10 Tips To Make Insta-Worthy Pictures in NYC!
New York City is one of the most Instagrammed cities in the world!
No wonder there are almost 90 million pictures on Instagram with the hashtag #newyork!
Visiting NYC and planning to make a lot of pictures? Do you want to make sure your NYC-pictures pop out? Try these 10 Tips To Make Insta Worthy Pictures in NYC (or beyond! ;)).
Sense of Place
What environment are you in? What kind of atmosphere do you want to create?
1. Reflections
You can use reflections of the typical street life, f.e. yellow cabs or houses with fire-escape-stairs, to bring extra atmosphere and 'sense of place' to your picture.
2. Dimensions
Street Art and murals are always a hit on Instagram, but it's difficult to give them a sense of place or to show how really big they are. You can include part of the surroundings in your photo, to illustrate how large the artwork is. A person (walking by )or a bicycle or even a part of a window or a door can help emphasize their dimension.
3. Frame
Try to find a 'frame' in the streets and put your subject in the frame (or wait for the right moment ;)).
Composition
The composition of a picture can change your image from 'Meh' to 'Wow!'
4. Rule of thirds
When you use the rule of thirds, you divide your image using 2 horizontal lines and 2 vertical lines and positon your subject at on of the points where these lines meet or on one of these lines. I always use my camera grid to help me to follow the rule of thirds.
5. Lines
If you look around you, you can always find 'lines' in your surroundings. These lines can help to bring the viewers attention to the subject.
Level 2 of playing-with-lines: try to let the lines come from one (or more) corner(s) of your picture.
6. Point-of-view
There are always different points-of-view possible. You can make a common view more interesting by experimenting with the different points of view. Try to look at your subject from above, from below or put your camera on the floor.
Follow The Light
'Light turns the ordinary into the magical.' (-Trent Park-)
7. Light on subject
Early in the morning and late in the afternoon, the sunlight is low. This creates beautiful shadows AND beautiful soft and warm light. This is the perfect moment to use this wonderful light to let your subject shine.
8. Use the shadows
When there is light, there are also shadows. Shadows can create interesting lines. These are great to play with. You can use them in to complete your composition or you can uses them als lines to draw the attention to your subject.
Instagood
9. Tag Tag Tag
Don't forget to tag the artist or the place where you took the picture.
When you take pictures of street art, most of the time you can find the name of the artist on the artwork. It's so fascinating to google the name of the artist and to learn more about his or her work. Most street art artists have an instagram account. Show them your appreciation of their work by tagging them in your picture(s).
Most shops, bars, restaurants, ... etc. also have an Instagram account. If you tag them you might get reposted and you can show your followers where to find the place you took your picture.
10. Hashtag Hashtag Hashtag
There are countless hashtags in the world of Instagram. If you take the time to choose the right hashtags, that fit perfectly with the image you want to post, a lot more people will find your picture.
Some of my favorite NYC-hashtags:
Don't hesitate to check and interact with the pictures who use the hashtags you use (or the hashtags you want to use). This is what 'Social Media' is all about. ❤️
11. Have Fun!
The most important tip I can give is to have fun with Instagram! It's not about the likes, but about the wonderful community and the lovely like-minded people you can meet through this medium.
I'm looking forward to seeing your NYC pictures on Instagram! You can always tag me (@silviebonne) in your caption or reaction to let me know you've posted a picture while using one of these tips. I Like It! ;)
There's more where that came from!
More Instagram tips and Instagrammable Spots?
In my book 'The NYC Guide For Instagrammers', you can find one hundred scenic, impressive and Instagrammable spots in New York. Each of these 100 spots comes with some background information, some relevant hashtags and an 'Instatip'.
Williamsburg
All these pictures where made in Williamsburg.
If you want to know more about this Instagrammable neighborhood, you can check the blogpost 'Buurt in Beeld'.
All images on this site and blog are protected according to the copyrights.
Images cannot be copied, downloaded or placed on one's own website or social media without written permission from the photographer (Silvie Bonne) and the people in the photographs.
Alle beelden op deze site en blog zijn beschermd volgens de auteurs- en portretrechten. Beelden kunnen niet gekopieerd, gedownload of op eigen site of social media geplaatst worden zonder schriftelijke toestemming van de fotograaf (Silvie Bonne) en de geportretteerden.
