Better Instagram Photo Quality - Tips & Tricks - The WOW! gallery (2023)

There are three possible scenarios where you might want to improve the quality of your Instagram photos:

1. Your images will lose quality while uploading
2. Your images will look pixelated when printed
3. They lack experience and basic techniques

In this blog article we present solutions for all three scenarios.

Best Instagram Photo Quality:

Your images will lose quality while uploading

You just took a great photo and now you want to post it on Instagram. When uploading, however, you notice that the quality has suffered. If you are familiar with this situation, you have come to the right place. We explain how to upload your photos to Instagram without quality loss.

Why are my pictures losing quality?

The most common reason for quality loss is image compression. For those of you who don't know what image compression is, here's a quick overview: Basically, Instagram is all about reducing image size to reduce file size. After all, millions of photos are uploaded every day. If they were uploaded uncompressed, the Instagram server might be overloaded within a few hours.

reduce file size

The larger the file, the more Instagram will compress your image. To avoid quality loss, it is best to reduce the file size yourself before uploading the image to Instagram.

You can reduce file size in many ways:

Reduce image size:If you take your photos at 4000 x 3000 pixels, they will be heavily compressed as all Instagram photos are limited to 1080 x 1080 pixels. So first resize your photos. This saves a lot of storage space. But don't forget that Instagram displays your photos in a specific format. Common formats are 1:1 (square photos), 1.91:1 (landscape photos) and 4:5 (portrait).

Adjust camera settings:There are a number of settings you can adjust on your smartphone or camera to improve the quality of your Instagram photos. Most importantly, your camera captures the highest resolution images. After that you can still change the size.

Compress photos:You can improve the quality of your Instagram pictures by taking charge of compression yourself. Use compression tools likeoptimizilla,lose weight pngÖI love itto keep control over the quality of your images. However, you should only do this if the previous reduction in image size did not achieve the desired effect.

Transfer pictures to your smartphone successfully

You took your photos with an expensive camera, cropped them on your laptop, compressed them and even added a nice filter. At this point, you should not make the mistake of sending the photo to your smartphone via WhatsApp or another messenger. Your image will also be compressed, and you should avoid that at all costs. The following methods are excellent for lossless data transfers:

Update your Instagram app

Probably the easiest way to improve the quality of your Instagram photos is to update your Instagram app. Just go to the App Store and search for Instagram. Now all you have to do is click on "Update". The older your smartphone is, the more likely it is that you won't be able to use all the functions of the Instagram app. Unfortunately, the only way to do that is to buy a new one.

Best Instagram Photo Quality:

Your images will look pixelated when printed

Sometimes you love your Instagram photos so much that you want to print them. Unfortunately, Instagram compresses images so much when uploading that they only look good on your smartphone, but not when you want to print them out. Here's how to avoid this loss of quality.

Do not take photos via Instagram

While it can be convenient to take photos with the Instagram app and the filters are certainly a lot of fun, the camera app on your phone is much better. In Instagram camera, the zoom function is disabled and all your photos will be automatically cropped into a square.

Most smartphones also have an HDR function that allows you to take your photos with different preset exposures. This is a feature that Instagram filters just can't match.

Print directly from your smartphone

Never send your photos via courier to your laptop for printing. They will be heavily compressed and the quality will suffer greatly. Instead, find out if your printer supports wireless printing, or check out our list of ways you can send your photos to your laptop without losing quality.

Best Instagram Photo Quality:

you are still at the beginning

If you're just starting out in photography and Instagram, there's no need to bury your head in the sand. It's normal that your photos don't look perfect yet. In this section, we've collected top tips and tricks that will make your photos look better in no time!

The rule of thirds

The rule of thirds is one of the fundamentals of photography. When looking at your subject through the camera lens, you should divide it into three equal sections horizontally and vertically and place the subject where the imaginary lines intersect.

Simplified rule of thirds with grid function

If you take photos with your smartphone, you have the option to activate the grid function. Grid lines in the camera app help you follow the rule of thirds. You can find this feature on most smartphones: Settings > Camera > Grid.

By the way, if you plan to upload an image with a 1:1 aspect ratio, it can also look good if you place the desired object in the middle of the grid. The motto here is: the proof of the pudding is in the eating! Over time you will find the configuration you like best and create your own style.

Make sure there is enough negative space

"Negative space" refers to the area surrounding a person or object in a photograph. Many novice photographers make the mistake of overloading the image with objects. Your goal should be to eliminate distractions and put the most important object front and center. You can do this by keeping the area around the object clear. The viewer's gaze then automatically falls on the most important object.

be your own tripod

If you want to take great photos, you need a steady hand. You don't always have a three-way tripod at hand. In such cases you have to become a tripod yourself. Look around and find ways to brace or prop your arm. Whether it's a table, park bench, tree or a friend's shoulder, there are no limits to your creativity. The main thing is that you can keep your camera stable.

Check focus

Although camera technology in smartphones has improved over the years, you should not rely on your camera's autofocus. Photos can often become very blurry, especially in poor lighting conditions. If you want to avoid this, you should definitely tap the screen of your smartphone to focus on the subject. If you hold down, the words "AE/EF Lock" will appear and the focus should stop changing.

Go for odd numbers

If you want to present several objects in one picture, there is a simple trick - take an odd number of objects. Your picture will automatically look better. The reason for this is simple: Suppose you see an image with two objects. Your brain must subconsciously decide which of the two objects to focus on. If a third object is still visible, your gaze automatically moves to the center of the image.

Use filters cleverly

Filter: yes or no? Photographers do not seem to agree on this issue. Our recommendation: Yes, but with caution. The fact is that photos with filters are more likely to be liked and commented on. Especially photos with warm filters, high brightness and good contrast are very popular. Aged or saturated images, on the other hand, will make your followers scroll. You should therefore definitely keep your hands off these settings. Since overly edited images lose sharpness, you need to learn how to find the right amount of editing.

Expand your team

You don't need an expensive SLR camera to take great photos for Instagram. There are even annual awards for photographers who take amazing photos with their smartphone. If you still want to invest a little money, you can buy mobile phone accessories that take your photos to a new level:

glasses: Whether macro, wide-angle or fisheye, with special smartphone lenses you can take great photos in every situation.

Tripods: This accessory is usually only suitable for large and heavy cameras. Instead, buy a mini tripod for your smartphone that you can place on flat surfaces to eliminate shaky images once and for all. The best thing about tripods is that you can use them to take wonderful selfies without worrying about your phone tipping over or your arm being seen.

Get the most out of your smartphone: Before investing in accessories, you should start by cleaning your camera lens regularly. Hard to believe, but most amateur photographers would rather buy a new cell phone than worry about cleaning the camera lens. This little trick can result in sharper images in no time!

be a moth

An unusual question, but think about it: what do moths love? Exactly! The light! Light is probably the most important requirement for great photos. Find a light source in every situation and be careful not to shoot against the light unless you want a cool effect. Make the most of the natural light you can. Artificial light, on the other hand, can be wonderfully achieved with some lightboxes. A small box is available from 35 euros.

Conclusion: Better Instagram photo quality

As we have shown, there are several ways to improve the quality of your Instagram photos. How you do it depends on whether you want to upload your Instagram photos without quality loss or want to hang them on the wall. Your photography skills will also need to be tweaked to achieve thisCool photos for Instagram.