8 top tips for nailing your Instagram pictures

 

Written by SOCIATE’s PR Intern, Vama Kothari

 

Selfies. We love them! 

 

Some of us have Instagram grids brimming with phenomenal selfies while some of us avoid them because we never seem to get them right. Selfies are often branded as “superficial”. This is possibly a superficial notion.

 

Instagram’s algorithm pushes pictures with human faces in them. Want to put this to the test? Visit a recent image you posted of yourself and compare its engagement with a picture that doesn’t have any people in it. 

 

Depending on how serious you are about your social media, and whether it’s part of your job, nailing a selfie can be crucial. Especially if you want to see your engagement soar. I’ve collaborated with our sister agency, SOCIALITE, to create this blog post that’s filled with tips on perfecting your Instagram pictures (read: selfies).

 

Shoot your picture with a good camera: SOCIALITEs, remember – your picture is only as good as your lens. Clean your lens before you begin! We recommend shooting on an iPhone. 

 

Clear your background: A messy background is a messy picture. Try to keep your surroundings minimal and presentable so you’re the star of your shot. Not just for ‘gram but in real life as well.

 

Dress to impress: At SOCIALITE like to follow this as a general rule.

 

Don’t shoot with a social media app: Doing this will reduce the pixels of your picture. No matter how good your frame might look, before clicking, remember to shoot with your regular camera and without a filter.

 

The sun is your bestie: All the fabulous pictures we can’t help but double-tap on are mainly taken between 4-6PM. Try and Google when golden hour will fall on the day of your shoot to avoid harshly exposed pictures. 

 

Strike a pose: Straighten your back, lift your shoulder and chin up! Smile or not, depending on whether it comes naturally to you. A smile brings warmth to a picture and a poker face shifts the focus to your outfit.

 

Edit, edit, edit: Did the sun not align to your plans?
No worries, we’ve got your back. Try using this quick and easy photo editing hack:

 

Exposure and brilliance: +100
Highlights: -32
Shadows: -26
Contrast: -30
Brightness: -15
Black point: +10
Saturation: +10
Vibrance: +8
Warmth: +10
Tint: +29
Sharpness: +14
Definition: +23
Exposure: pushed all the way to zero

 

For more fun tips and to join SOCIALITE’s network of social media influencers, please follow its Instagram account here. If you’d like to explore SOCIALITE’s range of packages and services, please click here or get in touch with [email protected], SOCIALITE’s Influencer Relationship Manager.