Instagram

A Step-by-Step Guide

Instagram

Instagram is a social website dedicated to professional photography. The public’s finest photographers gather on this forefront to present their work and critique others. Gaining a reputation on such a forum takes unprecedented talent, but the basics consist of just five simple steps.

Step One

Choosing Your Subject

Step One: Choosing Your Subject

Consider the following questions:• Is it meaningful or thought provoking?• Does it make a comment on society?• Does it present you in a positive manner?• Is it something no one has ever seen before?• Does it deal with a topic the educated class cares

about?If you answered yes to any of these questions, you

may want to reconsider your photo subject.

Step Two

Taking Your Picture

Step Two: Taking Your Picture

This step is extremely important. Here are a few tips to keep your picture perfect:

• If you are taking a nature photo: Tilt your camera to the right and get as close to the ground as possible.

• If you are taking a picture of food: Take a picture that shows both the top and a side of your snack with the largest portion in the upper-right-hand corner.

• If you are taking a picture of yourself: Don’t look directly at the camera lens and be sure not to smile. A serious face or lips-slightly-parted-half-smile tend to look best.

Step Three

Editing Your Photo

Step Three: Editing Your Photo

Editing each picture ensures they maintain originality. The most popular edits are as follows:

• Adjust the saturation and contrast of your photo to darken the background and emphasize your favorite part of the photo. Templates like X-Pro and Hudson work well with both dark and light contrasts.

• Add a soft focus to your photo. Don’t put the focus on the main subject. Instead, focus on something insignificant in the background.

Step Three: Editing Your Photo

• Using different photo-editing apps, apply custom effects to your picture. The disco-like bubbles are ever popular as well as the “random streak of light” effect. Any effect will give your photo its’ own flair.

• Give your picture a border. There are many to choose from, but stay away from anything clear or with sharp corners. Borders that fade into the picture and darken the edges are preferable.

Step Four

Giving Your Picture a Caption

Step Four: Giving Your Picture a Caption

There are three types of captions acceptable on instagram:1. Captions that seek attention or validation. These

consist of phrases like “I’m so ugly” or “Worst day ever”. Posting a photo bearing a caption of this category will ensure plentiful comments from your peers that are focused on boosting your self confidence.

2. Captions that are made up by the photographer and are intended to be inspirational or humorous. These captions must be more than one sentence long apply loosely to the subject of the photo.

Step Four: Giving Your Picture a Caption

3. Captions that are quotes. Quotes must be by someone famous, but may pertain to any topic. They do not need to have any correlation to the actual photo. Quote captions are most commonly used on self-portraits to distract from the narcissistic nature of the picture.

Don’t forget to add a couple hashtags as completely unrelated afterthoughts next to your caption.

Step Five

Uploading Your Picture

Step Five: Uploading Your Picture

Click the “Upload” button and your completed picture will be posted to instagram.

Don’t forget to check back every hour or so to see how many likes and comments your photo has.

Here are some examples of pictures I posted on instagram.

Many different techniques and tips were employed in their posting processes, resulting in perfect photos.

The End

Congratulations on completing your first post! Instagram is fun and easy to use, as well as a great, wholesome way to spend free time. By posting multiple times per day, your photographic skills will continue to grow, and so will your followers. One picture at a time we can define our world with nothing but a simple hashtag.