Become a Lumia luminary on Instagram

With high-grade optics and super-smart software, you and your Lumia are well equipped to take on Instagram. And win!

If you’ve got a Lumia and haven’t yet signed up to Instagram, scan the QR code to the right with your phone.

After a brief registration, you’re ready to edit and share your photos with a huge, engaged community of like-minded photographers, either amateur or professional.

But before you jump in headfirst, we’ve got some tips to help you on your way.

Think square

Instagram is all about taking square photos. See our how-to guide on how to take the perfect square photograph.

Pick the right subject

If you’re interested and excited about something, you’ll take better pictures of it. There’s no point snapping images of cats if you’re really a foodie.

Use Nokia Camera to take control manual focus (perfect for macro shots), shutter speed (capturing light-trails) and smart sequence (for creative action shots).

Make it yours

Once you’ve taken a photo and you’ve decided you want to share it, consider editing.

Creative Studio has been a favourite amongst Lumia photographers since it was launched 2012, adding all sorts of cropping and filtering tools. Not forget the hugely popular Color Pop feature.

When you’re happy with the results, switch to Instagram.

Here you’ll be able to add additional filters that Instagram’s famed for. As long as it looks glorious, add as many as you like.

Sharing is caring

You can opt to upload your photos to Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Twitter, Flickr, VKontakte or Foursquare, as well as the vast Instagram community.

The most important thing to remember when sharing, however, is your choice of hashtags; essential if it’s to be viewed, liked and commented on by the masses.

The right hashtags totally depend on your subject matter, the location and anything else that’s specific to the photo.

For example, if you’ve uploaded a photo of a cat asleep on a piano, and used additional apps and filters you could use something like this: #cat #asleep on the #piano. #ColorPop #CreativeStudio #Lumia1020.

We’ll leave most of the hashtag hunting up to you (you can search from right within the app), but to get you started, here are some of the most popular Lumia-related hashtags on Instagram.

#Lumia
#Lumia1020
#Lumia920
#Lumia925
#Lumia720
#Lumia520
#LumiaBW
#Lumia1520
#Lumia820
#Lumiagraphy
#LumiaPhotography
#Lumia620
#LumiaLowlight
#LumiaLove
#LumiaYGO
#NokiaColourPop
#Lumiaography
#CreativeStudio
#Lumia1020Photography
#Lumia800
#LumiaCase
#Lumia625
#Lumia900
#LumiaInFocus
#LumiaShot
#Lumia920Photography
#LumiaPhoto
#Lumia928
#LumiaBlack
#Lumia1320

If you’re creating and sharing Action Shots using Creative Studio, we propose using the #LumiaActionShot hashtag as there doesn’t yet appear to be a consistent tag here.

Friends are everything

While you’ll regularly collect likes and comments from other Instagram members, your photos will be more engaging if you join in with the community.

Search for photos that interest you, like other people’s photos and leave them comments to let them know that you’ve enjoyed their work.

In turn, you’ll start to see that more people will follow you. Before you know it, you’ll have an audience behind you.

We’d love to know what hashtags you’re using. Share them with the Conversations community, below…