5 quick photo tips that will instantly improve your Instagram game

You’re probably already a pro, but here are a few tips that can make your Instagram photography skills even sharper.

1. Be aware of the surrounding light
Whatever your source of light is, whether it’s the sun, snow or lamps, find the direction it’s coming from and work with it. You can use light in many different ways, there’s no right or wrong - just make sure the light falls the way you want it to. That being said, don’t be afraid to play around with how you use it.

For example, you might not want random shadows in the person you’re photographing’s face, so if the sun is at the top of the sky and making things difficult for you, opt for taking your photo in the shade.

Also, natural light > artificial light.

2. Know your angles
Just as with light, there are many different ways to go with angles. Even if you have a specific vision or your heart set on a certain angle, just move around a bit and get some angles you hadn’t considered. Something that might seem like a terrible idea might just end up being the perfect shot! Worst case scenario: you’ll have to delete a few extra photos. Try squatting, standing on a chair, moving left and right, placing a plant in the foreground, moving closer, backing up or whatever else you can come up with.

Also, small movements can make a large difference. Move or twist the camera a few centimeters to get that perfect composition or to crop out that ugly fire hydrant. 

3. Remove clutter
A very common mistake when taking candid photos is not removing clutter. Either you fix this with angles, as mentioned above, or you can simply move objects out of the frame. Taking a photo of a dinner with friends? Don’t leave lids and plastic bottles out. Whatever messes up the image and distracts from the focus, just move it for a few seconds. It’s not a big deal and it doesn’t make the moment less genuine, just slightly more polished.

Before and after removing clutter. See what a big difference that makes?

4. Turn off live/HDR
Just turn these functions off. They give you less control over your photos and overall just makes them worse. You can turn of both of them at the top left of your camera screen (see picture below), as well as in settings under ”camera”.

5. Don’t overexpose
If you’re taking photos on an iPhone, you can adjust the exposure by tapping the screen and then dragging the little sun that appears up and down. The most important thing is to not overexpose, because you can always fix it in post. Rather a bit to dark than too bright.  

For more information, contact:
Bianca Rior, Content Editor, Flowbox
bianca.rior@getflowbox.com