How to Achieve Instagram-Worthy Photos? Discover Tips That Make It Super Simple!
Vacation is the time when we most often reach for our phones to capture our memories. But what can you do to make your photos reflect the fantastic views or the atmosphere you experienced? We've prepared practical tips that will make your photographs breathtaking and look like they're straight from Instagram!
Thanks to today's technology, each of us can take on the role of a professional family photographer during vacation. Phones offer virtually unlimited possibilities, and the quality of photos doesn't lag behind those for which we used to need a DSLR. Research conducted in June 2024 by SW Research on behalf of MediaMarkt Polska shows that cameras and camcorders are devices that few people currently buy. Phones and mobile devices took first place among the electronic equipment that Poles bought in the last 12 months. As many as 36.9% declared purchasing a new smartphone, tablet, or smartwatch, while only 5.5% of respondents decided to buy a camera or video camera[1]. No wonder—most of us prefer to invest in good equipment that serves many functions, like a smartphone that can replace an MP3 player, navigation, monitoring system, alarm clock, or CB radio, and especially the aforementioned camera.
So we've put together a few tips to help you take stunning Instagram-style photos using only a smartphone. With this guide, you'll be able to fully use all the camera functions in modern phones, which today often replace expensive cameras.
Let's start with 5 basics
If your photos have blurred sharpness, be sure to check whether the lens has become dirty. This is the most common cause of poor smartphone photo quality. Use an ordinary tissue or glasses cloth to wipe the lens before taking a photo.
Don't forget about image stabilization either; you can increase it by resting the hand holding the camera against the side of your body. You can also rest the phone against a wall or table, creating an improvised tripod. This way you'll avoid blurry photos! Also remember to sharpen the photo by tapping the spot on the screen that you care about.
Light should fall from behind your back or someone's shoulder. Good photos need good light! You may not have professional accessories like a reflector (though you can easily replace it, e.g., with a white sheet of paper), but always place the people or objects you want to photograph in the most well-lit spots. Never shoot against the light unless you want an overexposed effect!
Remember the foreground. The main subject of the photo should appear there—the person or people you're photographing, flowers, a building, a monument, the sea. The most important element should draw the viewer's attention. According to the rule of thirds in composition, in which each frame is divided into three equal horizontal and vertical bands, the key motif should be placed at one of the intersections of the lines.
Use the functions that manufacturers of modern smartphones offer in their cameras. Various camera modes, such as portrait, live photos, and panorama, allow you to take excellent photos and create frames ideal for a given situation.
- Today, every phone, regardless of price, has functions that will make our photos more attractive. Before deciding to buy, however, it's worth considering what matters most to us. Do we usually take portraits, or maybe wide shots, or perhaps we love photographing landscapes? On this basis, we define our needs and adjust the technical parameters of the device to them. Pay attention to the camera resolution in the smartphone, because a higher number of megapixels allows for more detailed photos. If you need professional advice, it's worth consulting an advisor in the store who will select a model tailored to individual needs – encourages Maciej Dolega, Press Spokesman of MediaMarktSaturn Polska.
Functions Used by Influencers – Photos Like from Instagram
- Night mode
The camera's night mode allows you to capture more details. It is especially recommended for taking photos in low light. How to use it? Remember to hold your device still (if you have a tripod, it will work great here, even an improvised one) and to set the ISO correctly. This camera setting guarantees brightening or darkening the photo. Be careful, however, because too high ISO can cause noise and lower photo quality. We recommend setting the ISO value to 100. Shutter speed is also important here, allowing you to choose the appropriate exposure time. Choose the right angle depending on the object and place of photography, and don't forget the 5 basics described above! Experiment—take a photo from above, which can give the effect of, for example, majestic buildings. Also use the right time of day—sunset or sunrise will give your photo an artistic expression.
- HDR (High Dynamic Range)
HDR, or high dynamic range, allows you to capture more details in very bright and dark areas, and also makes it possible to take a photo that is well-lit across its entire surface. HDR turned on usually guarantees taking as many as three photos—overexposed, underexposed, and neutral. This function is especially useful when photographing landscapes and scenes with high lighting contrast.
- Portrait mode
Portrait mode for taking photos of people and objects allows you to get a photo with a depth-of-field effect. Our subject is then in the foreground while the background is blurred. This function is extremely easy to use, and thanks to it you'll get the effect of a professional photo!
- Wide-angle lens
- When choosing the right smartphone to be used for vacation photos and more, it's also worth paying attention to the lens. A good-quality lens in the rear camera of a smartphone allows, among other things, a larger field of view or greater depth of field. Whenever you can't move back the right distance from a group to take a perfect photo in which everyone is visible, it's worth using a wide-angle lens. Thanks to it, you'll capture more details in one frame, and the people or objects in the photo will appear larger than in reality. This is the ideal solution for photographing landscapes, interiors, architecture, and large groups of people in a more interesting way – says Paweł Ryniewicz, Category Director MediaMarktSaturn Polska.
- Optical zoom
Optical zoom allows you to get closer to objects without losing photo quality. For example, 3x optical zoom enlarges the object three times, making it appear 3x larger than in reality. So if you love photographing details, a smartphone with this function will be essential for you, especially when taking photos of nature. Avoid digital zoom, on the other hand, which can worsen image quality. Lower resolution and lack of more detail are the effects of using the digital option.
- Pro mode
By turning on Pro mode, we can have full control over the photo's metering, ISO, and exposure. And that's not all—we can also control shutter speed, focus settings, and white balance. This allows us to adjust the parameters to the specific scene we want to capture in the photo.
- Live Photo/ Motion Photos
The Live Photo or Motion Photos function is a combination of short video clips and a still frame before and after taking the photo. The moving image effect can still be played back on our device. Thanks to this function, we can choose the best moment or create a dynamic memory with our loved ones.
- Filters and apps
The advantage of taking photos with a smartphone is having a variety of apps on hand in the form of photo editors and filters. We can choose a filter that best matches the mood of the scene without having to edit the photo later! In editors, we can freely change the sharpness, color saturation, or contrast of the photo in just a few seconds.
- Artificial intelligence and scene recognition
- The use of the latest technology in smartphone cameras cannot be overlooked. The artificial intelligence function in them is based on scene recognition. The smartphone automatically adjusts the appropriate shooting mode to the scenery, e.g., when we want to take a photo during sunset—AI will select the parameters or improve the photo's colors. Thanks to this capability, we can achieve the best possible effects without having to manually adjust the smartphone camera. This is a very convenient option for people who are family photographers but don't fully know how to use all the functions in the cameras of modern smartphones – summarizes Maciej Dolega, Press Spokesman of MediaMarktSaturn Polska.
Information about MediaMarktSaturn Retail Group
[1] The survey commissioned by MediaMarkt was conducted using the CAWI method on a representative group of Polish women and men over 18 years of age, in accordance with the distribution of gender and age, on June 11-13, 2024.
