Our past trips through the Instagram filter
Let's not fool ourselves: everyone likes the Instagram photo application, now also those of us who don't have an iPhone. It is a phenomenon that is surprising because, despite the fact that there are thousands of applications of this type for this (and other) phones, none of them even remotely reach their number of users . There are three keys that explain why more and more people use it to take photos, make them up and publish them on the internet. Discover the secrets of this little revolution that is changing the way of understanding photography, and expressing its full potential.
1. Photos in square format . The most important thing when taking a photo is to know what you want to say with it. Whether it is a portrait, a photo of what you are going to have for breakfast, or a landscape that has left you speechless, looking for the strong point of the snapshot is the crux of the matter. Once the theme is decided, knowing how to compose the image is the next step, but that is when doubts appear. A rectangular format makes us doubt about how to place the camera to get a better result, the eternal question: vertically or horizontally. To which we must add if our object of desire is going to be located in one of the hot spots marked by the rule of thirds, complications that become a small long etcetera of decisions. Something that overwhelms those who just shoot photos.
For this reason, the creators of Instagram have settled the matter by imposing a square format, the formula for its success, without a doubt. Thus, we forget about the environment, to focus the shot on what is important in the photo, the object to be portrayed. Now you can forget about moving the iPhone to place it vertically or horizontally, and the trite: 'one moment'. Instagram makes you shoot faster and more confident . By looking for the center and making sure you don't cut anything, or anyone, you already have the composition ready. In the end, the new format has its logic, framing a photo in a square almost always provides greater balance to the snapshot. For this reason, if you take a portrait on Instagram, the symmetry of the model's face is enhanced, and the landscapes are structured more fluidly, and why not, with something special that the usual photos do not have.
two. Fast publication on the web. Many, if not all, mobile phone photography apps can upload photos to the web, but they often test our patience if the data connection is slow. Instagram fixes it again, and compresses images so we can upload them lightning fast. For this reason, it is even recommended to use it to publish photos from our library through its social network, a real boom after just one year, or on Facebook and Twitter, with which it is also compatible. Something designed for the most perfectionist, because the application processes images taken with other cameras . For example, if we use a compact camera, undoubtedly with much better quality than the mobile one, with an Eye-Fi card we can send the images to the phone via Wi-Fi and from it upload them to Instagram (in square format, of course). It may seem twisted but performing this operation is quite simple, and the result will bring out the full potential of Instagram.
3. The filters. If the application is also known for something, it is for its vintage filters, which allow us to imitate the appearance of an old film in black and white, or a photo with melancholy colors. We give less importance to this feature than to the use of the square format and the speed at which we upload the photos, among other things because its use is optional. In any case, if you opt for them, here are some tips:
- Save the original image . If you eventually regret how your filtered photo looks, you can always go back to the original shot. To do this, you need to configure Instagram so that in addition to the image with effect, it saves the original photo.
- Better without frame . A photo almost never needs an artificial frame to remind us that it is just that, a photo. It is better to publish the image, with or without a filter, without the happy frame, which is more distracting than anything else.
- Evaluate if your photo really needs seasoning . Don't use Instagram filters like crazy, maybe your photo doesn't need it at all. And if you use them, think about creating a personal style when using them, so that they don't vary randomly in each photo you take. Of all of them, the most recommended is the one that allows you to convert the image to black and white, thus highlighting the main lines of the composition.