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Many of you know that I love me some Instagram (I’m twotwentyone). I often get comments asking about my photos so I thought I’d do a post sharing my favorite phone camera apps and some tips.
Let’s start with a few tips. Then I’ll answer some of my Instagram (IG) friends’ questions. I’m going to include photos I’ve taken with my phone and posted to IG to keep things interesting and visual for you guys. I know reading can get boring and what not.
Tip #1
Take your photos with your phone’s camera. Don’t use the IG camera. The resolution is no bueno. So take the photo with your phone’s camera and import it into IG (at the very least).
Tip #2
Find the light. If you’re taking a photo of something that can be moved, move it toward some light. When I take photos of fresh cut flowers in my house, most of the time I move them into my office to get a nice, well lit photo of them because my office is the brightest room in our house. Call it cheating if you want. Or say that’s putting too much effort into it, but I love taking photos with my DSLR camera and my phone’s camera so I’ll do what I can to get a better shot. Even if that means moving a vase of daffodils from my living room to my office. So sue me.
Tip #3
If you repost someone’s photo on IG, credit them. It’s super rude to repost someone’s photo and not give them credit because, um, you didn’t take the photo, they did. It’s essentially stealing, and then leading your followers to believe you took the photo. Don’t be a jerkface. The end.
Do you use your phone’s camera to take your pics?
Yep. I take all of my IG photos with my iPhone 4s. If it’s not taken with my iPhone I’ll let you know, but I can’t remember the last time I didn’t use my phone to take a pic.
Do you use any special accessories? What about an additional flash?
Nope. I wouldn’t mind getting my paws on an olloclip 3-in-1 lens but I always use an Otterbox defender case (I’m clumsy) and I’d have to take my case off anytime I wanted to use the olloclip. I never use the flash on my phone to take pics I post on IG.
Do you use the same Instagram filter? If so, which one?
Here’s a graph of my most used filters. As you can see, I use no filter the most, followed by Nashville.
If you’re wondering where I got the graphic, it’s from statigram. It’s a website that tells you all of your IG stats. Kind of like Google Analytics but for IG. Pretty cool site.
How do you refrain from posting nonsense?
I’m sure I’ve posted plenty of nonsense. I guess it depends on what you consider nonsense. In fact, a lot of the time when I think I’m posting something dumb I get more likes or comments than I was expecting. It’s perplexing. I thought maybe 30 people would like this photo of Jack, but apparently 126 people thought it was great. Sometimes I’ll stop and ask myself if whatever I’m thinking about posting is post-worthy. I will say, I’m not a fan when people post gross things. Here I am, eating my lunch, scrolling through my feed when a photo of your bloody appendage is staring me in the face. Ew. Gross. No, thank you.
Now onto the apps I use most often.
Camera+
This is my go to app for basic edits. It also has some fun filters, but I never really use them.
Pro HDR
Perfect for landscapes. I’ll also use this app to brighten photos. You can use the app two different ways. You can import a photo you already took with your phone’s camera, or you can use the app’s camera. The app’s camera takes two photos. (Now I’ll let the people from Pro HDR explain the rest.) ”Pro HDR captures an image exposed for the highlights and another exposed for the shadows. It then aligns and merges the images, giving you a gorgeous HDR image…” Pretty cool, eh?
XnView Fx
Great all around app. Tons of editing features: crop, rotate, straighten, mirror. You can adjust the brightness, contrast, hue, saturation, color balance. This app also boasts a bunch of cool filters.
Diptic
Perfect for collages.
Well, I hope you enjoyed this little phone camera lesson! If you want to learn about more apps and tips visit my iPhone Pinterest board.
Are you an IG lover?
Did you find this post insightful?
Got any additional questions?
I’m sharing this at the following parties: Home Stories A to Z, Tatertots and Jello, House of Hepworths, Liz Marie Blog, The Shabby Nest, Positively Splendid, Whipperberry, Classy Clutter, Today’s Creative Blog, Uncommon Designs, Craftberry Bush, Design, Dining, & Diapers, Crafty Scrappy Happy, Snap Creativity, and Serenity Now.
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Oh, all of your photos are stunning– I haven’t tried Instagram yet. I have a blackberry because I love the keyboard, but my husband’s iPhone and son’s iPod Touch have nearly converted me. This didn’t help either!
Emily recently posted..Meal Plan Monday: Week of March 19th
Come to the dark side, Emily! My husband is converting from an Android and getting an iPhone in 8 days. Yes, we’re counting down the days. Hah!
Great tips and pictures! Thanks for the post!
kelly recently posted..Weight Loss With A Goal
I need to see if some of these apps are for Android. I think I already have Camera+.
And you really didn’t need to answer my question but it’s funny. Mmm, cottage cheese.
michelle@decorandthedog recently posted..5 Tips For A Dog Friendly Mudroom
It gave me a reason to address the issue. I forgot about the cottage cheese though. Dang it.
Great tips Chelsea! And I’ve noticed too that the Insta camera is pretty crappy unless you are in great natural lighting. And I love statigram…discovered it the other day and was so excited about all of the stats (that doesn’t happen very often with me) LOL
Mandy @ This Girl’s Life recently posted..{A Giant Surprise with Green Giant}
Yeah, I’m just not an IG camera fan. Isn’t statigram the ish? I love it.
It is! I’m not a stats girl AT all but I love it..maybe because I’m addicted to anything and everything Instagram.
Mandy @ This Girl’s Life recently posted..{Made from Scratch with Aunt Jemima}
Very cool – thanks for the list. I don’t think I give my phone enough credit…..maybe I have to start paying attention to it more.
Kelly @ A Swell Place to Dwell recently posted..Polka Dot Easter Eggs in Tea Cups
It’s crazy what phone cameras can do. The photos for my post tomorrow (spring sandwich cookies) were all taken with my iPhone since my camera is being repaired and my backup camera needs to be repaired. Oy. You’ll have to let me know what you think about the photos!
LOVE this post! I always think that your IG photos are beautiful!
julie recently posted..No Pinching Here!
Thanks, Julie! Yours are always good too! The adorable, chubby baby probably has something to do with it too.
Chelsea, I need you to take all my pictures! LOL These are great. I am trying so hard to improve…..not there yet but better than before. How do you import pictures to IG from your phone? Thanks for the guidance!
Hah! I’ll be right over.
To import your pic: open IG, click the camera button in the middle at the bottom of the screen, instead of taking a photo, select the little box with your last photo taken on the lower right part of the screen. That opens your photo library. Hope that helps!
Thanks for the great info on using your iphone camera. I’m checking out some of the aps you mentioned.
Ericka recently posted..Weekend Recap
great post! it’s interesting to see how other people use IG – i on the other hand actually swear by the IG lens and rarely import photos from my camera to IG – i like to see the exact size it will be when it’s going to be posted. love hearing your perspective on the other way around!
(i meant i rarely import from my iphone camera, not actual camera.)
jacin recently posted..healthy recipe: grapes with rosemary, sea salt and olive oil {yum}
That’s crazy! And your pics always turn out so well! It’s probably because you live in California. Yep, I’m going to go with that reasoning.
haha ok!
I bet it’s because you get a lot of nicely lit and outdoor shots. The IG camera tends to not turn out so well for me in low light.
Ohmigoodness, THANK YOU for this!!
Erin @ How to Nest for Less recently posted..Get Inspired: Patio Makeover Ideas
Yessssssss!!!!!!!!!!! I’m so excited you wrote this post! Now I can take awesome pictures on my phone like you! Maybe, kinda, ok they definitely wont be as awesome.
Ashley@AttemptsAtDomestication recently posted..Comment on Signs of Spring by Kelly @ View Along the Way
Hah! Your “Yessssssss!!!!!!” cracked me up. I better see nothing less than awesomeness from you on IG from now on.
This is so helpful, Chelsea. You are the goddess of great Instagram photos. Now, I’m off to try some new apps. That I’ll probably never use because I’m lazy. But you DID convince me to stop taking the pictures in Instagram before, and that definitely helped. Baby steps.
Kim@NewlyWoodwards recently posted..Forty-two weeks
Goddess of great IG photos, I like the ring of that.
Great tips! I totally thought you would have been an Afterglow (well, now Afterlight) user but I guess not! I’m going to have to look into some of the apps you suggested because sometimes my shot isn’t straight and it bugs me that I can’t adjust it haha
Nope, but I downloaded Afterlight the other day to play around with it.
Thanks so much…this was a super helpful post!
Gabbi @ Retro Ranch Reno recently posted..Adding Some Interest.
you should try pic tap go! it’s got amazing filters + it really helps lighten them up + fix the color if it’s off. Love it!
Libby recently posted..Target gift card giveaway
I’ll definitely look into. Thanks, Libby!
Thank you for posting this…you always have the most amazing photos!
lyndsay @ that 70s house recently posted..The Den Finale: Before & After
Thank you so much for this great roundup! SO helpful! I can’t believe you got those gorgeous shots with an iPhone… really, really beautiful! Happy Monday!
~Abby =)
Abby @ Just a Girl and Her Blog recently posted..IKEA Magazine Rack Makeover
lol… jerkface. That cracked me up!! Loving this post. I am sooo new to Insta. I did not know any off this cool stuff. I better bookmark this baby!!
It’s a word I commonly use. And it’s blog friendly– unlike some of the other words I use.
I hope you find the tips and apps helpful! You’ll love IG!
Great post! I just download that collage app and I love it! Thanks for sharing!
Katherine Nolden recently posted..SPD in Columbus
Love this post! Thanks for sharing these tips with us. I’ve had IG for awhile now, but I’ve just recently started using it more often. Love all your photos! =)
Jennay recently posted..Stuffed Shells with Spinach
Great post and beautiful photos. I downloaded a couple of the apps, I look forward to trying some of them out, thanks!
great information – thanks for sharing! i’ll have to check out some of those apps to make my IG pics better. do you have to buy some of those apps or are there free versions? 99.999% of my iphone apps are free – apparently i’m cheap!
samantha recently posted..what a weekend
I’m pretty sure Pro HDR and XnView Fx are free. I think Diptic and Camera+ are a couple bucks.
This is super helpful, Chelsea! Thank you! Off to download new apps…
Erin @ Domestic Adventure recently posted..Working it
All of these pics are so inspirational. Love. xolili
http://www.satinandscotch.com
Loved this post! I’m always admiring your Instagram photos so it’s great to see your tips! Going to check out those apps. Thank you!
Christine @ Casa-de-Christine recently posted..9 Years!
Awesome! Thanks for sharing. I’m excited to try out statigram & using your tips to take better pictures. Your photos are truly GORGEOUS!
Sarah
sarah recently posted..Dreaming of Summer
Thanks for sharing! I’ve been on the edge of my seat waiting for this post!
Amber @ Wills Casa recently posted..West Elm Floral Class
These pics came from your camera?!! Are you some kind of phone-camera-superhero? I am so impressed. AWESOME tips.
Kelly @ View Along the Way recently posted..Next Big Project: Moving on out(doors)
Just had a chance to sit down and read this, even though I Pinned it a few days ago. GREAT tips, Chelsea. I was happy to see that you don’t use the IG filter a lot. I thought maybe I was the only one. Sometimes I’ll add a filter just b/c I’m worried someone might think the pic is too “plain.” Good post!
Amanda @ Serenity Now recently posted..Easter Basket Filler Ideas {Easter Gifts for Kids}
I totally need these tips. I am a horrible photographer
We have a Thursday (today) Link Up Party at allthingswithpurpose.com and I’m sure our readers would love these tips, too!! We hope to see you there!! We are your newest FB Like!!
Julia Forshee recently posted..All Things Thursday Link-Up {No. 15}
How do you get your “watermark” on the pictures? Is that just for your blog or for instagram also?
Thank you for this awesome post. Seriously, you would think your IG pictures were taken with an actual DSLR! I am going to check out these apps right now!
Melissa @ Keep Calm and Decorate recently posted..What I Wore Wednesday
This is an awesome post, thanks for all of the tips!
Amy Papale recently posted..My First Attempt At Project Life: With A Bittersweet Twist