How Art Can Improve Your Instagram Photos

It seems like everywhere you look, there’s a new “How To” guide on taking better photos for Instagram. The plethora of tips usually cover a lot of the same subjects: cameras (DSLRs and smart phones), lighting, photo editing apps, color schemes, etc.

It’s all solid advice. However, I’ve found that what takes my favorite Instagrammers and bloggers’ feeds from good to great is the fact that their photos are always artfully composed and executed. Literally. Their styles each remind me so much of specific artists, I thought I would share with you examples of some of their amazing photos and the art they make reference to—at least in my mind!

olivia lopez

OLIVIA’S DARK AND MOODY PHOTOS MAKE ANYTHING LOOK BEAUTIFUL; FOOD, FASHION, INTERIORS AND LANDSCAPES. SHE’S A MASTER AT PLAYING HIDE AND SEEK WITH LIGHT AND SHADOW—OR CHIAROSCURO—MUCH IN THE SAME VEIN AS CARAVAGGIO. WHEN HER PHOTOS ARE SOFTER WITH LESS CONTRAST, THEY REMIND ME OF DUTCH PAINTER VERMEER’S SCENES OF DOMESTIC INTERIORS AND THE DUTCH GOLDEN AGE TRADITION OF FLOWERS AND STILL LIVES.

INSTAGRAM: @LUSTTFORLIFE

erica choi

ERICA’S SUNNY SCENES OF NEW YORK CITY LIFE AND HER ENVIABLE VACATION SNAPSHOTS ALMOST ALWAYS FEATURE DIRECTIONAL OR ZENITHAL LIGHTING. THAT, PAIRED WITH THE COOLER TEMPERATURE OF HER EDITING EVOKES THE LANDSCAPES AND EVERYDAY MOMENTS OF AMERICAN PAINTER EDWARD HOPPER.

INSTAGRAM: @EGGCANVAS

courtney trop

COURTNEY’S SPONTANEOUS “SHOOT FROM THE HIP” STYLE HAS TUMBLR WRITTEN ALL OVER IT. THIS FREE, STREAM OF CONSCIOUSNESS APPROACH TO HER INSTAGRAM AND BLOG PHOTOS REMIND ME OF THE KING OF THE VERNACULAR AND THE DEMOCRATIC, WILLIAM EGGLESTON. VINTAGE CARS, PARKING LOTS, KITCHENS, RANDOM L.A. CORNERS WITH PASSERSBY INCLUDED; COURTNEY’S BACKGROUNDS ARE NOT SOMETHING YOU’D CONSIDER CONVENTIONALLY PRETTY ON THEIR OWN, BUT THEY LOOK SO COOL.

INSTAGRAM: @ALWAYSJUDGING

rachel nguyen

RACHEL IS A TOTAL BADASS BABE WITH SUCH AN ORIGINAL, EFFORTLESS STYLE. HER PHOTOS ARE JUST AS CAREFREE AS HER SARTORIAL DEMEANOR. THEY HAVE A SOMEWHAT RAW AESTHETIC THAT REMINDS ME SO MUCH OF JUERGEN TELLER. OFTEN OVEREXPOSED, SOMETIMES EMPLOYING A FLASH EVEN WHEN THEY’RE SHOT IN DAYLIGHT, RACHEL’S PHOTOGRAPHS SCREAM “ZERO FUCKS GIVEN”, JUST LIKE HER PERSONALITY—AT LEAST FROM WHAT I GATHER THROUGH SOCIAL MEDIA.

INSTAGRAM: @THATSCHIC

alice gao

ALICE IS A VERY TALENTED PHOTOGRAPHER WHO CAN PULL OFF ANY STYLE OF PHOTOGRAPHY. FORTUNATELY, SHE’S ALSO A BLOGGER WITH AMAZING TASTE, STYLE AND A HIGHLY INTERESTING DAY TO DAY LIFE. I SPECIALLY LOVE HER ODD COMPOSITIONS WITH PEOPLE, USE OF REFLECTIONS, AND PLAYFULNESS WITH FOREGROUND AND BACKGROUND ELEMENTS. MORE OFTEN THAN NOT, I AM REMINDED OF THE WORK OF VIVIANE SASSEN WHEN I PERUSE THROUGH HER BLOG, LINGERED UPON.

INSTAGRAM: @ALICE_GAO

Photos via Lust For Life, National Gallery of Art, Caravaggio.org, Egg Canvas, Whitney Museum, Met Museum, Always Judging, Eggleston Trust, That’s Chic, Vogue UK, Vogue.com, Lingered Upon, We Folk.