BRIGHTEN +
In FaceTune, I like to brighten the eyes, inside corners of the eyes, check highlighter, etc. It really makes your face pop! Whiten teeth but NOT TOO MUCH. It makes people look dead when they whiten their teeth too much. We’re all okay with a little nip/tucking (like bringing in your arm when it’s squeezed against your body making it look bigger)… but PLEASE make sure the background of your photo isn’t wavy and distorted! So bad!
+ ELIMINATE NOISE +
Get rid of the distracting elements in a photo. Maybe it’s an awkward leaf by your foot. Don’t have a pole sticking straight out above your head like it’s coming out of your skull. Make sure that trash can doesn’t make it into your photo! A good trick is to eliminate all you can while the photo is being taken instead of after in post!
POSTING //
+ THE CROP +
Unfortunately Instagram makes you crop beautifully framed photos (which is such an annoyance), but please try not to cut off your feet or your friends feet in the crop. Either throw a frame around it or take another photo. No one likes limbs cut off in photos. Even wrists. (Thanks to my favorite photo professor Jon for the tips).
+ HASHTAGS +
I find it annoying when hashtags are right there in front of your face. I like to hide mine below like 10 spaces so that people can just read my post and not be bored by it.
+ GEO TAG +
Always Geo-Tag!Even if it’s not “exactly” where you are at the moment, it will help other people to find you and see your fun photo. Even if you’re not a blogger, GEO TAG IT!
I know a blogger who refuses to geo tag where she actually is because she doesn’t want people to “copy” her locations. THAT is some BS! Share / spread the love! Who cares if someone has the same background as you or goes to the same awesome bar!?
+ THE CAPTION +
Man, this one is hard for me. I’m such a visual person that it’s hard to come up with something funny, witty, practical or interesting every time! My trick is to stay relevant. Talk about what’s going on THEN in that moment and it’s easier to make something up! Just don’t copy or steal other people’s captions!
Okay, that’s all for normal, everyday folk.
I want to hit on a few just for bloggers!
+ FASHION +
People love seeing YOUR STYLEand it’s fun to see bloggers develop more and more of “their own thing,” but stick to DOING YOU. Getting inspiration is one thing, but really try to make each look YOUR OWN. Try to wear things you’d actually wear out! It makes it so much more fun to follow someone REAL!
+ CONSISTENCY +
Post in a solid, relevant, consistent manner. People love jumping up those dopamine receptors daily and they look forward to your posting.
+ SWITCHING IT UP +
I always find that the best feeds go in and out of shooting flat lays/stuff and them/close ups/full body pics. Too much of the same thing just gets boring and repetitive!
+ BE AT YOUR BEST +
I know, I know. We need to be real, I get it. But if you want to make other people feel better, then don’t bring them down with you. Show the other moms with 3 kids that they need to take time for themselves and get dolled up every once in a while, ya know? People use Instagram to “escape,” not to be brought back to their sad reality time and time again!
+ BE AUTHENTIC +
It’s easy to tell when someone isn’t being themselves! Just take a step back and evaluate if what you are posting is REALLY YOU. Simple as that!
I just wanted this to be a quickie- let you know some quick tips to making great Instagram posts! Hope you learned something new J
x Chelsea
