How to look good in Instagram photos

You are also a fan of Instagram? Yup? So I bet that, in addition to browsing the shots and stories posted by other users, you like to share your photos and are very happy when you receive many "likes". Am I right? So why don't you try to raise the quality standard of your shots, in order to have a better rendering in the photos? If you want I can, I can give you a hand in this regard.

In the next paragraphs of this guide, in fact, I will be able to provide you with some practical advice on how to look good in Instagram photos. Regardless of whether you consider yourself photogenic or not, there are various “tricks” that, if put into practice, can greatly improve your appearance in photos: try them for yourself and you will see that you will not regret!

So, can we know that you are still standing there? Strength and courage: make yourself comfortable, take all the time you need to concentrate on reading the next lines and, more importantly, try to implement the "tips" that I will give you. There is nothing left for me to do, except wish you good reading and wish you a big good luck for everything!

Realization of the photo

• Choose the right device
• Adjust the shooting parameters manually 
• Correct the photo in post-production

Preparation for the photo

If you want look good in photos on Instagram you have to dedicate some time to the preparing the photo. In this way, you will create the right conditions to have a good yield in the shots that you decide to publish on the famous photographic social network: here are some tips in this regard.

Choosing the right lighting

Choosing the right lighting is one of the most important things you can do to have a good result in the photos. It is therefore necessary to choose a location in which there is the right amount of light, whether natural or artificial.

To get more into the matter, it is necessary to avoid environments that are too bright, as they could favor the presence of "burned" areas in the photo and / or highlight skin defects, such as wrinkles, blackheads and dark circles. We must also be careful to avoid poorly lit environments: in this case, the photo will be underexposed.

The position from which the light comes from also plays an important role. If the light source is positioned behind you, it will probably not be possible to distinguish the details of the face and / or body: therefore, avoid positioning yourself in front of the light source present in the scene, unless you want to take a photo with the silhouette effect.

It also avoids too direct light, such as that of the sun at noon or that of the flash of the camera or smartphone: it would create too sharp shadows, which would irreparably compromise the photo. The ideal would be to use softer and more delicate light sources, which create pleasant plays of light and shadows, such as sunlight at dawn or dusk or the light produced by not too intense lamps.

In any case, if you need to take photos in less than ideal lighting conditions, you can try to expose the photo in the correct way by adjusting the ISO value and/hi exposure times: I'll explain how to do it later.

Choose the most suitable clothing

Choose the most suitable clothing it is important if you want to get a photo that is pleasing to the eye. As I have already had the opportunity to explain to you in this other guide, in choosing your outfit you must also take into account your physical appearance.

Those with a leaner physique, in fact, would be better off opting for colored and not excessively baggy clothes, while those who are a little more plump could try to look slimmer by choosing darker and looser clothes.

Obviously, it is also important that the clothes you decide to use are tasteful: they do not necessarily have to be the latest fashion or designer, but they should at least emphasize your body and, if possible, hide your flaws.

Choose the best pose

Choose the best pose is one of the most important things you can do to be able to have a good result in the photos to be published on Instagram. Here are some tips to take into account when choosing the pose.

• Lean your head forward and twist it slightly - doing this will make your face look slimmer, hiding any flaws due to excess weight.
• Bend your hands and arms forward - in this way the shot will take on greater spontaneity and will create pleasant plays of light and shadow, which will also give a more professional touch to the photo.
• Be natural - avoid stiffening yourself in front of the lens and do not artificially construct the pose to be taken, otherwise you risk making the shot irretrievably ugly.
• Follow the photographer's directions - if the photo is taken by a professional in the sector, no one better than him can provide you with real-time information on the position to take to get a good photo rendering.

If you want to deepen the subject and get more information on how to pose in photos, you can find many other practical ideas that I am sure will be very useful.

Smile the right way

Also smile correctly can contribute to the success of the shots you want to share on Instagram. In doing so, try to convey feelings of happiness, being as natural as possible. If your smile is forced, others will notice

If it can be useful to you, think of something or someone that makes you feel good and that transmits serenity and hilarity: this will positively affect you and allow you to have a natural and relaxed expression. A spontaneous smile, to be such, is usually characterized by some distinctive elements: the mouth, in addition to being arched, should leave the teeth slightly exposed and should create wrinkles in the area around the cheeks.

Remember that the smile should involve not only the mouth, but also the eyes: if the expression is spontaneous, the eyes will also be slightly squinted and will transmit positive feelings.

Would you like some more advice on how to smile in photos? Well, then you already know what to do: consult the guide I just linked to and put into practice the suggestions contained in it.

Other useful tricks to look good in Instagram photos

There are other useful tricks to look good in photos on Instagram: follow them and you will see that the photos that portray you will have a more satisfactory quality level.

• Care for the background - avoid backgrounds that have too much detail, as they could distract attention from the main subject of the photo: you. To hide unwanted details in a background, you can have the photographer change the frame or suggest that he use the bokeh technique, to blur it a little.
• Have more photos taken - in this way, the chances of bringing home at least one quality shot will be higher. Furthermore, by taking multiple photos, you can experiment with different poses and choose the one you like best.
• Study and inform yourself - There are tons of tutorials and video courses on the Internet on how to become photogenic and improve your appearance to look better in your photos. Make full use of these online resources, many of which are free.

Realization of the photo

Let us now move on to the phase of making the photo: below you will find some practical "tips" that will be of great help to you to look good in the photos to share on Instagram.

Choose the right device

Choose the right device it is essential to get good photos. If your smartphone or camera in your possession has rather high technical characteristics, this can only significantly improve the quality of the shots, avoiding running into photos that have defects that cannot be corrected in any way.

The ideal would be to use one reflex or your phone, or a smartphone that has a rather advanced photographic sector. If you don't currently have a suitable device for taking pictures, take a look at the buying guides where I explain which camera to buy and which camera phone to buy. I am sure they will be useful for you to make a prudent purchase.

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Adjust the shooting parameters manually

Adjust the shooting parameters manually it can be useful for getting a good photo, especially when the lighting conditions are not optimal.

If the photos are taken with a Reflex camera, it is possible to act on the shooting parameters by activating the manual mode (in this guide I explained how to do it). If, on the other hand, the photos are taken via a smartphone, it is necessary to proceed using the camera apps that allow you to adjust the shooting parameters in detail, such as Camera FV-5 for Android (free) and ProCam (6,99 euros) or Halide ( 6,99 euros) for iPhone. The main parameters I advise you to pay attention to are the following.

• ISO sensitivity - represents the degree of amplification of the electrical signal sent to the sensor cells. By increasing this value, the photo will be brighter, but this must be done sparingly, as the effort generated by the sensor to capture more light increases the "noise" present in the shot.
• Shutter speed - by increasing this value it is possible to avoid running into blurred photos, even if the photo could be underexposed; decreasing it, however, the photo will be brighter, but it could have some blur or micro-blur.
• Maximum aperture of the diaphragm - this value relates to the amount of light that passes through the lens and is indicated in _f_-stop (Eg. f / 1.8 o f / 4, etc.). The lower this value is, the more light enters the lens, resulting in bright shots with a blurred background.

Correct the photo in post-production

Even if you have made great efforts to obtain a good quality photo, it may be that this is characterized by some defect due to mistakes made by the photographer or to some small physical imperfection of yours.

In many cases, fortunately, it is possible correct the photo in post-production and remove a large chunk of these flaws using free photo editing apps, like Snapseed (Android / iOS / iPadOS).

To remove even more important defects, however, it is advisable to turn to professional PC software of the caliber of Photoshop (Windows / macOS) e GIMP (Windows / macOS / Linux): the first is paid, as it is included in the subscription to Adobe Creative Cloud, which starts from 12,19 euro / month; the second, on the other hand, is 100% free.

If you want more information on how to retouch photos using these and other solutions, reading the guide I have dedicated to the topic will certainly help you.

How to look good in Instagram photos