Instagram Stories first made people’s Instagram feeds sleeker, more colorful and just generally more fun. They could post their artistic photos in the background of someone else’s Story—and secretly make someone jealous and/or un-follow you while doing it.
That post-publishing feature still makes for some very sweet stories, particularly when you show a glam shot of yourself, using your favorite filter. And that’s why the tech-focused publication Mobile Syrup asked a bunch of Insta artists for their faves. (You can check out the full list of their best Instagram Stories.)
“I think I love pink the most,” said Qaisoun Phillips, of Harlem Shake fame. The artist created the trailer for Fredo Santana’s surprise Billboard Top 30 record release, Cobra Snake, using Postcard as well as Prism, Smile, Rose Mist and Champagne.
Lexi Flores of the pop band Defrdz also favors pink, calling the color “very nice to brighten up a photo and make it pop a little bit.” Her Instagram Stories include one that depicts her while wearing a yellow dress and champagne flute (I don’t like to see bridesmaids getting wrecked). Her other favorite filters are Meta, Veil and Rose Mist.
Erica May of Big Loud Music loves focus. Her favorite Instagram filters are Hyperlapse, Filter Editor and Face Prep. Her pictures are often pretty big, and she’s also into geotags and “a little vibrant color.”
You might not think that a mumford brush would be a good filter for an Insta story. Not so, said Amy Freeborn, the director of communications at National Recording Technician magazine. Freeborn’s picks include Finder (a blue stripe that makes her account look like an older block of pixels), Plus and Cartwheel (which she says makes your picture look like a topographical map of a town).
“[They’re] visually appealing,” she said, adding that it’s also meant to keep you from diving deeper into your profile and wondering what you could’ve done with the picture you took before.
Nicole Stark, lead content strategist at ad agency The Monarchy, also likes Highlights and Poster, but also Sponge, Maelstrom and Prism.
For other creatives, lighting is key, since the photo elements don’t have to necessarily look alike. Suzanne Marazonof the band The Chemical Brothers likes Light, which makes her Instagram Stories look like a video clip, “and is especially cool if you’re in Paris.” When applied correctly, the iconic light from your camera lens can “create that cinematic feel,” she said.