Instagram is either the platform we all love, or the one we love to hate. Or somewhere in between the two.
While all of us can tire of the over-pandered to blogger or the constant forced photos, I look at Instagram as a place to learn. Learn about new places, learn about new experiences, learn about traveling the world. Even if some hat-adorned girl (guilty) is the one bringing these things to my attention.
But if you want anyone to learn anything from you or enjoy seeing what you see in the world, you have to post pictures that look good, plain and simple. That means a few things without fail: there’s good lighting, interesting scenery and you are in the photo.
I am by no means an expert, and less than two years ago I had 200 followers and pictures that weren’t pretty at all (so please don’t scroll too far back in my feed!) I also never, never postedphotos with me in them. But we’ll talk more about that below.
Posting good photos is a lot about trial and error and paying attention to what you like when you tap that heart on a pic. I realized in searching through the photos I liked, that they were all uncluttered, fun and colorful. So I set out to post more photos like that.
In the last couple of years, I’ve learned a lot about what works and what doesn’t on Instagram, and I’m still learning. But here are my tried and true top tips for taking better Instagram photos.
Pick a theme and stick to it
Here’s a travel-themed photo if there ever was one.
When it comes to posting photos, people aren’t interested in your life just for the sake of being interested in it (unless they’re family, friends or nosy). They are following you for a purpose. Either it’s that you’re always sharing inspiring travel moments, or you’re always posting something funny, or you’re posting insight into the African diaspora that most people might not know. Or something. The point is, they are following you for a theme and that’s all they want from you. If you ever notice, the likes on an account that’s focused steadily on showing beautiful bearded men, let’s say, drop significantly when a woman’s face randomly pops up. With Instagram, you have to pick a theme and stick to it. My main theme is travel, and color is my vibe, so I won’t post things outside of that. If I think it’s something cool enough but it won’t look good on the page, I’ll use Stories as a way to still highlight it. Decide what you’re going for with your page and serve that up with enough frequency that you stay top of mind with your followers.
Use a good camera. Or don’t.
This one was taken with my Canon EOS Rebel SL1.
Ninety percent of the photos I post on Instagram are taken with my iPhone. It’s just more convenient than carrying around the camera in some cases. But I also have a Canon Rebel, which I absolutely love, and when I compare the photos, I can really tell the difference in quality. My drone has also helped upgrade my recent shots (but more on all my feels about the drone here). It’s always best to go the professional camera route if you want really good pictures, but if you have the right conditions and right apps, you can still do a lot with the iPhone. Even if it’s a meager iPhone 6 like mine.
Be in the picture
Me at the Palais Royal in Paris.
People who are following you to see what you see, also want to see you seeing what you see (say that three times fast). I used to hate being in my own photos. It made me a little uncomfortable to be honest. I used to post pictures of pretty beaches or a colorful sunset or a great meal I had, but I learned quickly that those things aren’t directly all that interesting to anyone else but the person who is experiencing it (unless you’re a food blogger, then bring on the food pics). Also, it’s you and 700,000 other people posting snaps of sunsets and perfectly plated tacos. If you want more likes on your photos, try being in them. When people see you in a place, it’s like they can picture themselves there. And sometimes they can see how happy you are there, and that joy is contagious, even if it’s coming from behind a screen in a tiny square photo. If you’re out experiencing the world, show people how you’re doing it and loving it, and it will resonate.
Stick to sunlight
A very sunny day at the Seven Magic Mountains, LV.
If you want to ensure good lighting for your photos, take them when there’s natural light. I have two main rules I stick to for my pictures: always take them outside, and always take them when the sun is out. Now, that has definitely meant I haven’t posted pics from rainy days in places I probably won’t go back to, but if I’m trying to put my best foot forward, that means only my best photos make the cut. (Also, there’s nothing wrong with having photos just for you and not for the ‘Gram) It’s also why I have a major photo lull when it’s winter in NYC and I’m not traveling somewhere sunny. If moody is more your vibe for photos, you won’t have this problem because you’ve picked a theme and are sticking to it.
Keep it simple
Just me and all sand-colored everything.
Though some people do the most when it comes to Instagram shots, the best photos I’ve seen always have the simplest compositions, like the person and the sea or the person in front of the Pyramids in the desert. There should never be too many things in one photo competing for the viewer’s attention. The less busy your photo, the more people can focus on how cool it is.
Set up the shot
My cousin took this shot and I told him exactly where to hold the camera.
Now that you’ve got all this expertise, the question becomes: what do you do when you’re not going to be the one taking the photo since you’re the one who has to be in it? Well, it’s easier than it seems. I’ve talked about how often I’ve asked strangers to take my pictures (here) since I’m often traveling solo. Once you have all the conditions you want—a good sunny day, an interesting backdrop or vista to take a photo with and a passerby to capture it all—you have to show them exactly how you want the photo. Once the person I’ve staked out has agreed to take the shot for me, I simply show them in my iPhone or camera what I want them to capture, and I tell them where I’m going to stand or what I’m going to do, and 9.5 times out of 10, they get it right. Don’t take the chance of not doing this, because you don’t want to be that annoying person who already asked to have their photo taken and asked to have it taken again.
Find the right editing app
All the Color. Edited with A Color Story.
There are endless apps out there for photo editing, so you have to find one you like and use it all the time. If you’re doing all of your editing in the Instagram app, you’re not doing enough for your photos. For me, discovering A Color Story was like a match made in Instagram photo heaven. It was an app designed to make colorful photos pop even more, so basically, it was an app with my name on it. That app is all about vibrance and fun colors for photos, so if that’s something you’re going for, this is the app you want. Once you’ve settled on an editing app, pick one filter that delivers on the kind of photos you want to post, and use that filter all the time. As in, for every photo. That’s part of what keeps your pictures looking unified and curated, as though they all go together as part of the vibe of your page.
*Pro tip: Wear the right outfit
Without the dress, this picture would have been far less interesting.
I used to wonder why my travel photos never came out as nice as other people’s until I realized it had a lot to do with my clothes. Sometimes when I was traveling, I’d just put on something comfortable, that sometimes wasn’t all that flattering, and then I’d have the nerve to wonder why my pictures didn’t come out all that flattering. There are still ways to be comfortable and cute, and for me, that usually means a dress. For ladies, as long as you have something that gives you a waistline, you’ll tend to take much better pics because it’s more figure flattering, whatever your size. Guys, y’all have it easier, per usual. But for everyone, sticking to solid colors, whether it’s white or black or bright, usually helps you to stand out against any backdrop. And if you’re wearing a print, it helps if the scenery in your shot isn’t crazy busy so the two won’t clash.
