Instagram is a social media platform that allows you to post and share pictures that could show off your prowess in photography or convey messages. Aimed at the effective use of pictures, the platform also makes it possible to enhance your shots with a variety of image filters.

The success of Instagram comes from the ease of adjusting major characteristics of a picture including its brightness, tone, contrast and sharpness. Besides this, ready-made filters and effects help the user to post highly enhanced and customised pictures according to one’s taste and intent.

The discussion about Instagram in photography training courses is very relevant in current times. Everyone, from individuals to enterprises are using the platform to push the content for their diverse purposes. The business use of Instagram is a raging application, that could even be surpassing its contemporaries.

In fact, photography colleges in Hyderabad like Hamstech are keenly guiding the students in this new activity of social media application of photography. Instagram, that was launched in 2010, has developed phenomenally in just a few years. It is truly scaling up the senses of.  “a picture is worth a thousand words”.

With Instagram, many filters that were earlier available only in image editing software is now available to even those who have no knowledge of graphic design. Of course, training in a photography training institute multiplies the advantage of using these filters with diligence and accuracy.

Instagram’s filters are designed with specific effects that serve different purposes. These could work optimally in personal or business applications of the tool. A person who is knowledgeable about how the effects are created in image editing can identify these benefits and apply them wisely.

The filters are created by using different methods including drawing on top of the image and applying pixel math. The algorithms for these filters are developed after careful planning and observation on an image editing platform.

Here are a few Instagram filters that are widely popular:

Gingham: A filter very much for hipsters and fashionistas, it washes out the photo by reducing highlights and saturation. It also applies a white vignette to the picture. It makes the darker pictures gain a warmer tone while bright pictures are made brighter.

Lo-fi: The filter makes the picture more intense by increasing the saturation and adding shadows. This filter is also a favourite when it comes to business application like food photography.

Aden: This is the filter that gives a retro look to your picture. It can help a lot to curb photos with harsh light in it. It softens the image and adds a dreamy effect to it.

Hudson: This filter is used to temper warm colours in the picture and give it a cooler look. Outdoor photographs can benefit greatly from this filter, especially when it’s about a cityscape or nature with a winter feel.

Clarendon: This is another filter that cools the picture down. It adds light to lighter areas and darkness to darker areas of the picture. It also adds a tint of cyan to the highlight areas, effectively cooling the image down. It’s best to be used on minimalist images.

X-Pro II: One of Instagram’s oldest filters, it spikes up the contrast, adds a high amount of vignette and makes the image warmer. The edges are blackened too. It suits wide shots particularly like the ones of nature or a city.

Inkwell: This is the filter to use if you want to convert pictures into black and white images. It’s best for portraits.

Moon: This filter turns images to black and white with more intense shadows. You can give portraits a vintage look with this filter.