How to Take and Post Great Instagram Photos

 
As many of you know, I recently joined Instagram. I resisted joining for a very long time because I didn't see the point in browsing bad photos of every tiny detail of people's lives that we don't really need to see. I still believe that a lot of the Instagram content is not so great and that you have to be careful about who you follow. However, there are a lot of really talented photographers who put together regular posts that are interesting and meaningful.

The following video is what finally convinced me to join.

I have been following this YouTube channel for at least a few months and think highly of pretty much all of his photography advice. If you've been on the fence about Instagram for the same reason as me, watch the video or at the very least, go check out his Instagram. I think you'll come away convinced that you can take and post great Instagram photos. So how do you do that? Here's my two cents on the topic.

(photo taken by my friend Steve)

Use a Good Camera

If you have an SLR and are serious about sharing high quality photography, use it for your Instagram photos. I know that this doesn't apply to a lot of people reading this post, and that's fine. Learn the settings for whatever camera you have, even if it's only your phone camera, so that you can maximize its potential. It's amazing what you can do with a high quality phone camera these days, such as an iPhone 5 or the newer Samsung Galaxy phones. Don't settle for shooting mediocre photos on the auto settings. You can do so much better than that!

Crop Your Photos to a 1:1 Ratio

It is really easy to crop photos to a 1x1 ratio in virtually any photo editing program. Cropping in a dedicated program ensures that you'll get a properly proportioned photo for Instagram every time. I choose to do this on my computer, but there are a lot of  photo editing apps, such as Snapseed, that work just fine, too.

Add Text, Borders, Etc. in Photo Editing Programs

There are a lot of other professional touches that you can make to your photos in photo editing programs before you ever head to Instagram. There are a ridiculous number of apps for any number of different photo editing techniques, such as Photo Grid, which allows you to make collages for your phone photos. It's not hard to add these details.

Limit the Number of Photos You Post

Resist the temptation to Instagram entire events. You can take as many pictures as you want, but don't post all of them. Pick and choose your favorite photos when you have to the time to edit before you post.

Use a Select Number of Relevant Hashtags

If you've spent any time on Twitter or Instagram, you know that I mean. Do not clutter your post with an excessive number of hashtags, especially when they aren't relevant. I feel silly explaining this, but I see a lot of photos on Instagram for specific places that have hashtags for additional places just to get views (i.e. a photo of the Chicago skyline with tags for New York and Los Angeles). A few relevant hashtags will bring in views from non-followers. A large number of irrelevant tags will send everyone running the other way.

Finally, the winners of my photo giveaway have been chosen. They are as follows:
1st Place - Edi
2nd Place - Paige
3rd Place - Natasha

Congrats, ladies! I will be in touch shortly about getting your prizes together.

Do you use Instagram? If so, do you have tips for creating and sharing great photos? Leave them in the comments!