If you’ve been to a restaurant recently, chances are as soon as the food is served you’ve seen the hip, trendy and cool swiftly whipping their smartphones out instead of reaching for a knife and fork . You’ve probably then seen them then swiftly begin snapping photographs of their food from a multitude of angles. Chances are, these photographs are going to end up on the media sharing platform that is Instagram.
The Facebook-owned platform is now the go-to service for photographs of culinary delights, holiday snaps from exotic locations, photos from celebrities and, of course, narcissistic selfies. We’re going to show you how to get started with Instagram as well as how to get the best out of the platform and some of its newest features.
BOXOUT:
Instagram glossary
@mention
When you mention someone directly over Instagram using their username. The message is still public, and will appear in the comments below an image or video but the user in question will get a notification. Many people use @mentions to draw someone’s attention to a particular image or video or to credit someone with a photo.
Tagging
When you or someone else posts an image or video to Instagram, there is an option to ‘Tag’ an Instagram user. This means the photo or video will appear in the ‘Photos of you’ section of a user’s profile.
DM
Direct messages sent through Instagram’s private messaging channel, Instagram Direct, where only the recipient(s) will be able to see your messages, unlike public mentions or posts.
Like
Clicking the heart icon beneath a photo or video will ‘Like’ the content. It’s a way of showing you like a particular image or video and a way to essentially bookmark some content if you ever want to find it again.
Hashtag
A means of tagging photos and video about a particular theme or using a popular description Often used by Instagram communities around certain topics such as cooking or fitness. Hashtags used in photo descriptions or used in comments can be tapped to see other content using that hashtag. Examples could be #archery or #instafood.
Location A bit like a hashtag, you can add a location to your images. Many public spaces and businesses can be selected, so you can choose the specific restaurant you’re taking photos in. People can then view content grouped by location, which is a great way to do research on a place you’re going to visit. The location even shows up in a map.
Follow The equivalent of being friends with someone on Facebook although they do not have to follow you back. Content from people you follow will appear in your Instagram timeline.
END BOXOUT
Getting started
First, you need to download the Instagram app for your smartphone. It's available in the Apple App Store and in Google Play for Android users; there's also a beta available for Windows Phone users.
IMG: Instagram username
Caption: Picking a username is an important consideration
During registration and just like with Twitter, you’ll want to choose a unique username. This is important as it’s what people will use to find you on Instagram to follow you or @mention you. It’s therefore probably best not to choose anything too embarrassing but try to capture some of your personality or interests.
Your username will show up whenever you like or comment on content, too, so can be a quick indicator of what your interests are if you are looking to build up a larger Instagram following. Think ‘FitRich’ if you’re into fitness and your name's Richard, for example. Unsurprisingly, as Instagram is a Facebook company, you can use your Facebook account to speed up the registration process or use an email address.
Choose a profile photo
IMG: Instagram profile crop
Caption: Instagram will crop your profile photo as a circle, so factor that into your choice of profile image.
Like your Instagram username, your profile photo can be a good indicator of what your interests and content will be about. If you’re into fishing and will post lots of photos things related to fishing, consider a profile photo that shows off this interest. This will help you pick up followers that are interested in fishing as they’ll instantly get an idea of what you content you’ll post. You can either use a photo from your smartphone’s gallery, take a new photo using your smartphone camera or import your profile photo from either Facebook or Instagram.
Choose people to follow
It’s now that you can get started with deciding who you follow. Instagram can, with your approval, look through your Facebook friends to see if any are also on Facebook. Similarly, it can also look through your smartphone’s contacts list. This is a good start to following people you know. Instagram will then recommend people to follow but these are typically celebrities, such as Taylor Swift, who are on the service so might not be relevant to your interests.
Choose who can follow you
If you don’t want just anyone to be able to follow your Instagram exploits, you can set your account as a Private Account in the settings menu accessible from your Profile page. This will mean you’ll have to manually approve all new followers. Note this will not stop people from following you before you turn Private Account mode on, so if privacy is important it’s best to do this straight away.
Navigating Instagram
The Instagram app is broken down into five main sections and this is identical between the iOS and Android versions. On the main screen, you’ll be presented with a row of five icons at the bottom of the screen.
Home
IMG: Instagram main screen
Caption: From left to right: Home, Discover, Camera, Activity, Profile. At the top-right you can access Instagram Direct
You’ll start out on the Home (or timeline) screen. This is where content from people you follow is collated. If you’re not following anyone, nothing will appear here, so start by following people you know or people you’re interested in through the Discover function.
The Home screen is where you’ll do most of your Instagram interaction. Scrolling vertically, content from the people you follow appear in a list format. You can ‘like’ an image by tapping the heart icon or by double-tapping the photo or video itself. The number of likes a piece of content has received appears underneath. You can also leave a comment that will appear publically.
IMG: Instagram Send To
Caption: You can now send a photo or video you haven’t taken yourself to someone you follow
A recently added feature is the ability to send a link to a photo or video that you yourself haven’t taken. So if you come across a photo you think one of your friends will like, you can direct their attention to it through an Instagram DM with an embedded link to the post. Just hit the arrow icon next to the comments button. Previously, Instagram users would @mention friends in the comments, so that they would get a notification about the image. Instagram has added the new Send To feature to help clear up the resulting clutter that was taking away the intended use for commenting.
Instagram Direct
IMG: Instagram Direct
Caption: Instagram Direct lets you send private messages and content
From the Home screen, you can access Instagram Direct by tapping the tray icon on the top right of your screen. From here you can see any Instagram Direct conversations you have running. Content you send to one of your friends through the Send To function will also appear here grouped by person. Hitting the ‘+’ icon will let you send either a photo, video or message to someone you follow. You can’t tag people in Instagram Direct messages and they also won’t appear on hashtag or location pages, so everything is completely private to the conversation.
Discover
IMG: Instagram discover
Caption: Discover is a great way to find new people to follow or search for content
The Discover tab is accessible through the magnifying glass icon. Here you’re able to see a curated feed of content. Instagram pulls this together based on things it thinks will interest you through the people that you follow. So if you follow a lot of food bloggers, chances are you’ll see a lot of food-related photos and video showing up here.
At the top of the screen is a ‘Discover People’ option that will recommend people you can follow, again based on people you follow. Above this is a search option. Using the options below the search field that appear once you touch the search, you can search based on usernames, hashtags or places depending on what you’re looking for. This is useful if you want to find photos from a particular restaurant or tourist hotspot, for example.
Searching for a hashtag will show you how many posts have used that particular descriptor. If you want your photo or video to reach a bigger community, consider researching popular hashtags. It’s a sure-fire way to help pick up lots of Likes and Followers.
Capturing your first photo or video
IMG: Instagram Camera Gallery
Caption: Here is where you’ll share images from your gallery or taken using the Instagram square camera
Here’s where you’ll need to go to start posting content of your own. As you might guess, it’s accessible from the camera icon. Here you are presented with three options: Gallery (or Library if you’re on iOS), Photo and Video all presented at the bottom of the screen.
Choosing the Gallery option will let you scroll through images and video saved on your smartphone, which you can then share. You’ll notice two icons at the bottom of the image preview.
Previously, Instagram would only let you post images in its famous 1:1 square cropped format. The new expand icon will let you share your image its original aspect ratio, whether that’s portrait or landscape, meaning no longer will you risk cropping out people from images.
IMG:Instagram Layout
Caption: Layout lets you create collages in a variety of shapes
The other icon is for Layout. This is actually a separate app from Instagram so you’ll be asked to install it. This allows you to easily make collages of numerous images that you can then share back in the Instagram app.
IMG: Instagram Camera
Caption: You can capture either still images or 15 second video
Selecting the Photo option will allow you to take a photo. Note that you’re only able to capture images in Instagram’s square format if you use the built-in camera. If you want to share photos in any other aspect ratio, you’ll need to use your smartphone’s camera and then share the photo through the Gallery option instead. There are icons for toggling the rear and front-facing cameras, as well as for turning the flash on or off.
The video mode isn’t too different, but you’ll notice the shutter button turns red. You need to hold the button down to capture video and you can only capture a maximum of 15 seconds. By letting go of the button and then resuming again, you can create cuts in the video and you can also delete the last recorded segment if it’s not perfect.
Once you’re done selecting or capturing an image or video, hit the blue right arrow at the top-right of the screen to move on. The next screen is Instagram’s famous filters. These apply different artistic filters to the photo or video to add some stylish flourish. These vary from adjusting the saturation to adding vignette effects. Double-tapping any of the filters brings up a slide adjustment so you can tone down the level of the effect.
IMG: Instagram image adjustment
Caption: There are plenty of ways to tweak an image or video to make it more stylish
You can also adjust contrast using the sun icon or hit the spanner icon for additional adjustments. Here you can make more granular changes to the image that are also made by the filters. You can also adjust the image’s rotation via the Adjust option. From the Adjust menu, you can also adjust zoom by using pinch gestures. Once you’re done tweaking, hit the forward arrow in the corner to move on.
IMG: Instagram share to
Caption: Here you can write a description to go along with your content
From the next screen, you’re able to write a description of your image. This appears directly below and you’ll also be able to use hashtags here. This will help it reach a wider audience who also use or search for the particular hashtag.
Use the Tag People and Add Location options to add additional information. Tagging people will have the content appear in their profile page under ‘Photos of you’. A few location recommendations based on your smartphone’s GPS will be underneath and you can scroll horizontally to see more or otherwise just search for the place yourself. If you add location detail to your photos, these will appear on the Photo Map on your Profile page to show off how much of a worldly traveller you are.
Under the Share section, you have the option to have your Instagram post also automatically share on other social platforms you’ve integrated including Facebook and Twitter. Once you’re all finished, hit the tick in the corner and you’re done.
Activity
The Activity tab is available from the speech bubble icon. It’s broken down into two tabs for ‘Following’ and ‘You’. The ‘You’ tab is where all of your Instagram notifications are listed. These will include any @mentions of your username, new comments on your posts and whenever anyone likes your content.
IMG: Instagram activity you
Caption: Watch your Instagram popularity grow in Activity
The ‘Following’ tab shows you what the people you follow have liked on Instagram. It’s a great way to find new content and users you might have a mutual interest in.
IMG: Instagram activity following
Caption: Keep tabs on your friends’ activity from the Following tab
Profile
Last but not least is your Profile page. The top displays a running tally of the number of posts you’ve made as well as the number of people who you follow and follow you. Touching any of these will take you to a relevant list.
IMG: Instagram Profile
Caption: Keep a tally of how popular you are on Instagram from here
You can use the Edit Your Profile button to edit the little description that appears on your profile. Use this to give a description of your interests so users know who you are and what sort of posts they can expect from your account, as well as any relevant websites.
Below this are four icons. The grid and list icons will display all of your posts in the respective formats, and this applies to when you view other people’s profiles, too. A list makes it easier to scroll through every post complete with the comments.
IMG: Instagram photo map
Caption: Show off how much you have travelled by adding locations information to your posts
The pin icon brings up a photo map that shows the number of photos you’ve taken in different locations. You can use a pinch-to-zoom gesture to zoom in and out of the world map. Zooming in closer to a country, for example, will then provide more granular detail such as cities you’ve posted Instagram posts from.
IMG: Instagram photos of you
Caption: You can control what posts can be tagged
The last icon on the Profile page is for ‘Photos of you’ (or Photos of [Username] if you’re viewing someone else’s Profile page). Here all relevant posts that have been tagged with a specific Instagram user are posted in a grid format. If you hit the options menu from here you can decide if photos tagged using your username are added automatically, or if you want to manually approve each one.
IMG: Instagram options
Caption: Change your account settings from the Options menu including image upload quality
Finally, from the Profile page you can also access Options. Useful settings from here include being able to access the posts you’ve liked, which makes the ‘Like’ feature useful for bookmarking posts you want to see again later. You can also tell Instagram to use less data, although this might slow down the overall experience, and change image upload quality.
There are also toggles to ‘Save Original Photos’ and ‘Save Videos After Posting’. These affect what happens after you use the Instagram native camera. With the first option turned on, a full, non-square cropped version of the photo is saved to your phone. Similarly, the latter will save a local version of any video recorded. If you find yourself often running out of space on your device, it might be worth turning these both off to conserve storage.
