You know the meme about teens taking 50 selfies before getting the perfect shot. Same goes with pictures that are not selfies. I’m not saying you should take 50 pictures of the same angle, but a few with different angles and different lighting goes a long way. It’s rare to get a picture just right on the first try. At least 5-10 is great and with those few pictures, you may notice that one or two images are better than the rest.

2. Lighting is key.

How do you get perfect lighting? Natural light is always best. Depending on what type of picture you want. If you want a day picture morning to midday is perfect. After 12:00 p.m. it’s not ideal since the sun is at it’s highest point and is right above the subject. If you are taking pictures indoors you can always use the light coming from the windows but keep in mind that afternoon pictures indoors tend to be much darker than in the morning. No windows and can’t go outside? No problem! Use artificial lighting, look for desk lamps/hand lamps around the office and play with different angled lighting.

3. Pay attention to composition.

The subject of your image doesn’t always have to be in the middle. This tends to get a bit boring if your subject is always in the same place. What you can do is keep your background simple and offer the viewer one clear focal point. If your taking pictures with your phone try taking pictures horizontally so when you crop your picture (if you need to) you have enough space to do that. If you want your whole picture, you can always frame it with different apps that are available. When I say frame it I don’t mean colorful frames like scrapbooking, but a basic black/white frame so your picture can be appreciated completely and not only squared.

4. Editing

You don’t always need photoshop. There are A LOT of apps on editing images. But you don’t need all of them. Whatever you want to edit there’s an app for that. But if it’s about lighting Snapseed is a good option. If you want to use a color corrector you can always use VSCO Cam or even the toolbar Instagram already has; brightness, saturation, shadow, highlights, etc. Just remember not to take the editing too far, then it might not be so appealing. The more natural it looks the better.

5. Style

Make sure you're not just posting because you feel like it. Make sure you have a style/theme. What do I mean by this? What do you want your audience to feel or see? Warm colors and vintage type pictures or bright and happy colors? It all depends on what it is your selling and the mood you want for your Instagram.

Don’t be afraid of posting different types of pictures or trying out something new. Like I said in another blog post, don’t forget to have fun!