While Instagram filters can’t help you turn mediocre photos into masterpieces, you can certainly use them to make your best photos pop. There are over 40 original Instagram filters that hobbyists and professional photographers alike can find useful – the hardest part is choosing the right one! Your Instagram stories and posts will look stylish with adequate filters.
Filters can change the whole mood of a photo and of course generate more likes and comments, which is especially important if Instagram is one of your main sources of income.
In this article, we’ll go over a selection of popular Instagram filters and what opportunities to use them!
1. Clarendon
Clarendon is a great filter for many types of portraits including selfies. This filter adds light to the lighter areas and dark to the darker areas of the photo, which increases the contrast. Apart from that, Clarendon also enhances the saturation and cools the photo by adding a cyan tint to the highlights. When it comes to mid-tones, they are on the warm side in Clarendon and this is perfect for any skin tone!
Perfect for: portrait
2.Juno
Juno is a popular filter because it is somewhat versatile. This filter only slightly increases the contrast and saturation of the photo and intensifies warm tones like reds and yellows. If you want the warm tones in your photo to stand out more than the cool tones, you can experiment with Juno. These filters can also help you bring your urban photos and Instagram stories to life.
Perfect for: urban portraits and cityscapes
3. Ludwig
Ludwig is an Instagram filter named after the German-American architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe who invented the phrase less is more. This interesting filter reduces the saturation and luminance for yellow, green, cyan, blue, and magenta. However, it makes the reds more saturated and the shadows & highlights more defined. This filter can also add an intense effect to black and white photos!
Perfect for: abstract and architectural photography
4. Lark
Lark is a great filter for a variety of shooting conditions, including low light. You can use this Instagram filter when you want to brighten up your photo a bit or make it fade a bit. Lark increases exposure, reduces the saturation of red, purple, and magenta, and increases the saturation of blue and green. Because it makes blues and greens stand out more, it’s ideal for Instagram stories of landscapes and seascapes.
Perfect for: nature photography
5. Ginghams
Gingham has become one of the favorite filters for many Instagram users who love portraits. This filter gives an image a vintage feel by adding a bit of haze and desaturation. It also reduces highlights and applies a white vignette to the image. Because it creates a very specific warm and retro atmosphere, it is perfect for style portraits and Instagram stories and product photography.
Perfect for: retro and product portraits
6. Lo-fi
Lo-fi is another popular Instagram filter that is known to make things more intense. This filter has been around for years and is still going strong. This increases saturation and intensifies shadows, which makes images quite dramatic and dark. This can make fashion and urban photography very appealing and enhance the 90s aesthetic.
Perfect for: grunge and urban photography
7. X-Pro II
X-Pro II is the most dramatic Instagram filter. It adds a strong vignette and it makes the shadows really vivid. This great filter is based on a photo development technique called cross-processing, in which a photo is deliberately processed in chemical solutions for different types of film resulting in somewhat odd results. Just like Lo-fi, this is one of the oldest Instagram filters but still quite popular. However, you may want to avoid it if you like smooth post-processing.
Good for: concert photography and all things dramatic
To learn more about the importance of Instagram and Instagram filters for photographers, check out the following link!
Further Reading About Instagram And Instagram Filters:
- 11 Reasons Why Every Photographer Needs Flickr Or Instagram
- 9 Tips for Finding the Best Photography Hashtags on Instagram
- 6 Steps To A More Enjoyable Instagram Experience
- Best Instagram Filters In Photography Apps
- Lightroom presets vs. Instagram filters
- The 5 Best Photo Editing Apps You Need to Improve Your Instagram Feed