How to do Instagram Stories like a pro
Instagram is one of the most popular social apps on the market. Since it was acquired by Facebook back in 2012 its user base has grown substantially. One of the key reasons behind this enormous growth is the implementation of ‘Instagram Stories’.
In this article we’re going to explain exactly what these stories are and how you can do them to perfection. This is especially useful for the fact that specialists predict users will spend just as long, if not longer, looking through peoples’ stories than they will scrolling through the actual content being uploaded.
So without further ado, let’s discuss how you can do Instagram Stories like a pro…
What is an Instagram Story?
The idea behind a story was first introduced by Snapchat. The basic concept was that you could share an array of photos or videos to your account which could then be viewed by anybody who views your profile. This feature was quickly adopted by other communication giants such as WhatsApp and Instagram.
Things were then taken further with the addition of cool filters and effects. These features proved immensely popular in letting you customize your photo and resulted in improved engagement with the public.
How To Make a Story
So now that you know a bit about what a story is, you’re probably eager to start taking your own photography to create your own. So there are two different options you have available; photos or videos. Both of which can be implemented very easily. First things first you’ll want to open Instagram. In the top-left hand corner you’ll see your profile picture next to a + symbol.
You’ll also see the stories that your friends have shared. If you press the + symbol then you’ll enter the Instagram camera mode. From here you’ll have options to adjust whether to use the front-facing camera or the one on the rear, as well whether or not to use the flash. To actually take your story, simply tap on the shutter icon. A quick tap will take a photo and holding the icon down will engage the video recording feature.
After that you’ll be greeted with a new menu which will show you your story.
How to Add Filters
One of the cool things behind your story is the ability to add filters and augmented reality features. To do this, when you’ve taken your photo or video, navigate to the right of the icon which changes the camera angle (front or back camera). That will open up the possibility of the augmented reality fun. There will be tons of options and filters here, as well as augmented entertainment from hearts, faces, sunglasses, animals etc. You can even adjust the color of your story from here.
Back on the screen where you actually take your photo, upon snapping yourself or whatever it is you are snapping, you’ll see some icons towards the top of the screen. This will include the option to add text (with a useful Aa symbol to help you find it) as well as icons that let you add imagery such as hats or emojis and even a pencil symbol which lets you draw and customize your photo further.
Other Modes
Besides the standard mode, which just involves taking a photo or video and editing it accordingly, there are also a couple of different modes you can utilize. One is to be able to stream live content straight to your story. This is useful if you’re witnessing something epic and don’t want to lose time repeatedly trying to take a video.
The other mode is depicted by a boomerang. This lets you create very short GIF animations that’ll repeatedly loop back and forth. There are couple of others but the two mentioned above are probably to most-used ones.
Using an Existing Photo
If you want to use an existing photo for your story then you are in luck…kind of. Providing you took the photo within the last 24 hours then rather than taking a new photo, you can simply just swipe upwards on your device. Select your photo, add filters and what not and away you go.
See Who Has Seen Your Story
Another very cool thing is the ability to know who has seen your story. This is easily accomplished by simply tapping on your story once you’ve uploaded it. You’ll then see all of the handles that have watched or looked through your content and media.
And there you have it. Some great tips on how to get started with making Instagram Stories. Enjoy and start dominating Instagram with your cool memories.
Instagram
Instagram probably doesn’t need an introduction, but if you’re not sure what it is then it’s a social networking app. It’s designed purely for the purpose of sharing photos. No statuses or articles. And it benefits hugely from this. By focusing purely on the photography aspect of things the app has saw its user base grown enormously. You can also share your photos from the app via Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr and more.
