I love the look of all the different filters on Instagram but I often forget which ones are my favorites. I put together this visual index to use so I can see how each one looks in action. It’s so much fun to see what these effects can do to some simple little phone photos!
I admit that when Instagram first came out, I couldn’t see what all the fuss was about. I wondered why after all the years of working toward better photography that we were taking a collective step backward in making our photos looks old and quirky? Well, I changed my mind after I took my first Instagram photo. Phone photos aren’t the best quality, but they are a valuable way to capture our everyday life. I’ve found that Instagram makes my “blah” phone photos into miniature masterpieces. Hey, if Jack Hollingsworth (aka PhotoJack) can embrace Instagram, who am I to turn my nose up at it?
Now I look at Instagram as a tool to make memory keeping fun and that’s what makes me happy! I love to snap and share my Instagrams and I love seeing what others post as well. Now I can’t imagine why I waited so long to try it out!
If you’re new to Instagram, you might want a few starter tips. It is very easy to use and wonderfully simple. This little “cheat sheet” by Fat Mum Slim is one of the best resources I’ve seen to help anyone master Instagram. We’ve pinned it on our Daily Digi Photography Board for easy reference.
Source: ksharonk.com via Heather on Pinterest
Once you have some Instagram photos, I bet you will want to scrap with them. I love layouts filled with these fun little squares of memories! I’ve found a lot of fabulous instagram layout inspiration in the galleries. Here are a few of my favorites: (Each image is linked for credits)
Check out some of these related posts for more ideas:
- Scrapbooking with phone photos by Heddy
- Digital scrapbooking with phone photos by Katie
- Smart phone photography resources by Steph
- Play it Again with phone photos by Katie
- Confessions of a project 365 quitter by Steph
We’d love to see your Instagram layouts so feel free to post them to our Flickr group!
P.S. The font used in the visual guide graphic is Billabong which is the same one used on the Instagram site. The paper background is from Beige Like Me by One Little Bird Designs.
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I love this feature Katie! So good to have it all right here! Thank you!!!
I watched a Creative Live iphoneography course by Jack, and now, as he suggested, I use Camera + for taking my pics on my iphone and editing them too.
I only use Instagram to share the photos on twitter, facebook and of course Instagram
I think the thing that has made me fall in love with Instagram is the fact that you can get to know people from all over the world! I spent one Sunday getting to know a lady in Germany. I was eating breakfast and she was having her afternoon tea. Recently I had a fun “conversation” with a lady in Australia. She had snapped a picture of a koala in her backyard! That struck me as sooo cool and told her that here in Kansas, we have squirrels in our backyards. She noted that she’d love to see squirrels in her yard. So the next time I saw one, I snapped a picture (or 12) and tagged her in the one I posted.
Thanks for a great post! I’ve pinned the filters so I can have a reference
I love that too! I especially love seeing Anne (a team member here) post her beautiful pictures from Norway. I always think about how amazing it is that I can see what someone’s everyday life is like when they live halfway around the world from me.
Thanks to my 18 yr old daughter, I took have joined the iPhone/Instagram fun! We recently took a day trip to the beach and only used my iPhone and Instagram to capture the day. Putting together the layout (as part of my new process using Project Life) was a snap with a multi-square layout from Cathy Zielske. Thanks for showing us other way to use our Instagram photos! My creative juices are working overtime now!
I tried uploading this layout to the flickr group but I’m getting errors.
looks like it worked. Fun layout!
I see it now…obviously I just need to have a bit of patience.
I wasn’t too interested in instagram until my granddaughter’s fathers’ girlfriend took photos and shared on facebook during their recent vacation. It took me to that moment (because now it was personal) to see what an awesome app it was. I just got an ipad and have to get set up using this wonderful little program. Thanks for the tips.