10 tips to make your Instagram photos look professional without using other apps

We all want to have our Instagram page impeccable: photos that sum up our best face and reflect our true personality. And all this, if possible, without having to go downloading, installing, testing and deleting hundreds of editing applications. The ideal would be, of course, to be able to take exceptional photos (or what seemed to be) using only the Instagram application.

Therefore, we are going to try to advise you on how to make your Instagram photos look professional but without using other applications, just using tools from the application itself.Let's hope these tips help you give your Instagram app a boost and, who knows... maybe you'll become an influencer.

In this special we are going to focus on the editing settings of Instragram. If you want to complement this information on tips for taking a good photograph, we recommend that you read our special on the matter.

Set the photo correctly

In the editing section on Instagram we find a tremendously useful tool but which many of us ignore: it is the photo adjustment. What happens if we take a photo, which is supposed to be at horizon level, and it comes out crooked? With this parameter we can correctly level our photo On the filter screen, choose 'Edit' and then 'Adjust'.

Do not abuse the filters

There are few things that squeak more than an exaggerated HDR effect, excessively saturated colors or intense contrast. Therefore, it is useful that, when you apply a filter, you apply the intensity to it, along the way. Yes, we can level the intensity of the filter in a very simple way as follows: we must click twice on the desired filter and a sliding level will open that we will adjust according to the intensity that we want in the filter.

Crop the image

Never stay with the final result of a photo: surely there is something you can crop, zooming in on the photo, for example. Instagram automatically crops the photo to a square format, but for some time we can choose between several formats: square, original or custom. When you take the photo, you can adjust it with your fingertips, choosing the area you want to appear visible and discarding others.In the button on the left you have the two default positions: rectangle and square.

Create collages without leaving the application

Did you know you could make collages with the Instagram app without having to open another app? Yes, this has a bit of a trick: even if you don't need to open another app to make the collage, you do have to have that other app installed on your phone. We are talking about 'Layout', the Instagram app to create photo compositions To do this, once you upload the photo, you are going to click on the small icon that we show you next.

If you already have 'Layout' installed, all you have to do is create the composition and that's it. If not, a Play Store window will open where you can download it. The same happens with Boomerang if you click on the infinity icon.

Attach color filters to your scene

If you want to apply a different filter to your photo instead of the ones we already know, in the editing section we can place layers of homogeneous colors. For example, if a photograph has come out too orange, we can put a blue layer on it and vice versa. To do this, on the editing screen, go to the 'Color' icon and find different shades in circles Press it and you will see how it is applied automatically. Press again to adjust the intensity and play with the light and shadows by placing different colors.

Enhance photos without character

Has it ever happened to you that you take a picture with the Instagram app and the resulting image looks like without strength, without verve little contrasted? If we have made sure that the lens is clean, this may be because you have photographed the subject against light on a cloudy day.If this happens to you, go to the editing screen and click on 'Texture'. Now, slide the bar and stay with the result that you like the most.

Play with light and shadow

Whether you have an image that is very poor in strength or if there is too much light or, conversely, too much shadow, in the editing settings you have two very interesting parameters to play with: the lights and shadows. Combine both image effects for the perfect snapshot. And if you want to see the change obtained, press the photo and it will change to the original image.

Vignetting

Another section that we can find in Instagram's internal editing tool is vignetting.With this function we can apply a 'vignette' around the photograph to create an old effect for a more delicate or nostalgic image. On the 'Edit' screen we are going to look for, precisely, 'Vignette'. With the guide we are going to adjust the shading that we want to apply to the photo, always with the option of seeing what the photo was like before, holding it down.

Blur Effects

Obviously, with this we are not going to achieve results like those achieved with the portrait effect of some flagship cameras, but the effect is quite achieved. Apply blur to enhance a scene with this editing screen setting: you have two blur modes, radial and linear With the radial we will be able to create a circle inside of which everything is out of focus and the rest in focus; With the linear we create a perfect line, as wide or narrow as we want, to create the blur effect.In 'deactivated' we delete everything.

Best Tip of All: Take Pictures

No matter what people say, just shoot anything that moves. Investigate new frames, cut, place yourself at the level of your dog's eyes, drop to the ground, saturate the colors, put them in black and white... The secret lies in taking photos no matter what they tell you. We already know that you are not a professional and we are in it for the fun. And the only way to learn is to take more and more photos. Checked.