Want to take your Instagram feed to the next level? Or just want to snap better vacation pictures? We reached out to some of our favorite ’grammers to get their secrets. But don’t worry—while they expertly capture gorgeous landscapes, the perfect latte, portraits of friends, and mesmerizing street scenes, they are all self-taught photographers and have some seriously down-to-earth advice. Here, from the cameras to use (yes, they actually use their iPhones sometimes) to the secret to capturing the perfect light, these are the tips and tricks you need to seriously elevate your photos.
Name: Joann Pai
Username: @sliceofpai
Hometowns: Vancouver and Paris
Camera: Fuji xe2
Smartphone: iPhone 6s
Followers: 132K
Pai’s passion for food came before photography. “I started photographing food as a way to document moments of my life and share them with friends and family, mainly through social media,” she says. Her two hobbies merged when a Vancouver business owner asked her to photograph food products.
Camera of choice: For walking around town and Instagram photos, I use either a Fuji Xe2 or my iPhone. I was looking for a compact camera with an interchangeable lens to travel with. I love the quick focus of the Fuji—the quality and the tones of the images. But really, I’m just a sucker for the retro look.
Use natural light: The iPhone takes great photos when there is ample light. So when I’m dining out, for example, I like to sit by the window where there is natural light and away from the artificial light of the restaurant. I also find that top-down shots are often more successful, as they tend to minimize lens distortion from the iPhone’s wide-angle lens.
Play with your food: Photos that are not too close up but tell more of a story do very well. Think about the story you want to convey in the photo and keep that in mind while you’re composing your shot. Try photographing from different angles; play around with different composition and props until you hit your sweet spot.
Signature style: To get noticed as a food photographer, you need to have a voice and style so that when people stumble upon your page, they have a sense of what your work is like. Instagram is very community focused, so respond to comments on your own photos, and also comment on other people’s photos. Reach out to others in the community and start collaborating.
Favorite photo editing apps: I use VSCO for filters and Snapseed for fine-tuning. Sometimes I just use the editing tools on the Instagram app.
Favorite filters: The filters I like to use tend to be very subtle—I like food to look like food! I use VSCO filters and have the intensity dialed down to level 3-6. On Instagram, I like to use either Juno or Ludwig.
Tag it: #OnTheTable, #f52Grams, #FeedFeed, #TravelerEats
Name: Nicholas La
Username: @Nikk_la
Hometown: Oakland, California
Cameras of choice: Leica M240 and Leica T
Smartphone of choice: iPhone 6
Followers: 214K
Like many self-taught photographers, La learned by trial and error. “I learned mostly through shooting out in the field, reading photography books, and watching videos online,” he says. When he joined Instagram four years ago, the main focus of his account was to stay in touch with friends and family. He now counts Land Rover among his clients.
Camera of choice: I chose the Leica specifically because of its ability to produce amazing photographs in such a small body. I also love the minimal design, as well as the compact size of the camera, because it allows me to shoot street photography while being discreet and not attracting much attention.
Be alert: With most street photography, a moment is there for a glimpse of a second and gone forever, so being aware and ready is vital for catching street shots.
Get a unique angle: For the most part [most of my photography] requires a lot of sneaking around. Sometimes an elevator to the highest floor and finding the roof door does the trick; other times it means walking up 50 flights of stairs; and other times it requires crawling out a window and climbing onto the roof to get the shot.
Be patient: Practice getting that shot you want over and over. Some pictures can take hours, days, and even years to capture, but being patient and ready to shoot when the time comes is crucial.
Find the emotion: When shooting, I think about the end result as well as the message or emotion that I want my viewers to get out of the photo. I love to include people in my photos for that reason. Sometimes it gives off an emotion that you wouldn’t get out of just an image of a landscape or cityscape. A subject in an image can also bring more depth to a photograph in addition to acting as a scale to the location.
Compose the shot: Composition can be a tricky thing at times, but as long as you can find a way to direct your viewers to the subject of the photo while capturing an emotion or telling a story, then I think that alone is a great photo.
Favorite photo editing app: I love using the VSCO app when editing my iPhone photos.
Favorite filter: VSCO F1 and F2.
Tag it: I use the hashtag #MKExplore on every photo that I take. I also use #StreetDreamsMag.
Name: Uzma Mir
Username: @uzma_mir__
Hometown: Grindleford, England
Camera: Nikon D90
Smartphone: iPhone 5s
Followers: 35.9K
A trained medical doctor, Mir took a break to raise her three kids. Four years ago, she joined Instagram for a creative outlet and looked to her home life for inspiration. “My home is my primary creative outlet, and I love creating beautiful spaces,” she says. “Instagram is such a great platform for sharing and picking up interior inspiration. I love to be a part of that and share photos from my own home.”
Camera of choice: The iPhone is always on me, so I never miss a chance to take a picture. Also, because the iPhone has so many great apps, I get to edit my pictures easily and quickly.
Find your muse: My kids have always enjoyed being a part of my picture-taking process, and seeing as I am happier behind the camera, a happy result is that I get ready-and-willing subjects.
Focus on candid scenes: Sometimes it’s not so much how do I get [my subject] to pose as how she gets me to take her photo. I often mean to take a photo of a landscape or some urban scene, and my kids decide they want in and stride into the shot. Some photos are posed, but most are candid.
Stick to a palette: I have never been good with color, and you will never see yellows or oranges in my feed. I can really [only] handle one or two colors at a time. Surrounding myself with neutrals is soothing.
Compose your feed: I figure out what my feed needs—more
close-ups or distance shots—and take it from there. I usually fit more into my composition than needed and edit out things until it feels right. Less is always more.
Favorite photo editing apps: Snapseed and VSCO. Instagram’s new editing features are great.
Favorite filter: VSCO S2. Saturation is the first to go down.
Name: Paulo del Valle
Username: @paulo_delvalle
Hometown: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Camera: Sony A7R II
Smartphone: iPhone 6s
Followers: 48K
Del Valle signed up on Instagram in 2011 under the username @paulodelvalle and gravitated toward landscapes. “I started to get the hang of it and fell in love with photography. After a couple of years taking landscape photos with my phone, I decided I wanted to shoot other things,” he says. In 2013, he launched his second account, which focuses on “colors, portraits, symmetry.”
Camera of choice: I love how the iPhone 6s takes beautiful and sharp photos. I’ve been using iPhones for many years, and I always upgrade to the new one.
Color-coordinate: I actually think a lot before posting a new photo, so I make sure the colors of the new one will go well with the colors of the previous one.
Play with symmetry: Being a designer kind of makes you a symmetry freak. You pay attention to every detail and try to place things perfectly. I challenge myself to do that with my photography as well.
Talk to strangers: If you see someone really interesting on the street, just approach them, introduce yourself, and tell them the reason why you want to take a photo of them. Make sure to tell them there’s no commercial intent and it’s only for social media. Ask them if they have Instagram, so you can tag them. Make sure to have a nice and informal talk before you take the photo, so they feel more comfortable.
Use the grid: I believe that the key for taking symmetrical photos is patience. First, you have to turn on the grid on your phone or camera, which will divide your screen with lines, making nine rectangles or squares. If you are in front of a door or a building, try to stand exactly in the middle of it, pay attention to the grid so everything is distanced equally, hold your breath, and take the shot.
Pay attention to perspective: Before posting on Instagram, there are two options while editing that can adjust the perspective of your photo (vertically and horizontally), so everything can be parallel to the lines of the grid. Make sure the lines of your photos (doors, windows, and others) follow the grid with its 90-degree lines.
Place your subject: I either choose to place my subject in the middle of the photo or I choose to follow the rule of thirds. When you turn on the grid on your phone or camera, you have two vertical lines and two horizontal lines. I place my subject in one of these lines or in the intersection of them. The horizontal lines help you to align your horizon, so your photos don’t look crooked.
Embrace gray weather: Cloudy days are good for shooting portraits because the light spreads out everywhere.
Favorite photo editing apps: VSCO and Snapseed.
Favorite filter: VSCO S2.
Tag it: #FromWhereIStand, #CatchingCorners, #MakePortraits, #StrideBy, #IHaveThisThingWithFloors, #TheWorldNeedsMoreSpiralStaircases, #InstagrammerDown, #50n50, #MakePortals, #FourCornerPrecisionCrop
Name: Cédric Dasesson
Username: @cedricdasesson
Hometown: Sardinia, Italy
Camera: Canon EOS 50D
Smartphone: iPhone 4s
Followers: 125K
A Sardinia native, Dasesson spends a lot of time at the beach. “The recurring theme [of my account] is the sea and its natural geometry outlining the coasts,” he says.
Interpreting landscape: Through the practice of my studies in architecture, I interpret the landscape in a personal way. I look for geometric elements and natural proportions. Each photograph is a small part of my project and is always selected on the basis of a concept or an idea that I want to tell.
Natural light vs. flash: I prefer to use natural light at certain times of the day and with particular weather conditions in order to communicate my concept of isolation of the material from the rest of the landscape. I use the flash to experiment.
Shadows and light: I love getting soft shadows and contrasts. I usually shoot at dawn and dusk or during overcast days.
Getting noticed on Instagram: You need to find an identifiable style in every shot.
Favorite photo editing app: I’m very fond of VSCO.
Favorite filter: VSCO F2 for a touch of blue.
Tag it: For my sea photos, I use #Sea, #Landscape, #Seascape, #Water, #Blue. I also use #MobileMag, #WellTravelled, #LiveAuthentic.