The Beginner's Guide to Instagram Part 2
1. Tilt-Shift
Another celebrated editing option on Instagram, tilt-shift allows you to selectively focus certain planes of the photo, almost as if you were using a special DSLR lens. Tilt-shift gives the appearance of an altered depth of field, which can make smartphone snaps look stunning when used wisely.
Experiment with the tilt-shift feature by tapping the button above the photo that looks like a water droplet. From there, choose either the horizontal bar or the circle. The bar adds a hack instagram thin field of focus across your image, which you may tap and move up and down, or two-finger tap and swivel to rotate. Or move the circle tilt-shift across your photo for a more focused effect.
You’ll find that tilt-shift elevates many photos to a professional (and sometimes artistic) standard. But other times, tilt-shift can seem out of place. Use your best judgment and artistic know-how to determine the effect you’re looking for.
Here's why Android users got excited:
2. Other Option
Before saving your photo, test a few other edit options. Tap the sun icon on the lower-left of the edit screen to apply the Lux effect — essentially, an auto-enhance button that enriches the colors in your image.
Additionally, the curved arrow to the right of the frame option rotates your image, and the next camera icon flips your camera front-facing so you can take a picture of yourself.
3. Video
With Instagram video, you can record short video clips ranging anywhere from three to fifteen seconds long. To record video, press the camera button and and choose the video recorder option on the right.
Choose to film either one continuous segment or several clips spliced together, which allows for some creative stop-motion or animated videos. To create multiple clips, lift your finger off the record button. If you aren't happy with a previous clip, delete it by pressing the delete arrow.
When you're finished recording your video, click Next to add a filter, exactly as you would a photo, only Instagram Video offers different filter options than photo. For users with the iPhone 4S or any later iPhone model, this stage also includes a video stabilizing feature. Though turned on by default, stabilization can be toggled off with a single click.
If you don't like the pressure of creating video live, you may choose an existing a video in your phone's gallery. iPhone users can upload multiple saved videos, splicing them together.
4. Share
Once your photo is ready to go, click the green checkmark. This brings you to the social sharing screen.
If you wish, add a caption explaining what you’ve photographed, an anecdote, or really anything your social networks would enjoy. Feel free to add category hashtags and @mention people, especially if you plan to share via Twitter. The caption will be the text of the tweet, and the app will file hashtags and @mentions accordingly.
If you’ve enabled location services, you even have the option to tag where you took the photo.
Then, depending on what networks you’ve linked to Instagram, toggle the accounts to share across those platforms.
The way your photo appears when posted depends on the style of the social network to which you post. When sharing to Facebook, your Instagram photo will appear in the News Feed with the attached caption.
You may also choose to retroactively share the Instagram photos you’ve already posted. Head to your profile, then select a photo. To share, click the icon on the lower-right of the screen — it has three dots. Choose the “Share post” option and select one of your networks. Or choose “copy URL” to share manually.
5. Follow Users
Now you’re ready to find users to follow. Chances are many of your social media friends are already using Instagram, and on top of that, a bunch of celebrities are, too.
Head to your profile tab and select “Find Friends.” You may search for friends who have connected their Facebook and Twitter accounts to Instagram, or you may input your phone’s contact list to generate further connections. Or search by name, username or tag (e.g. “#skydiving”).
Finally, Instagram does a great job curating suggested users and trending photos. Head to the Popular page (see right), denoted by the star on your navigation panel, and peruse photos that strike your fancy.
Once you’ve followed some users, you’ll begin to see their photos appear in your news feed, accessed by tapping the icon that looks like a house on the left side of the navigation panel. Alongside user photos, you’ll see people who have liked or commented on the photo. Add your own two cents!
Learn more about interesting Instagramers to follow here:
Learning how to use Instagram - Beginners Guide 