Destinations

12 top Instagram tips

Improve your travel shots with help from the pros
Expert guide to using Instagram | Travel food and fashion photography
Phedon Papamichael
  • Alistair TaylorYoung has photographed for Cond Nast Traveller since it launched everywhere from Salta to Namibia. Take...
    Alistair Taylor-Young

    The travel photographer

    Alistair Taylor-Young has photographed for Condé Nast Traveller since it launched - everywhere from Salta to Namibia.

    Take many pictures of the same subject, but move your phone or yourself each time, and vary the exposure (experiment by tapping different places on the screen). Create a selection to edit, post or delete later - there's always a best one.

    Anticipate the moment with action shots. The iPhone6 has a fantastic burst feature, which takes multiple images while the action is happening, so you can choose your favourite.

    Try not to zoom in with the iPhone: it is a slightly wide-angle lens, not a telephoto.

  • David Loftus

    The food snapper

    David Loftus has photographed more than 100 recipe books for chefs including Jamie Oliver, April Bloomfield and Rachel Khoo.

    Always shoot in daylight - you only need a tiny pool of light - and turn your flash off. Not only does it annoy people in restaurants, but it gives horrid harsh shadows.

    Avoid over-saturating food with filters and making it look unreal.

    A napkin or some tinfoil can make a great reflector next to a window or block out unwanted fake lights overhead.

  • Phedon Papamichael

    The cinematographer

    Phedon Papamichael was nominated for an Oscar for Nebraska, and other credits include The Ides of March and The Descendants.

    Break the rules of conventional composition - I rarely centre things. I like to give space and contrast the scale around a subject to offset it. It makes the eye go to it, but also shows that item's context and relationship to its surroundings.

    Experiment with the tilt shift and vignette tools to draw the eye in and put more emphasis on what you want to feature.

    Don't be afraid of black and white. Sunsets and golden light get more likes, but the high-contrast Inkwell filter is one of my favourites.

  • Scott Schuman

    The street style star

    Scott Schuman launched The Sartorialist in 2005 and since then has captured stylish folk around the globe. He also shoots for GQ, Vogue and Burberry.

    I use Instagram's tools (the little spanner symbol) rather than filters to edit - brighten, play with the saturation. Sharpness is useful if you don't hold the phone perfectly steady.

    Take the saturation right down in tools, and then play with the contrast until it looks good. Photographing people at night, the phone's flash is so strong that it blows out everyone.

    Most people aren't models, so it's better if you don't ask them to pose. Let them do what they are going to do and react to that.

    This feature was first published in Condé Nast Traveller April 2015

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