Mobile Photography

"Bangkok, Thailand-based photographer Chompoo Baritone recently created a clever series of images that pokes fun at how Instagram users often use carefully framed photos to make their lives seem more glamorous or exciting than they actually are."

"Instagram cracked the restrictive barriers of its iconic square format yesterday, announcing to the world that it intends to remain the dominant platform of the visual content world."

Since carrying a cell phone 24/7 has become the norm, almost everyone has access to a camera at all times. We take pictures of our family and friends, scenery, our food and don’t forget all the selfies!

Instagram just released its most significant update since the social photo sharing app enabled video sharing, adding a slew of photo editing features that bring the app in step with other major photo capture and editing apps like VSCO Cam.

Snapwire, a mobile app and website, is trying to connect the creative power of the Instagram generation with the companies and people who are willing to pay them to keep snapping.

Since many pros don’t use searchable hashtags, we've compiled a list of 30 professional photographers over ten categories (in no particular order) to highlight the best Instagram has to offer to kick off 2014.

Paul Zizka, 34, has put his own slant on the celebrity-led photographic genre by including his silhouette in these dramatic shots of the Canadian wilderness.

"With Instagram Direct, Instagram is cementing itself as the sole photo sharing solution for smartphones. Systrom revealed that more than half of Instagram’s 150 million monthly active users open up the app daily, which is a shockingly high engagement rate compared to most apps. Now with private messaging, expect that number to climb even higher."

"I’m going to share with you a magical little machine that can turn your Instagram photos into a miniature slideshow.  Have you heard of the Projecteo?  The tiny Instagram projector? In one easy step, you can make your very own, and Projecteo will do the rest!  All you need to do is sign in with your Instragram account and pick nine of your favorite images.  They will then develop them on to a single frame of 35mm slide film which is inserted into a small black wheel.  Before you know it, your Projecteo and wheel of images will arrive together in the mail."

"So an image of mine (@lightbrekkie) appears to be doing the rounds lately on Instagram and you may have seen it."

"Four years (and one day) ago, Kevin Systrom posted the first ever photo to Instagram, then a new social network with an uncertain future and exactly one photo of a cute dog in its archives."

Are you a fan of social media? Is Instagram your go-to place to share your story with the world? Are you looking for a part-time summer job? 

"Taking one small step for photography (or is it ‘a photography’?) and one giant leap for Instagram, the first Instagram post from space was posted this past Monday by an astronaut currently residing at the International Space Station."

Yes, we’re all fascinated by what you had for lunch. But sometimes actual news/history is shared in the Instagram universe, and now there’s a convenient new way to browse through and find pictures of those events.

Start Basic: Use your iPhone native camera to shoot -- that way you can adjust your images using Instagram or other apps and still save your original. If you're using another device, just make sure you're getting a quality image.

Get Fuzzy: If your subject is in front of a distracting or not-ideal backdrop, you can isolate it by creating "shallow depth of field" using the Tilt Shift tool. You can make a circular selection -- a face, for example -- or a linear one, great for creating fake miniatures.

Last words: Pre-set filters, tilt shift, light leaks, etc ... don't necessarily make good photos. Tey to use the time you spend editing photos to learn how you might take even better ones next time. And most importantly, get out and have fun!

Instagram’s built-in image processing effects have already improved user’s photos vastly. With a simple touch of preset filter, a photograph that was flat and poorly exposed can quickly become a vibrant and high contrast image. Portraits can be made more striking with the use of select focus. Photographs can easily be turned to black and white.  And the square format, which was really only found in fine art photography taken by medium-format cameras like the Hasselblad and Mamiya, has been given a second life with the emergence of Instagram. The square has a vintage feel to it, and allows lots of fun options for composition. When combined with the preset filters Instagram provides, the images can look like old vintage Polaroids from the 70’s.