The Best Instagram Filter For Every Travel Experience

While capturing travel memories on camera (or more likely an iPhone), some shots are picture perfect with #nofilter.

But what about those other photos? The scenic views that look incredible in person but could use an extra something when you share them on social media?

Before sharing on Instagram, we crop, brighten, and finally, add a haze, shade, or sharpen our photos with filters.

We want to make sure that you have epic, like-worthy uploads every time.

To achieve photo perfection we mined some of our favorite travel instagrammers to help us choose the perfect filter for every travel occasion.

Here’s how to Instagram an:

Exotic Asian Adventure: Mayfair

"Asia is the most colorful continent of them all. It’s vibrant and filled with bold colors," say The Planet D’s Dave Bouskill and Deb Corbeil, @theplanetd. “To bring out the pinks and purples of the sunset, and capture the colorful feel of Asia, Mayfair does the trick.”

(Photo: The Planet D) 

Beach: Valencia

"Valencia is our go-to filter, as we find we can put up a photo that is very true to the eye when we oversaturate the shot before uploading to Instagram," say Bouskill and Corbeil. "It brings down the saturation and shows off all the colors of the sky and beach."

(Photo: Planet D) 

Rainforest: Sutro

This filter will ‘smoke’ your image, with particular emphasis on purple and brown highlights to achieve its effect. This filter makes rainforest shots a little more dramatic, and provides a break from all the greens, according to Daniel Sendecki, Manager of Content Development at G Adventures, which offers affordable small-group tours, safaris and expeditions (Follow them on Instagram @gadventures).

(Photo: G Adventures) 

Cruising: Brannan

This filter will give you a ‘greyish’ tint that darkens images—perfect for making your surf a little more metallic. Sendecki notes: It’s ideal for an image with strong shadows.

(Photo: G Adventures)

European City: Lofi  

"For European cities, we like to highlight the history and age of a place. For the Christmas markets, we wanted to show the colors of the market while keeping the age feel of the city, so Lo-Fi worked well to saturate the colors, but to keep that blurry aged effect," say Planet D’s Bouskill and Corbeil.

Mountains: Hefe

Hefe will make hills, valleys and peaks much more bold and colorful because it ups the contrast and intensifies colors. It’s great when flora and fauna is as prominent as rock and stone, according to Sendecki.

(Photo: G Adventures) 

Plane: X-Pro II

"Taking a photo from the plane can be tricky as images can turn out soft and muted. X-Pro II gives the photo warmth and more vibrant giving a photo taken through glass more pop," Bouskill and Corbeil share.

Safari: Sierra

Sierra’s the perfect Instagram filter for fading back the Serengeti and making the African landscape appear softer, allowing for your subjects to really pop (be it lion, elephant or any of Africa’s ‘Big 5’). Sendecki says: Used on a landscape by itself, it’ll make shots appear calm and soothing.

Skyscraper/City: Kelvin

"Kelvin adds brightness to a photograph so to enhance the lights and vibrance of a city." say Bouskill and Corbeil.

(Photo: Planet D) 

Sunset: Nashville

"Nashville is the perfect filter for sunset shots," says Julie Falconer, (@aladyinlondon), who has traveled to 95 countries (and counting). ”It warms up the colors and brings up the light levels, giving the photo a soft, gentle effect.”

Antarctica: Lo-Fi

"Lo-Fi helps to create strong shadows and brought out the richness of the blues in the ice and water," say say Bouskill and Corbeil.

(Photo: Planet D)

Market Foods: Lo-Fi or Amaro

"Lo-Fi is good for food photos shot in bright, natural light. It intensifies the colors and makes the photos pop," according to Falconer. "In lower light, Amaro can be good for adding a bit of extra light and a nice natural glow."

Plated Foods: Hudson

"I favor Hudson for food,"  says Jodi Ettenberg, founder of Legal Nomads and the Instagram handle of the same name. “Hudson was built to emphasize shadows and a cooler light, adding that crispness many seek in low-light food shots.”

(Photo: Legal Nomads)

Weather: X-Pro II

"X-Pro II is great for rainy, moody or cloudy shots," notes Ettenberg. "X-Pro II was built to increases vibrance with hints of gold and contrast, adding a curled vignette at the edges. It makes sense that these would pop out the brighter tones in a muted rainy scene, framing it nicely."

(Photo: Legal Nomads)

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