How To Get Mad Likes on Your Instagram Photos

The top ten most liked Instagrams of 2015 were announced and to absolutely no surprise, the list is loaded with high profile celebrities that have millions of followers. People go crazy for pictures of Taylor Swift and her cat. Kendall Jenner lays down with her hair in multiple heart designs and the Internet basically shuts down. Most Insta-popular photos are not particularly creative… that being said, if the average person posted the same photo, they would not garner the same amount of likes. I mean how many cat pictures are out there on the Internet? A lot, but put Taylor Swift in it and Swifties go crazy. Figuring out what to post on Instagram is a daily struggle. Let’s face it, as much as some of us say we just post whatever on Instagram, you’re aware of what you’re posting. Maybe you're guilty of taking 20 selfies in a row to get the right one from the right angle or maybe you feel the need to take multiple photos of your food upon consumption. The quality of your photos does matter and so does the order in how they look on your feed.

Even though most of us will never get close to a quarter of a million likes, there are some ways to make your Instagram more popular.

Filters Are Your Friend

It’s 2015 people and if you’re not using filters, you’re not doing justice to your photos. A filter can actually change effect whether or not someone chooses to like your photo. According to researchers at Yahoo Labs and Georgia Tech, filters on Instagram like, Mayfair, Rise, Valencia, Hefe, and Nashville are perfect to gain extra likes and comments on your pictures. They also agreed that too much saturation is a no-go and old-timey effects simply have to go. If you’re looking outside of Instagram filters, apps such as, Afterlight and VSCOcam have become popular downloads, and thankfully they’re free.

Light Up Your Life

Lighting is key. No one will like your photo if the lighting sucks the life out of your picture. This goes for selfies, food pictures, outdoor scenery, and even just taking a picture of your cup of coffee on the counter. Some filters can help adjust the lighting, but if it isn’t good to begin with, filters can only go so far.

Spend Time On Your Angles

If you can take multiple selfies that are all from different angles, you can do the same for your other pictures. Take multiple pictures of whatever you’re photographing in as many ways as you can think of. Having some diversity gives you more options to play around with your Instagram. Yes, I’m encouraging you to be that person that stands up from the table and takes an overhead view of your food and drinks. People may judge you, but you will get mad likes on your Instagram.

Everybody Loves Food

When in doubt take a food picture. People may not want to continuously see your face and they may not care that you’re taking a picture in front of the Hall of Languages, but everyone loves a photo of a good burrito. Your followers will like almost any photo evidence of your order from Funk N’ Waffles… but make sure to apply the previous suggestions to your food pictures. As most of us know from The Food Network, presentation is key.

Hashtags Are Annoying, but Effective

If your followers arena's digging your clearly awesome Instagram, it’s time to bring out the hashtags. Again, don’t excessively hashtag your photo, but three to four will allow for other Instagram users to see your photo.