How to Take Instagram Photos - My Tips & Tricks

One of the most asked question that I get e-mailed to me is in regards to my Instagram photos - specifically how I take and edit the Instagram photos in my feed.  I love getting your feedback and, while I'm certainly not an expert, I do enjoy taking and editing photos for my Instagram. My pattern for photos is pretty consistent, and I've developed a few tips and tricks along the way that I would love to share with you.

Wipe off your Phone's Camera Lens

It seems insignificant, but cleaning your phone's camera lens before you take a photo makes an enormous difference in the clarity and crispness of a picture.  I try to carry a fibre less cloth for this exact purpose, but honestly even just giving the lens on my phone a quick wipe with my shirt before I take a photo with my phone makes a world of a difference.

Take Every Photos in Natural Daylight

After wiping the lens of my camera, making the conscious decision to take every photo that I post on Instagram in daylight has made the biggest difference in the quality of my pictures.  Shooting in daylight gives you a sharper image, more vibrant colours and generally a more visually appealing photo.  This can be hard during the winter months, so I will generally either take the majority of my Instagram photos during the weekends or when I'm out and about on my lunch break.  After getting the perfect photo on my phone, the next thing that I do is some quick edition before I post to Instagram.

It's All About Your Apps

Gone are my days of slapping a generic Instagram filter onto a photo and posting.  Now I rely on a few other apps to get a more subtle effect for my pictures - specifically VSCO Cam.  Seriously, if you're an Instagram addict like myself and don't have this powerful editing app then I insist that you stop reading and download it immediately!  VSCO cam is incredibly popular for it's unique filters that give your photos a professional quality, and the ability to control the intensity of the filter.  I tend to use S2 and S3 the most, since they give a brightness to photos and saturate the colours nicely.  You can also do some basic editing such as adjusting brightness, contrast and temperature - among many others.  I also have a few other photo editing apps on heavy rotation: Diptic for creating collages, SquareFX for cropping photos into the Instagram friendly square, and Facetune for perfecting a selfie.

Don't Be Afraid to Ask For Help

I feel as though the quality of my Instagram photos increased tenfold when I basically lost all shame in asking people to take photos for me.  I'm extremely lucky to have an incredibly patient husband who takes most of my photos without too much fuss, but I have also had friends take outfit shots when we're out and about - and have even had my mom teetering on a chair to take an aerial shot from above.  You feel silly asking at first, but having the people around you take photos for you is incredibly helpful in the quality and diversity of the images that you can produce  Plus in my experience friends and family are happy to be included, and it's fun!

Tag Relavant Brands

My last tip that I try to use for all of my photos is to tag any relevant brands that are being used in the picture.  For example, in the photo below I tagged Chapters Indigo as the mug since that is where I got it from.  Tagging relevant brands not only lets your followers know where your purchased any clothing or items in your photos, but also automatically includes your photo into the 'tagged photos' tab of that particular account, giving your picture some more exposure.  Tagging brands also alerts them that you have posted a photo featuring one of their items, and they may chose to repost the photos on their own Instagram account- huge exposure, which leads to more followers!

There you have it, my Instagram practices that I use with every photo posted.  What are some of your best Instagram tips?  Please share with me, as I would love to know! Also if you aren't already, please follow me on Instagram - I would love to get connected with you!

xo Joëlle