Snap a picture, choose a filter to transform its look and feel, then post to Instagram. Share to Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr too – it's as easy as pie. It's photo sharing, reinvented.
Oh yeah, did we mention it’s free?
Even if you don’t use Instagram, we’re guessing you’ve encountered an Instagram image somewhere on the web — even if you didn’t realize it.
Instagram’s calling card is the photo filter, a digital layer that, when added to a standard photo, gives it the appearance of professional editing. Some filters enhance the colors in a photo, while other dull the light to a soft glow for an aged, vintage appearance.
But while Instagram’s filters revolutionized mobile photo editing, they’re only a portion of the appeal. The mobile app boasts over 50 million users, despite only living in iOS and Android devices. Instagram launched on Android just this year — it quickly earned 5 million downloads in six days.
Its success caught the eye of the most valuable social network in the world. Facebook acquired Instagram in April for $1 billion. Although we’ve only just begun to witness Facebook’s plans for the photo sharing app, the social giant recently launched its own filter-friendly photo app, dubbed Facebook Camera.
Instagram has surely come a long way, business-wise, since co-founders Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger introduced the app in 2010. But on the whole, the app has remained simple, straightforward and social since its inception.
We’re here to share the Instagram basics, whether you’re new to the network or need some additional tips. Better hurry, though — Instagram has undergone such changes in the past few months, who knows what else is in store.
We’d love to learn about your Instagram experiences. How do you use the app? Can you share any helpful advice or anecdotes for new users
1. Setup
Instagram has always been an almost exclusively mobile platform. Therefore, you must download the iPhone or Android app to your device in order to register an Instagram account.
Instagram accounts are public by default, but you may elect to create a private account. In that case, only users who you approve may follow you and view your photos. Head to your profile tab and scroll down to “Privacy.” There, you may select to make photos private.
Once registered, change your profile picture and edit your profile information, which includes a brief 150-character bio and a website. You may also edit profile information here
2. Notifications
Since Instagram doesn’t have a web-hosted feed of photos, you’ll be doing most of your browsing on mobile. For that reason, you may choose to enrich your mobile experience by setting up push notifications.
Depending on your level of comfort, enable the following push notifications:
- When a user likes or comments on one of your photos.
- When a user @mentions you in a comment.
- When your photo is posted to the Popular page.
Android Instagram users must change notification settings from the app itself. Head to Settings > Edit Profile > Push Notifications.
If you choose not to enable external notifications, Instagram will still keep you apprised of your account activity in-app. New user and comment notifications appear in the News section of the app (see above-left), which you can access via the navigation panel — the icon looks like a speech bubble with a heart in it.
3. Connect to Social
Again, because Instagram is a relatively isolated social app that lives inherently on mobile, it’s important to connect social accounts to get the most out of the experience. You may choose to link Instagram to your Twitter, Facebook, Foursquare, Tumblr, Flickr, Mixi and Weibo accounts (the last two apply only to iPhone users in Japan and China, respectively).
To connect social accounts, head to the Profile Tab > Edit Sharing Settings, then choose the network you wish to connect.
Each time you upload a photo to Instagram, you’ll have the option to share to each of the social networks you’ve enabled, or to none. If you choose to share to no social networks, the photo will post only to Instagram, viewable only by those users who follow you on the app. (More on social sharing later.)
Here are some examples of how Instagram has affected, and in some cases, revolutionized social media:
4. Add a Photo
The bread and butter of Instagram is, obviously, sharing photos. Before you explore much else, I suggest you test it out.
Click the blue camera button in the center of your Instagram navigation panel. By default, Instagram activates your device’s camera, so you may either choose to snap a picture then and there, or choose a picture already saved to your phone. If you choose the latter, click the double-square button on the lower-left of the screen.
If you choose a photo from your camera roll, keep in mind that Instagram sizes photos to perfect squares. Therefore, if you select a photo that was originally taken horizontally (landscape), you’ll have to crop some portions of the image — either that, or live with the default black border.
5. Filters / Borders
Once you’ve either taken or selected a photo, a set of three icons appears beneath the image. These are the 17 famous Instagram filters which add different pre-determined layers to your photos, and give the effect that you’ve altered or professionally edited them. Many filters add “vintage” effects, which have certainly pleased many a hipster.
Scroll through the filters and experiment with the best one for that particular image. You’ll soon find that certain filters work well with specific types of photos, whether outdoor panoramas, personal portraits, odd perspectives, intense colors, etc.
Each filter also has its own associated border. For instance, the Earlybird filter adds rounded edges to your photo, and Kelvin adds a rough, sandpapery frame. You may, however, choose to forego borders altogether by tapping the square “frame” on the upper-left of the edit screen.
Check out these photos, which all take full advantage of Instagram filters:
![12 Fantastic Memorial Day Weekend Instagram Shots [PHOTOS]](http://6.mshcdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/125,memday-instagram-600.jpg)
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