Iphone Photography tips for Instagram

How much do you love the Instagram App?  I remember when I first saw the app I was so skeptical-I asked my bestie who gets me into all things social media-people really just want to see pics?  Isn’t it just Twitter in picture version?  But yes.  WE WANT ALL THE PICTURES! And suddenly Instagram is my favorite social media form of the hour especially because it fosters my desire to see the world and gives me eyes to see everywhere even when I’m stuck in my car where I spend so much of my time lately waiting for my kids.  I’ve been asked a lot recently on how I take my Instagram photos so I thought I’d compile what I know and put it all out there right here.  I use my phone for all my photos since I broke my mirrorless camera a few years ago.  I currently shoot with an Iphone X and I’m still figuring out all the buttons.

Lovely People on Instagram who Inspire me

I absolutely wish I could live a zillion lives and Instagram is the way we all kind of get to do that vicariously through other people.  I follow Travel Babbo who also has a blog about family travel and he and his family go on such amazing trips.  Somehow I also ended up following Janika Magi who creates intricately embroidered fashion and I’m always curious what she’s going to make and she has a gorgeous eye for photography too; the same goes for a pottery-themed feed from itsajook-I find the colors and layouts she creates so beautiful.  I met Sara from Mom Endeavors in real life at a conference and she is creative and takes gorgeous pics and makes incredible things.  I also follow Allison from All for the Boys for the same reason-she is just as lovely in real life as she is in her Instagram feed.  Amber from Global Muchkins takes amazing pictures, goes on fantastic adventures and has the most joyful glowy family I’ve ever seen and I hope I meet her in real life one day.  These are just a handful of the people who fill my feed with inspiring adventures and dreams and I think seeing their photos has helped me become a better photographer too.

People and Places can Help you with Instagram Photography and iPhone Photography

And I think this is so key: if you want to get better at Instagram Photography the best thing you can do is ask the people who inspire you.  Most people out there love what they do and are really excited to help out.  The first place I learned about Instagram photography was at a workshop put on by Laughing Cow cheese where Brittany Wright from Wright Kitchen who creates gorgeous photos with beautiful pops of color was a workshop leader.  I remember her talking about doing a flat-lay and I’m still learning how to do this type of photography but she talked about how when she shot a photo she sometimes shot a bigger scene than what she was going to keep because she could crop the rest out.  This was the first time I realized I didn’t have to shoot the exact square photo I’m going to post on Instagram-I could shoot a bigger picture but imagine where I would crop my square so I would have more flexibility to move the photo around after I shot it. I use this a lot when I photograph my family at the beach and I don’t want to have everyone else at the beach in the photo.  For example a photo that ends up on Instagram like this:

might actually start like this when I first shoot it on my IphoneX:

We Fleurish had a really cool workshop recently and if they ever have another event in Seattle you should totally go.  I loved that Missy, one of the women who created the workshop is a local photographer and she talked about taking photos and I she mentioned to make sure your lens is clean first.  It is so simple to do this even if you’re just shooting with an iPhone too, but we forget all the time.  I would say the same about making sure that the horizon in a photo is straight.  You can easily take care of this by using the grid app on your phone or by using the instagram app to help you adjust the photo.  There are more photographers doing workshops online now too and it’s easy to find them. Jessica from Build and Bloom is offering an online bundle course that looks really intriguing and I might sign up.

I was really thankful when I didn’t know how to do Instagram Stories, Sapana from Real and Vibrant offered to help me try it out when I met her at Create and Cultivate and I never would have clicked through the Instagram Story button if it weren’t for her.  I’m still figuring out how to use more Instagram Stories for my feed, and Kusum from Sveeteskapes just posted a fabulous post about creating Instagram stories that might be helpful if you are in the same boat..

What Instagram Filters and Apps do you use?

Everyone has their own taste or style when it comes to how they like their photos and I’ve been playing around with the Lightroom App lately and I like how it makes it easy to add filters and play around with colors.  I lean towards a grainy photo and I love using Snapseed to edit.  I like the HDR button and L02and L04 (if you need more help with this send me a message please and I’ll explain in more detail) and then I play around in the Instagram app with filters like Gingham and X-Pro II until I like how the photo looks. I like an app called BeFunky too but it might be a lot to do with its name-it’s just really cool.

Other Instagram Photography and iPhone Photography Resources

There are so many free phone photography resources on the internet that I’ve begun to compile some of them in a Pinterest board and a lot of their ideas about composition and lighting are so helpful for taking better Instagram photos.  National Geographic has a post with some good tips from phones in the early 2000’s so it’s fun to read and see how people took pictures and experimented with “phonetography” even back then.  This post from Lifewire has a phrase I’ve heard often: “Zoom with your Feet” which reminds you to walk closer to a subject rather than play with the zoom on your phone. I’ve bookmarked this article from Popular Science too because I haven’t yet been able to get a good night sky photo on my phone.  With practice, my goal is to get one I like enough to post and share to my Instagram so hopefully one of these days I’ll have one in my feed.  I like that phone photography is an ever growing craft and there is always something to learn and sharing on Instagram is usually such a supportive and creative outlet to get feedback too.

Do you have a favorite App or Filter that you use for phone or Instagram photography?  Do you use your phone for your Instagram feed or do you use a traditional digital camera?  And please share your Instagram handle-I’d love to see your photos!

Terumi

Terumi Pong is a Seattle-based family travel writer and mom of twin teenage boys.  She loves coffee and pastries, shopping local and looking for greener ways to live.  She is also known as Scout’s mom (Scout is a 5ish pound little black yorkie-poo)