- Get Started
- Take, Edit, and Share Photos
- View Other Peoples Images
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Take, Edit, and Share Photos
When you’re ready to begin sharing your life through pictures via Instagram, launch the app and tap on the camera icon that’s located near the bottom-center of the screen. The Instagram app is used to snap, view, edit, and share photos. You do not need to use the Camera and/or Photos apps that come preinstalled on your iOS device.
Upon tapping on the camera icon, the iPhone or iPad’s rear-facing camera will be activated, and you’re ready to snap photos. You will notice five command icons displayed along the top of the screen. Here’s a quick summary of what these command icons are used for:
- Border: Displayed in the upper-left corner of the app screen, once you tap the camera icon, click on this to add a border to the images you shoot.
- Flash On/Off/Auto: If you’re using an iPhone with a built-in flash, use this icon to turn on or off the flash manually, or set the flash to auto mode so it activates when it’s needed based upon the lighting conditions when you snap a photo.
- Camera Selection: Switch between the rear and front-facing camera on your iPhone or iPad.
- Blur Edges: The water-drop shaped icon is used to auto focus on whatever is in the center of the screen and then blur out the outside edge of the image. You can choose a circular or square-shaped blur, or no blur at all.
- “X”: Press this icon that’s displayed near the upper-right corner of the screen to exit out of shooting mode and return to the Instagram app’s main screen.
Also, while in shooting mode, you’ll see three icons displayed along the bottom of the screen:
- In the lower-left corner, the Photos icon allows you to view images that are stored on your iPhone or iPad that were previously taken or that have been transferred or imported into the iOS mobile device.
- The Filter icon is displayed near the lower-right corner of the screen when in shooting mode. Tap on it to quickly select between almost 20 different image enhancement and special effects filters that can be utilized as you shoot new photos or edit existing photos.
- Displayed near the bottom-center of the app screen when in shooting mode is the shutter button. Use it to snap a photo. Whatever you see in the main area of the iPhone or iPad’s screen (i.e., your viewfinder) will be what’s captured within the digital image.
To activate the app’s auto focus feature, tap anywhere in the viewfinder area of the screen over your intended subject. This will help to insure that your subject appears clear and in focus as you snap the photo.
After pressing the shutter button to capture an image, you can then add a filter, border, or edge blur. You can also tap on the sun-shaped icon that appears near the bottom-left corner of the screen in order to auto adjust the lighting and contrast within the image. To save your photo, tap on the green checkmark icon that’s now displayed near the bottom-center of the screen.
Next, you’ll be prompted to add an optional text-based caption to your image. You can also tap on the Enable Geotag feature to automatically display the exact location where the photo was shot. Then, you can choose where you want to publish the photo (in addition to your Instagram feed).
Tap the Done icon to continue. Within a few seconds, assuming your iPhoto or iPad has access to the Internet, your digital image will be published as part of your Instagram photo feed (and on whichever other online social networking sites you’ve linked to your Instagram account).
You always have the option to delete images you’ve posted. However, once published, people will be able to “like” your images and post comments about them, which are readable by everyone. As you’re looking at your own published images, tap on the icon with three dots that’s displayed near the lower-right corner of a photo in order to access a submenu that offers options for deleting the photo, sharing the post, copying the link to the photo, or emailing the photo to specific people from within the Instagram app.
In addition to publishing the photos you take with the Instagram app, the images shot using the app are automatically saved within the Camera Roll folder of the Photos app. Thus, from the Photos app (or the optional iPhoto app), you can further edit, view, and share them, plus have them added to your iCloud Photo Stream.