Can you even imagine life without Instagram Stories? I can’t! I’m a huge fan and see the empty pages as a wonderful way to stream all sorts of moments and mini stories. The fluidity and spontaneity is an exciting way to create content… 

Check out my Stories over on @stylonyon

Although how I create content for Instagram Stories has changed and evolved over the last few months; now I see the empty pages as pages from a magazine, your own personalised one – where you can flit from silliness to sombreness and present your imagery in numerous formats.

This morning I did an Instagram Live to discuss some of the apps I am using to make content for my Stories (not massively time-consuming, although if I’m super busy I won’t bother with these all the time!) and I wanted to list them here so you can try them too! The only other thing I would recommend is buying a stylus to help with some of the finer work in apps like Plotagraph and Cinemagraph.

For Instagrammers using Stories in wonderfully creative ways, I would say go check out srhmikaela, parkandcube, qmike and jordanbunker.

---

My Instagram @stylonylon

InShot 

InShot  is by far the app I use the most. For creating images & videos with borders & backgrounds of different colours, or to use the image/video itself as a background. You can easily resize the canvas (choose 9:16 to best fit Stories), resize and move the image/video and create layouts mixing both pictures and videos. I really like some of the Cinema filters and some of the effects too, like glitch, TV and jpeg. You can also add text and slow or speed up videos. Loads of potential.

Always look for the background options in an app, you will usually be able to choose from all the colours, or have the option to upload another image as a background – InShot allows you to choose blurred options of the image, which is quite a cool effect!

---

Unfold

Unfold is a really popular one with bloggers I know – it gives you polaroid frames, the ability to mix photo and video and overlap pictures too, which I love! You need to pay for some of the more fun ones, like the polaroid frames, which I always do, lol!

Over 

I’ve recently been getting into Over for their lovely fonts! So often I use an Unfold frame and then import into InShot to reposition against a white background and then take into Over to add a nice handwriting font! I bought a couple of fonts in all, including the two in the Story above on the right!

PhotoGrid

PhotoGrid has a variety of photo templates which can be good for a collage of pictures, but I really like the Scrapbook option where you can pull in several photos. You can use this to create that ‘throwing down a set of pictures’ effect – you just have to save each file individually and upload each to Stories.

Grids are a great way to really give a feel for a place – look out for apps, like Photo Grid, which allow you to change the border width, as you can make it entirely disappear if this is the look you are after.

---

Pic Stitch & Vidstitch

A bit more limited but both offer a variety of basic frames. I have them on hand just to try and create something different. Remember you can always changes the border thickness and roundness.

Slideshow

Slideshow I used on my grid for a New Year’s Day post. Just a bit of fun if you have a few photos you want to share! Although I’m looking for one that combines pictures and videos.

I love a nice handwriting font – probably because my own is so terrible! InShot has an ok handwriting font, but I’ve found really nice one’s in an app called Over, although you do have pay for them!

---

Theme Maker

Theme Maker is useful if you have lots of Live Photos on your iPhone. Basically you can turn them into videos or Gifs to use on your Stories.

Loopvid

Loopvid is great for lengthening videos as Stories doesn’t automatically loop them like the grid does.

Kirakira+

For the Christmas festive sparkle that invaded Instagram come November last year! Still fun though and do swipe for variations on the basic sparkle. And you can film too!

I love framing on a white background – it feels fresh and magazine-like! Using polaroid frames is great way of bringing in an analogue feel to our very digital world!

---

Lumyer

You need to find the good effects and use sparingly! I’d say birds, butterflies, sparkle, steam for cups and rain or snow. Some you’ll need to buy in app. Always worth having a play around with and you just might feel that today is the day you need a shark diving into your coffee cup. 😉

Enlight Photofox

You could probably take over the world from this app, if you knew how to use it! Insane capabilities for creating fantastical photos and collages. A lot of what you can do in Photoshop you can do here. You just need to learn how! Lots of tutorials but definitely one that needs some dedicated time. My efforts to date, quite poor, but I have enjoyed the light effects – my challenge for this year! Subscription app.

Cinemagraph 

The crazy-expensive-but-easy-way to make cinemagraphs on your phone. Otherwise make them in Photoshop. 😉

Plotograph

A really easy way to add something extra to your photos – animating the sky or water being the easiest. But as you can animate any part of the photo (I recommend playing with the speed) you can go wild.

Bazaart

This is a fantastic collage app that has evolved itself into something more along the lines of Photofox. You can cut out easily, combine photos and backgrounds and basically let your imagination run wild…

Bokeh Cam FX

I just downloaded this but have yet to have a go with it! Used by Sienna.and.ifor her beautiful Instagram grid. I think subtlety is the key!

That’s about if for now! But I will keep you posted on any new ones I get into! Also I would love to hear what apps you’re using to create content for Instagram Stories – do share in the comments below!