How to Know Which Instagram Filter Suits Which Kind of Content?

Are you new to Instagram? Perhaps, you wish to maximize the reach of your Instagram content? No matter how long you’ve been on the image-sharing platform, one feature you ought to familiarize yourself with is – filters. Instagram is well known for its collection of flattering image and video filters. You could be posting content for yourself or Instagram marketing for a product, learning the ins and outs of using Instagram filters is sure to benefit you. Afterall, who doesn’t like to view visually pleasing content?  

Expert Instagrammers know how to transform a ho-hum photo into an aesthetic visual masterpiece by using IG filters to their maximum potential. They enjoy millions and millions of followers on their handles because of this knack for using the facilities made available by Instagram for content creation and sharing. If you, too, wish to know how to increase your followership on the social media platform, we suggest you continue reading this article. In it, we tell you all you need to know about Instagram filters and how to use them best. 

Why Use Instagram Filters? 

Photo filters are a cheap and inexpensive way of making even ordinary images look glitzy and glamorous. Instagram offers its users around 40 different native filters to choose from and are among the most popular photo filters used on the Internet. Celebrity Instagrammers tend to use a variety of filters on their photos before uploading them. While some photo filters simply accentuate a particular aspect of your photo/video like its contrast or brightness – others are more well-rounded in their approach. They can cater to multiple aspects of your visual content and make it more appealing for your audience.

The Top 10 Instagram Photo Filters 

In this section, we tell you about 10 of the most commonly used photo filters on Instagram. Read on below to find out.  

No Filter

Indeed, the most common filter on Instagram is actually “Normal” where no filters are applied to your photo. However, this does not quite mean that all Insta users are great photographers or individuals who prefer to use their photo/video content au naturel. No, many people already pre-filter their photos using other photo-editing apps before uploading them on Instagram. As a result, they do not need to additionally apply an Instagram native filter. 
 

Clarendon

The second-most popular filter on Instagram, or in other words, IG’s most popular filter is Clarendon. Clarendon slightly increases the contrast and saturation of your visual content. Clarendon was initially released by IG as a video filter but later also offered editing photos. It adds light to the brighter areas of your photo and darkens the darker parts of your photos. If you have a minimalist photo where you want the colors to pop out, Clarendon is the Instagram photo filter you should apply. Despite “cooling down” the photo, it preserves the mid-tones of your photo, making your skin tone look as natural as possible. Consequently, it is also a good photo filter for selfies.

Gingham

Another Instagram photo filter initially introduced for videos-only, Gingham gives photos a dreamy look reminiscent of the older VSCO filters. Need to give off a hipster vibe? Use Gingham to add that vintage feel to your snapshots.
  

Juno

Juno manipulates the vividness and contrast of photos, making the reds and yellows of your photo stand out over the blues.  

Moon

Named after the dog of an Instagram team member, Moon is the ultimate photo filter to lend a dreamy vintage look to your portraits. Quite like Gingham, Moon simply has more shadows. 
 

Lark

Need to enhance the look of your outdoor shots and scenery captures? Use Lark. Lark increases the exposure and decreases the vibrance of your shots. It increases the saturation of the blues and greens and lessens the saturation of the reds, purples and magentas.  

Ludwig

Ludwig is great for portrait photos, architecture shots, and geometric clicks. The minimalist Instagram filter is named after architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, who came up with the famous “less is more” mantra.

Reyes

Reyes is yet another IG filter that desaturates image, brightens it and makes it look old-school. Need to touch up the blemishes on your close-up shot? Use Reyes, and you won’t need to use another app for touching up your image.

Lo-fi

Lo-fi has been a popular Instagram filter since its inception. 90s kids have a special place in their heart for this filter, as it adds a sense of drama that they can relate to.  

Aden

Aden softens the harsh lights in a photo making your photo look less bold and more subtle and dreamy-like. The retro pastel-y filter is perfect for your Autumn shots.  

Other Handy Instagram Photo Filters and How to Use Them 

Slumber

Slumber creates a yellow mask over your photo which desaturated the majority of colors from it. Need to make a couple of photo look vintage and romantic? Apply the Slumber filter. Slumber works best with street and nature photos.

Crema

Crema makes images look vintage by desaturating colors and smoothening out skin tones. The filter is a favorite among Instagrammers for food photography. 

Perpetua

Perpetua is a filter that enhances the yellow and green tones of your image and brightens it all together. Not the best pick for portrait shots, but Perpetua can really make your landscapes stand out from the crowd.

Amaro

Amaro lends an appearance of age to your photos by brightening its center and adding a vignette effect to the edges. Fall photos and street snaps look best with the Amaro filter.

Mayfair

Instagram suggests the Mayfair filter to be used for brightly lit images with the Lux feature, so your underexposed images can have their contrast auto-adjusted.  

Rise

Want to make your close-up portrait image look fabulous? Apply Rise. It gives your photos a subtle yellow glow along with brightening it and lending a vintage feel to it. 
 

Hudson

When used, Hudson tempers down the colors in your image and give it a “cooler” look with vignette feel. Watch your cityscape snap look like an icy wonderland with this image filter.  

X-Pro II

X-Pro II is not for the faint of heart. It blows up the contrast in your photo, adds vignettes to it and makes all the colors in it appear significantly brighter. Use it on a bright landscape shot for the best results. It can really accentuate the imperfections on your skin in a close-up shot, and so, not the best filter option for selfies or portraits.

Sierra

Sierra is much like the Rise filter, except it looks darker because of its vignetting and lighted center effect. The filter suits outdoor nature photography and object photography the most. 

Willow

Looking for a sepia filter? Willow is the closest you will get to one on Instagram. Not entirely sepia in color tone, Willow is a mix between black-and-white and sepia. Use it for your close-up photos, beach, and macro nature shots.

Inkwell

Need a basic black-and-white filter to add some gravitas to your image? Use Inkwell. It works equally well for portrait and landscape shots. 
 

Hefe

Need to add saturation to a nature shot in your gallery instantaneously? Use the Hefe filter on Instagram. It adds color saturation and some vignetting, warming up your image.  

Nashville

Nashville adds a dreamy pink hue to your image and brightens it up. The old school feel in the image is more pronounced with Nashville, than it is in Valencia. Want a retro-vintage feel in your photo? Go for the Nashville image filter. 
 

Sutro

Sutro darkens your image, adds vignettes to it and makes it look somewhat hazy. Sutro also emphasizes the browns and purples in your image. Use Sutro for photos of sprawling hellscapes, cloudy skies and endless seas to add even more mystery to them. 

Toaster

Daylit images look great with this image filter. Toaster essentially toasts your images and makes it look as if it was shot on instant film. Think dodged center, burnt edge, and strong red tint.

Use Instagram Filters Like a Pro

If you’ve been on Instagram for a while and haven’t had the chance to really dig deep into the various filters made available to you, here’s your chance. Let loose and go wild! Give your Instagram content the extra pizzazz they need. You will thank yourself for it later. 

Similarly, if you are new to Instagram, you must have found this article an insightful read too. It discusses all the different Instagram filters and how to use them expertly to make your Instagram content look its best.

Not all of us are expert photographers, and this is where filters come into the picture, pun intended! Instagram filters makes your Instagram content attractive and draws a wider audience to your posts. However, it does well to acquaint yourself with what each does before experimenting with them. Afterall, your IG filter has the power to make or break your Instagram post. Why risk it? Use IG filters like a boss and increase the number of followers on your profile.