5 great ways to improve your IG

So if you follow me on Instagram (or just scroll and look at my feed on the right-hand side of my blog) you'll see that I post a lot! I just love it! Some of my friends ask me "How did you put the words on the picture?" or "How do you get more followers?" Honestly I don't think that I have that many followers/likes on IG but I am happy to share my routine of smart phone editing for IG to answer all the questions I get!


Step 1: Take a good photo. Now this is in no way me saying that you can't take a good photo. Not at all! But when I first started using instagram my photos were slightly blurry or had a lot of clutter in the background which makes it difficult for editing.
Here is an example of a picture that I'm not sure why I posted and one that I like:
This was a great memory, but it's blurry and there is a lot going on.
As with any photo, you have to be able to detect the subject easily.

With this photo, my subject is clear, there are some other elements to the picture,
but the lighting is great and it isn't blurry.


Step 2: Try to stay away from the IG filters. I will never forget the first time I used an outside photo editing app before posting on IG. It was great! I was so proud of that picture, although it wasn't anything special.
I used VscoCam for the editing of this picture.

Step 3: Experiment with stamps and type on your photos! It can definitely make a picture look tacky, but depending on your style and reasons you use IG, it could definitely benefit your portfolio to add a few pictures with text every now and again. For example:


I used an app called Rhonna for these photos.
The captions were miniature versions of blog/tumblr
posts that I had done as well. Sometimes editing a
picture this way for IG doubles as an image for your blog too!
Step 4: You don't have to post everything.  This is something I definitely struggle with. I love to just edit and share my work on social media, but if you post more than 2 pictures of the same event within an hour of each other, it may be too much. In fact, it can cost you some likes and followers if you post too much. That's what blogs are for! Take tons of pictures, post one or two on IG, and then blog about the event and use the leftover pictures to detail the post. Done.

Step 5: Don't overuse hashtags. Sometimes hashtags are perfect. They're great for weddings and projects, like the #365thankfuleveryday project. The hashtag allows people that are participating in the same event to see other's photos. It's also a great way to attract attention from people interested in similar content that you have tagged in your picture. There is no need, however, to hashtag every type on insta-hashtag you can think of. #instafamous #instadog #instapet #instaanimal #instagreat #instawow #blue #shoe #girl #sky #tree #oxygen #human #browneyes 

See? Kind of redundant and over the top. People can easily find your pictures if you stick to a few popular tags- #summertime #ilovemyfamily #partytime #fifaworldcup #bestfriends (or a hashtag for a company/project like #365thankfuleveryday, #loveyoulovepeople, #kinfolk)

Finally, as a treat I've listed my favorite apps that I use before and after I post to Instagram!
>>>>>>>>>>>
I try to stick to free apps (because I love free stuff!) so for white bars around the sides of my photos I use Whitagram.
I use VSCOcam to edit most of my photos. It has great filters, a cool place to post (see my grid on the sidebar), and easy to use tools for brightness, saturation, fades, etc.
Rhonna Designs is perfect for adding text and stamps to photos. This is the only app I've paid for to date because I love it so much!
Finally, I use InstaCollage to make collages with 2-6 pictures in them! It has some neat borders and shapes, but I usually stick to white borders with a square frame.

Comments

  1. love this! Great advice! Thanks for all the tips & that app suggestion!

    xoxo, kerri

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  2. Thanks for the tips and app suggestions! I'm always looking for good editing apps. My husband says I post to much of nothing on Instagram! I can't help it...I love Instagram. Question do you prefer your Instagram account public or private?

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    Replies
    1. I prefer to have mine as a public account. I don't post anything inappropriate or too revealing about life that I wouldn't want people to know so I am comfortable being a public account. Also, as selfish as it may seem, you get more followers and can enter more contests when you're a public account! Haha :)

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  3. Super helpful! I just switched from insta filters to no filters (just adjusting brightness hue saturation etc.) and you're right! It's so much better. I feel more control over my photos and a sense of ownership since I don't just slap a cookie cutter filter over them anymore.

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  4. Love these tips! I've been really trying to post higher-quality pictures since I upgraded my phone (yay!). Of course I did a photo scavenger hunt with my MOPS group recently, and we used my Instagram account, so I have a bunch of weird pictures on there now, haha! But in general I've been working on it, so I like reading tips from people with pretty Instagram feeds!

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  5. These are great tips! I've started to hate filters so I'm glad you put that on there. I started using VSCOcam recently and it's night and day different from the standard IG filters.

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