We all love ourselves a great interiors photo. The kind that you want to just climb into, that you are inspired by, that kind of photo that just recalibrates what you mean when you say “hashtag house goals.” And the best thing is, you don’t even need to be a professional photographer to take stunningly eye catching photos of your home for instagram. Below I will outline a few easy things that you can do to get the same stand out results as the pro’s, using whatever device it is that you have on hand.

Mind the light

And by ‘mind the light,’ I mean study it a little. You will take your greatest photos in your home during the day when you have lots of light, but preferably when there is no direct sunlight. So be sure to take note of when the direct sunlight hits the rooms that you want to photograph, and avoid shooting at that time. And, if it is a bright overcast day – carte blanche – grab that phone and start snapping!

Keep it straight!

When you are holding your phone, watch that you are keeping it as straight and level as possible so that you don’t create any distracting angles. If you have trouble doing this while holding your phone, be sure to straighten your photo out afterwards using a photo editor.

Edit out color casting

This tip is a little more advanced, but VERY important. Doing this consistently will take your from nice photos to OMG! The issue is that when you take interior photos in absence of tons of natural light, there will be colour casting, meaning, white will cast yellows, or blues or pinks depending what other light sources are entering the frame and what items are reflecting the light. I use a lovely app called Snapseed (there are many others!) to eliminate colour casts after taking the photo, and this is what will give your instagram photo grid a consistent and show stopping look. To do this in Snapseed, first download the app, then open the photo you will be posting using the app. Select “Tools”>”Brush”>Adjust Saturation all the way down to -10, and rub your finger over the areas that are supposed to be white.

Brighten it up!

This tip is dead simple. Brighten up your photo a few notches either while you are taking it, or afterward using a photo editor. It is AMAZING what a little brightness can do to an interiors photo. Be sure to keep an eye on the brightest parts of the photo though, to make sure that you don’t blow those out completely.

Hold Still!

I often find myself resting my elbows on whatever surface I can to steady my shot. A still camera will take a much clearer shot. Also, make sure that your lens is good and clean. Phones can get grimy and this makes photos blurry!

And remember, so much of Instagram is all smoke in mirrors. be careful of the comparison trap that can accompany your Insta-scrolls. You are enough, and your house is enough, and the photos you take are enough just the way they are! xo