I’m completely hooked on Instagram. It has sparked has sparked a new wave of retro-looking snaps and sold to Facebook for a cool $1bn back in April. It’s one of those simple ideas where you think, “why didn’t I think of that?” I’m still relatively new to Instagram but I’m always looking for new people to follow. I’m by no means an expert but with my limited knowledge I’ve put together a list of Instagram tips and suggested people to follow based some of my favorite Instagrammers.
7 QUICK TIPS
– Less is more. Go easy on the filters, color saturation and bokeh. Natural is best.
– Take photos at dusk or dawn to catch the low sunlight and shadows.
– Use a collage app such as Photo Grid to combine a few photos that tell a story.
– There doesn’t always need to be a bike in the photo. Sometimes it’s best to leave a bit to the imagination.
– Caption your photos. A picture tells a thousand words, but a short caption can put it into context.
– Try to shoot at unique angles. Camera phones can fit into places that DSLR’s cannot so you can get some amazing perspectives.
– I too sometimes can’t resist the erge to take photos of my amazing looking breakfast, but my first rule of Instagram is that if you take any more than one photo of your food in a 7 day period, you’re unfollowed!
SUGGESTIONS TO FOLLOW
There are a million excellent photographers on Instagram, but it’s becoming a place where people showcase their professional work instead of posting photos from their camera phone.
A few of my personal favorite cycling Instagramers I follow who largely post camera phone photos in their feeds:
Jered and Ashley Gruber. What can I say? Love their work.
http://instagram.com/jeredgruber
I don't know how I stumbled upon Motiveflow but he's got some great shots.
http://instagram.com/motiveflow
Alain Rumpf, president of Global Cycling Promotions, is also a man who loves to get out for a ride. He has some spectacular photos in his Instagram feed
http://instagram.com/alainrumpf
Caley Fretz is a writer for Velonews and splits his year between Boulder, Colorado and Annecy, France. His Instagram feed shows us a glimpse of what it's like to be a cycling journalist living the dream in France
http://instagram.com/caleyfretz
I don't know anything about Dolophonic but I love his/her feed which gives me a breath of escapism during my day
http://instagram.com/dolophonic
Taylor Phinney's Instagram feed gives us an insight into his life and what it's like to be Taylor Phinney. Most of his photos are well composed too.
http://instagram.com/TaylorPhinney
Kristof Ramon has to be one of my favorite cycling photographers. If he only updated his Instagram feed more often...
http://instagram.com/kramon_velophoto
Laura Meseguer is a Spanish sports journalist. Her Instagram feed is not necessarily artistic, but it give us a peek into her life which looks like an amazing one to be living!
http://instagram.com/Laura_Meseguer
MMcyclist is a "Cyclist who enjoys photography. Will stop anytime during a ride to snap a shot that I can't pass up." There are some fantastic cycling photos in her feed.
http://instagram.com/mmcyclist
The Omega Pharma - Quick-Step Cycling Team (OPQS) is one of the few cycling teams making good use out of Instagram.
http://instagram.com/opqscyclingteam
Team Sky is also doing a good job with Instagram, but most photos are of Wiggo on the TT bike or Cav doing something outrageous.
The only purpose of following Tom Boonen's Instagram is to see what a day in the life of Tom Boonen is like.
http://instagram.com/bomtoonen
Chris Benchetler's feed is more about adventure photography, but there's lot of cycling in there.
http://instagram.com/chrisbenchetler
Dan Patitucci is another adventure travel photographer but has lots of excellent cycling photos as well. I'm just not certain how many came out of a camera phone