The Instagram 6.0 update offers a VSCO-like control on how to edit photos. Users are now allowed to fine tune exactly how much filter they want on a photo.

Being the most popular photo-taking and sharing app, these features are long overdue when apps like VSCO, Snapseed and Camera+ have shipped with these features to edit.

How to maximise the use of filters in Instagram

Prior to the Instagram 6.0 update, invoking an Instagram filter was an "on or off" choice but now, with the newest update, users are allowed to touch the filters to access more accurate controls.

For instance, hitting "Amaro" once will give the usual dramatic colour adjustment but pressing it again will allow users to make the filter less dramatic. By default, filters are applied to the max and pressing the chosen filter twice allows users to get closer to the original image.

New filter controls in Instagram

The "Lux" that has been in the previous versions of Instagram, returns in the Instagram 6.0 update. It allows users to change the contrast and exposure of photos in one place within the app.

More Instagram Edit Options

Along with the Instagram specific editing tools, standard adjustments like Warmth, Straighten and Saturation were also included in the latest version of Instagram. Although changeable through Lux, Exposure and Contrast can be changed individually in the new editing panel. After choosing a photo or taking one in-app, the wrench icon above the filter will take users to further editing tools needed for a great photo.

The Tilt Shift tool

The Tilt Shift Tool could lead to better looking photos all around. Although a number of photographers have bashed Instagram's filters, the amount of control that the app offers its users now introduces many to tools that professional photographers have used for ages.

In a nutshell, with the latest Instagram 6.0 update, Instagram is taken in a new level of being a camera app. In fact, being able to shoot, edit and share photos in a single app and device, in its own way, make it one of the best camera tools that exists now.

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