This week’s chapter builds on assignment one by ‘getting to know’ Instagram better through the effectiveness of its built-in filters. It also reflects on the impact of film photographers and their techniques in the #52Assignments Filter Tips chapter.

The second assignment looks back to what photographers did in the era of film, before digital cameras arrived, and how they created a filtered image without the ease of a digital camera and editing programs. The chapter is a short read but I recommend it for some fascinating insights and historical background into working methods.

• Check out the 52 Assignments Instagram book for the Filter Tips chapter.

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Instagram Filter Tips

Having used Assignment 1 to familiarise myself with some of the editing options in IG, I was able to start using the filters immediately. You choose a photo, preview your chosen filter, adjust by tapping a second time to change the intensity, then post.

Instagram’s filters are more a set of adjustments already loaded into the app, almost like a photo editing ‘preset’ which saves a lot of time and makes your changes instant. The assignment in the book shows a series of landscapes treated with IG filters and these show how amazing, atmospheric or simply weird the filters can be.

The first image I post here is, like the others, on Instagram under DashKittenPhotos and began life as a digital photo with no cropping or filters. As Instagram uses a square format I had to resize the image and then I added my choice of filters.

I used three filters before I posted the image. A touch of Warmth then boosted the Saturation and finished with the Vignette Effect.

How Did I Do with the Filter Tips?

I decided to add a New Zealand themed image because it allowed me to use a filter I had not tried before. The building here is the New Zealand seat of Government, known as the ‘Beehive’ due to its shape. The exterior was designed by Basil Spence a Scottish architect who also worked on Coventry Cathedral.

I had to straighten the crooked photograph, taken on my smartphone, before adding brightness and returning to the Filters option to add Lark for a really vivid blue sky.

The sky was definitely not this dreamlike blue in the original photograph.

Pushing the Filter ‘Envelope’

I was curious how the Instagram filters would cope with an image already filtered, so before I posted Silver’s photograph, I used the Photo Lab app to create a raindrop effect in black and white. It looks interesting so I added it to IG.

I used Edit – Brightness so that Silver’s face is strongly featured in the image, then I used the Vignette for a subtle dark edge.

With filters, I think it is a case of developing your own tastes that fit with the identity you want to display on Instagram, or fit with your brand. This means exploring and trying every filter to see which ones appeal most and then using them consistently.

• Join the journey in my special DashKittenPhotos account on Instagram and don’t forget! You can find ALL the Assignment posts HERE.

Have you tried any of the Instagram filters and found them amazing or awful? Let me know.

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The 52 Assignment Posts Details:

• Join the journey in my special DashKittenPhotos account on Instagram.
• You can find the book 52 Assignments Instagram and the rest of the series via this Amazon link.
• Read the book review that started the series.