musicMagpie Blog

As more than one billion people use Instagram every month, you want your snaps to stand out in the crowd. What can you do to give your photos that added edge?

We've got a few tricks and tips to help you bring your Instagram feed to life "" and get you a few more likes in the process!

Use your phone camera, not the Instagram app

Avoid jumping straight into the Instagram app to take your photo "" stick to your trusty old camera. You're much more restricted within the Instagram app in terms of zooming in and taking a bunch of snaps at the one time. It'll be much easier to have options for what to post and getting the right snap for you than keeping yourself confined.

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Use natural light

It's Instagram 101. Natural light is your best friend when it comes to taking snaps. It's why so many prominent photographers and Instagrammers try and make the most of the golden hour "" it'll enhance their imagery with minimal effort.

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Use the Rule of Thirds

Haven't heard of the rule of thirds before? It's a simple concept. When you're taking photos with your phone, get up the grid to help you focus on your subject. Having those literal guidelines allows you to take the best possible version of your image. Plus, it'll look even more aesthetically pleasing in your feed when you have everything centred!

Change up your viewpoint

When we see something we want to take a picture of, our natural instinct is to point and shoot. It's how we've always done it and it's worked until now, right? It has, but if you were to switch up the viewpoint, you could create an even more beautiful image that's unlike any other you've seen. Crouch down to take a shot from underneath, or go above to use the space like a flatlay and see how your picture comes out.

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What do you want your followers to see?

Think about the image you're taking and what you want to frame in it. What do you want to draw your viewers eyes to? Use any leading lines that might be in the space "" like trees or even buildings. It will help to frame your photo and make the subject of it even more prominent.

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Keep it symmetrical

The human eye loves symmetry. The more symmetrical your image is, the more your followers will be drawn to it. Using the grid will help you to achieve this too.

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Get snap happy with patterns

Just like symmetry, we love patterns too! It might be a quirky shirt or some gorgeous, ancient architecture. Whatever the pattern is, grab a snap of it to use for your Instagram feed. There are entire accounts dedicated to patterns, so why not jump on the bandwagon?

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Think about your content before you post it

Like any other social media platform, take a little bit of time to really think about what you want your page or feed to look like. Take a step back before you take your picture and consider how you want it to come out. Don't post with reckless abandon "" give it some attention to get it just right!

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Your eyes are important too

Don't jump the gun by going straight to your camera to take pictures. Instead, spend a little bit of your time taking in what's in front of you and try to frame what you want to capture. Once you get to grips with the surroundings, you might actually find a completely different angle to shoot from, securing a whole other image to be proud of!

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Keep HDR off

You might love using High Dynamic Range (HDR) and that's okay, but if you don't find yourself using it all the time, it's best to be avoided. The dynamic range is in reference to the lightest and darkest tones of the photo and what the difference is. So, when you use HDR on your phone it will capture a number of exposures at different brightness levels, blending in the best parts to create the optimum image.

The difficulty with this feature is that is can make your images look unnatural. It's best to move away from it for authentic pictures on your feed.

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Less is more

Especially when it comes to using filters! Back in the day, we were all guilty of adding every single possible filter to our images "" because we didn't know any better. Scroll to the bottom of your page and you'll find grainy, overexposed pictures that are admittedly, of the era.

We do know better now so stick to just the one filter (if you use one at all) to keep it as authentic as possible.

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We hope this helps you take your Instagram page to the next level! You'll need a decent smartphone to take the best pictures so buy second hand phones and shop refurbished phones at the musicMagpie Store and get a 12 month warranty plus FREE delivery.