Sneak a peak at the instagram photography trends for 2022? The #instalife is a staple on our phones and our lives. For the popular influencers and insta novices. For a regular Instagram user, you must have noticed certain photography trends, especially in portrait mode. Some of them are absolute classics and they have managed to stick around for a few years and stay popular. Your ideas are all the inspiration you need, but it’s still useful to know what’s popular. Here is the ultimate guide to make those red hearts rain on your posts.

1. Throwback selfies (#tbt #tb) – It perfectly makes sense that throwback selfies were extremely common on Instagram during the Covid-19 pandemic. Most of the pandemic, we spent being nostalgic about our travels and all the happy memories we shared with our friends. The throwback selfies were one way for us to reconnect with the beautiful memories we made over the years and to let our friends know we missed them and can’t wait to meet them and make more of the fun and happy memories.

2. No Makeup Shots (#nomakeup) – One of the most popular photography trends on Instagram is Portraiture. The #nomakeup shots is a healthy counterbalance for apps such as FaceTune, B612, Youcamperfect and various other beauty filters. The #GenZ are proud of this no-filter approach, as they want to learn to accept their imperfections and share them with others. Similar to body positive images, but it focuses on facial features and embracing the diversity in terms of skin, eyes, nose, lips, and so on. Shots of various celebrities and influencers without makeup are highly sought after.

3. Drone Photography (#drone #dronephotography) – Drone photography is getting more affordable and accessible these days. Popular Instagram influencers want to surprise their followers with a different perspective on ordinary things. Using a drone will allow you to capture special occasions and landscapes for a whole new look. Photos of traffic jams, residential areas, and people resting in parks feel almost hypnotizing from a bird’s eye view because it’s an unfamiliar perspective for us.

4. Film Photography (#film) – Film photography is making a major comeback this season. Interest in film photography has been growing over the last five years and it is not a short temporary fad. There are zillions of accounts on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube dedicated solely to film photography. There is some magic in taking photos you can’t post-process on your phone right away and #GenZ appreciate this kind of magic and are happy to learn photography the old-school way. If you want to publish your film photographs on Instagram, you can easily digitize your photos. Of course, you can also apply film filters but that would count as cheating!

5. Direct Flash (#flash) – Quite literally, direct flash portraiture is the style of taking your light source (usually an on-camera flash) and placing it right in front of your model. The result is a very harsh light that many photographers find unpleasant. However, this style is incredibly popular with mainstream fashion photographers and editors and you can see it on Instagram a lot. If you want to experiment with this style, it’s usually good to combine it with simple plain backgrounds.

6. Minimalism (#minimal) – Minimal landscapes, portraits, and product images with a super clean look are extremely popular on Instagram. It makes sense because the less-is-more approach is common in architecture and interior design too. Instead of bright and colourful images, you’re more likely to find a monochrome, neutral aesthetic in many realms of art and design nowadays. Minimalism combines well with black and white photography.

7. Body Positive Images (#bodypositive) – In case you don’t know, body positivity is a social movement created to empower women and men in different shapes and sizes. Body positivity advocates the acceptance of all bodies regardless of physical ability, gender, race, or appearance. This movement has been quite controversial but it’s still going strong on Instagram. It doesn’t feature only plus-sized models but also average bodies with physical imperfections such as stretch marks and cellulite. Unedited images of fitness models are very popular within this movement because they help people to form realistic expectations when it comes to appearance.

8. Neon Lights (#neon #cyberpunk) – Neon lights are part of the cyberpunk aesthetic that is popular thanks to various games, animations, and movies. Many photographers, designers, and illustrators are enriching their projects with neon colors and futuristic skyscrapers, which can add dystopian vibes to portraits and landscapes. What’s great about neon lights is that you can find them basically anywhere if you live in an urban area. Stroll through HauzKhas for the best cyberpunk portraiture in India.

9. Messy Still Life (#stilllife) – Even though minimalism rules the world of still life, there is also the opposite approach which is getting more exposure these days. Chaotic still life and product photography are all the rage. If you can arrange many objects and colors in a visually pleasing way, you can create something opulent or playful, and comical.

Well, that’s all the photography trends for 2022 that you need to know, for acing the influencer game on Instagram. The Photography course at JD Institute of Fashion Technology will tick all your little boxes  of requirements and is the best way to learn professional photography and be the absolute pro at the #instalife. Check the entry requirements, give us a call or walk in and discuss your options.