Here are some tips and tricks to make the most of Instagram
Instagram may not need any introduction, but for newcomers, it’s a free social networking app that allows users to capture and share photos and videos.
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Created by Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger in October 2010, Instagram quickly gained popularity, attracting over 100 million active users by the time it was acquired by Facebook less than two years later for a cost of $1 billion. Instagram has since ballooned to over 400 million users, making it one of the top social networks.
To stay popular, the company continuously introduces new features, but this can also make it difficult to list its capabilities. Whether you’ve been addicted to Instagram for years or are completely new to photo sharing, these tips and tricks will help you master it.
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Let’s get started!
Create your Instagram profile
Do you already have an account? Go ahead and skip this section. If not, let’s start with the basics. To create an Instagram account, simply open the app, tap Sign Up, then log in with your Facebook account or provide an email address and password.
You will also need to create a unique username. It can be as simple as your current name, or something more creative. If you are joining Instagram for professional purposes, it is advisable to use a name that relates to what you do or the theme of your account.
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Add a profile picture
You can easily add a profile picture to the Instagram app from your mobile device. Go to your profile by tapping your profile picture in the bottom right corner, tap the empty circle next to your name (this is where your profile picture will go), then take a new photo or import one from your phone, Facebook, or Twitter.
Tell the world more about yourself (or not)
In the Edit Profile menu, you can determine how to display your name (real or nickname), change your Instagram handle, link to an external site (only one is allowed), and add a bio.
You can also list private information such as your phone number and gender, although this information is not disclosed to the public.
The good thing is that Instagram does not require you to fill out any of these fields; you only need to provide your full name if you want to.
Find people to follow
Currently, many of your friends are probably already using Instagram, so you can access the tab of your profile and select Find Friends in the Options settings (gear icon in the upper right corner). There, you can search for friends who have connected their Facebook and Twitter accounts to Instagram.
You can also search by name, username, or hashtag. You can also follow celebrities or people whose photos you admire.
Following interesting people is a great way to get inspired, and it helps Instagram’s algorithms learn what you like and suggest photos and videos in the Discovery tab.
Post your first photo or video
To post your first photo or video, simply tap the camera icon in the middle of the bottom menu of the app. You can then take a photo, record a video, or choose one from your phone’s gallery. Once you have selected the photo of your choice, tap Next.
From there, you can apply a filter or even manually edit the appearance of the photo. The app allows you to crop, change exposure, increase saturation, sharpen, add a vignette, and much more.
Click Next again, and you will be prompted to add a caption, tags (other Instagram users), a location, and any other social network (Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Flickr, or Swarm) where you want to post a link to the Instagram message. When you are ready to post, tap Share.
Sharing a video works the same way, but you can also select the length of the clip (up to one minute) or compose a montage from multiple videos. You can also mute the sound if you don’t like the background noise of your video.
What is the perfection of your Instagram photo?
Instagram offers a good selection of filters and editing tools to make your photos pop and take them to the next level, or even save bad photos from the trash.
If you want to go even further, there are also many photo editing apps like VSCO, Filmborn, Snapseed, Aviary, Adobe Photoshop Express, and Spark Post (iOS-related versions, but you can also find them in the Google Play Store).
VSCO is particularly known for its cinematic presets, while Spark Post allows you to create collages, add text and graphics, and much more.
Think beyond the square
For years, Instagram only allowed you to upload square photos. In August 2015, it finally lifted this restriction, much to the relief of photographers around the world.
The square is still the default setting, but you can also upload in landscape and portrait orientation, although the format remains limited. To quickly choose the original aspect ratio or the closest ratio, simply tap the icon located in the bottom left corner of the photo.
Note that portrait-oriented photos will appear larger in the feed, as Instagram is a vertically-oriented app. For this reason, you might consider using it more often than square or landscape and plan your shots accordingly.
How to tag people?
Want to draw attention to your mom, friend, dog, barista, or someone else who appeared in your photo? Just tap tag people under the caption field on the last edit page before sharing your photo.
Then tap the person or object in the image you want to tag and enter their name or Instagram username. You should see a list of suggestions as you type, but if for some reason you don’t see the person you’re looking for, Instagram makes it easy to find people you know.
Did you forget to tag someone in a photo you already posted? No worries. Just tap on your profile photo, tap the “…” button in the upper right to bring up the menu, select Edit, then tap Tag People.
How to mention other Instagrammers?
To mention a friend in your post, type @ before their username (for example, “Great post, @tophebergeur!”). Your friend will then receive a notification in their activity feed that you mentioned them. You can also mention people in comments.
Note: If you mention someone who later changes their Instagram ID, your mention will not be automatically updated and will no longer link to their profile. However, tags will be updated if a user changes their ID in mentions.
How to like, comment, and send photos and videos?
To like a photo or video on Instagram, simply double-tap the photo or video, or tap the “heart” icon. If you liked a post by accident, tap the icon again to undo it.
Next to the heart icon is a text bubble icon, which is meant for writing a comment. There is no limit to what you can write, but for the sake of the Instagram community, we advise you to keep it brief.
The arrow icon located to the right of the comment button allows you to send the photo or video as a message to other users. Tap it, select the person you want to send it to, and then tap Send.
The message will be shared in a private message, and is a good way to draw someone’s attention to content you think they would like to keep in mind, but doing it too often is a good way to annoy people.
How can I post more than one photo at a time?
In February 2017, Instagram introduced the ability to display more than one photo at a time. You can now post up to 10 photos at once in an album. Albums appear as a single post in the feed, but your followers can swipe to see all the photos.
To post multiple images at once, simply tap on multiple images when uploading from your device. Instagram automatically creates an online carousel album.
While you can post up to 10 photos, you are limited to one caption for the entire album. Additionally, the images must all be cropped to the same format, so no mixing and matching between portrait, landscape, and square images.
How to make your photos and videos private?
When you create your Instagram account, everyone can see your profile on Instagram. Your posts will only appear in the feeds of people who follow you, but anyone can see them by navigating to your profile or searching for a hashtag you used.
If you prefer to make your posts private so that only your followers can see them, Instagram allows you to do so. Go to your profile, tap the three-dot icon to view account settings, and enable the Private Account option.
How to link Instagram to your Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, and Flickr accounts?
As Instagram is one of the most popular social apps, you can connect all your social accounts to get the most out of it.
You can choose to link your Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, and Flickr accounts. There are also less popular networks (at least in the U.S.) that you can access, including Ameba and VKontakte.
To link your social accounts, go to the Profile tab > Linked Accounts > Sharing Settings, then select the accounts you want to connect to.
Every time you upload a photo to Instagram, you have the option to select which photos you want to share on each of the social networks. You can also choose to share your photos only on Instagram.
How to embed your photos on the web?
Did you take a photo that is absolutely amazing and you want to share it on your blog? Go to Instagram on the web and find the photo you want to share, click on the symbol represented by three dots, and choose the Embed option.
You can copy and paste the code anywhere on the web to display the photo you plugged. If your content is set to private on Instagram, you won’t be able to share the photo.
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