How to up your Insta game in 8 steps (without a DSLR)


Instagram is easy to use, but a lot harder to master. Here are eight ways to up your holiday-snap game without shelling out on an expensive DSLR.

1. Get inspired

Follow other Insta users that inspire you and remember that imitation is the greatest form of flattery. @CanonAustralia, @NikonAustralia and (your fave) @Wotifcom are great places to start 😉

2. Think composition

One of the easiest ways to improve your pics is by changing up the composition (aka: layout) of your photos. There are two well-known ‘rules’ that will help you out:

1. The Rule of Thirds. Pretty self-explanatory – this rule recommends that the focus of your pic should be at the intersecting points of an imaginary 3 x 3 grid. Your camera might even have a grid-view setting to help you visualise this while taking your photos.

This pic plays by the Rule of Thirds.
See? This grid proves it.

2. If you really want to go next-level and spiral out of control, read up on the Fibonacci ratio. It’s a mathematical principle that many believe explains why all our favourite paintings and photos look so good.

Just a cute pic of a donkey…
..or a cute pic of a donkey that’s also a work of mathematical genius?

3. Stay golden

The ‘golden hour’ is the time just before and just after sunrise and sunset (but, let’s be honest, holidays are for sleep-ins, so for us it’s just sunset). Dusk is an incredibly special time of day, especially when the weather is great, so make sure you’re out making the most of it. As well as taking pics, it’s the perfect time to enjoy a rooftop cocktail or go on a scenic expedition.

Or do all three.

4. Go manual

Phone cameras have a come a long way, and most these days have a ‘semi-professional’ mode where you can adjust things like shutter speed, focus settings, white balance, colour balance, and ISO (how sensitive your lens is in darker environments). Don’t be overwhelmed by the choices – you don’t have to change each one every time you take a pic (unless you really want to!). Generally, I’ll choose a preset tone balance that captures the colours the way I like. If the white balance isn’t very forgiving (usually when it’s cloudy or if I’m under fluoro lights), then I’ll manually adjust the white balance as well.

5. Edit

Instagram has some great in-app editing options. Not sure what they all mean and do? I’ve got you.

Balance your exposure (how much light you want to hit your camera lens) and luxe it up with the Sun icon at the top of the screen.
Choose a Filter from the options below your pic (if you wish). Don’t be afraid to pick one that overdoes it – if you tap it twice, you can tone it back.
Go to Edit. Go directly to Edit. Do not pass Next. Do not collect $200. Tapping Edit will unlock some extra tweaks you should definitely make the most of, like…
Adjust will help you make sure that horizon line is perfectly straight (handy, as we generally don’t want to make our audience feel seasick 😉).
Brightness and Contrast are pretty straightforward. They help make the light and dark areas pop.
Structure brings out detail you didn’t even know was captured in the image.
Warmth lets you adjust the tone to warm it up or cool it down, which is helpful if you didn’t adjust the white balance when you took your original photo.
Saturation lets you make those colours really pop, or you can de-saturate to flatten your colour curves. If you want to fully de-saturate and go completely black-and-white, make the most of your Structure, Highlights, and Shadows😊
Colour is a tough one to master, but it will let you ‘wipe’ a colour over your highlights or shadows. Try to choose one that will complement your pic, like purple over the shadows in a sunset, or green over the highlights in a rainforest. A double-tap will let you scale that colour wipe right back or take it to the max.
Fade is another straightforward one and can sometimes be helpful when you’re at risk of over-editing to the point of “This must be a fake photo!”
Highlights and Shadows help bring out the focal details.
Vignette overlays a soft, dark shadow from the outside in. It’s best used when the focus of your pic is in the middle of your composition.
Tilt Shift is one of my faves, but it isn’t right for every pic. It lets you blur parts of the photo in either a radial (i.e.: circular) or linear (i.e.: rectangular) area. You can then tweak the size and position of the blurring by pinching around where you’d like the image’s focus to be.
Sharpen will offset a blur, so it’s also helpful for bringing out details.

Remember, less is more. Don’t be overwhelmed by the choices, just see how you can take a good photo and use Instagram’s tools to make it even better. Don’t overdo it or your photos will come out looking over-edited or fake. Here’s a video of how it can all come together.

Okay, now you’re finally ready to hit Next!

Bonus editing tip: Lightroom.

You’ve no doubt heard of Photoshop touch-ups, but unless you’re a full-time graphic designer, they’re pretty overwhelming. But Lightroom is Photoshop’s sister tool and made purely for photo tweaks – perfect if you want to take your editing skills to the next level. Best of all, Lightroom has a free app for both iPhone and Android, which is similar to Instagram’s editing suite – just on steroids. It might take a bit more practice, but have a go at importing some photos and playing around with the customisations. You can favourite your settings to edit in bulk next time. Handy!

Lightroom.

6. Multiply

Adventures can rarely be summed up in a single photo, so you’ll likely want to use Instagram’s Multiple Pics option to add up to ten snaps to one post. It’s much more thoughtful than taking over your friends’ feeds with dozens of individual pics! Plus you can apply a filter that will bulk edit all of your chosen photos and/or edit each of them individually if you need.

Adding multiple pics to one Instagram post.

7. Tag it

Tell a story with your descriptions and tags. If you want to create a collection of pics for you or your friends to look at as a whole, think of a unique tag and use it on all the relevant photos. This will also let your friends and family look up your tag and see an ‘album’ of sorts.

Before and after editing.

8. Practice

The tried-and-true saying of ‘practice makes perfect’ reigns supreme – ultimately, the only way you’ll really up your Insta game is by taking and posting more photos. But beware, there’s a fine line between sharing just enough and sharing way too much – don’t become that guy. Oh, and if you treat yourself to a picturesque trip, it makes it all much easier 😉

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