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# 041 - How Instagram trained me to shoot vertical
- URL: https://www.luisnatera.photo/041-how-instagram-trained-me-to-shoot-vertical/
- Published: 2026-07-20T17:43:36.000Z
- Updated: 2026-07-21T14:27:40.000Z
- Author: Luis Natera

Today I saw an Instagram post ([I know](https://www.luisnatera.photo/photography-without-instagram/)) about vertical vs horizontal photography: how the medium where we consume photos and media is conditioning how we make them. It got me thinking.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/19/ae/19ae7b7e-3267-4ec9-a3d4-d56fe8dd66fb/content/images/2026/07/DSCF7820.jpg)

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/19/ae/19ae7b7e-3267-4ec9-a3d4-d56fe8dd66fb/content/images/2026/07/DSCF7827.jpg)

So today is more of a review. I looked at the photos from the weekend: picnic, bike ride, walks. I wanted to notice how I was shooting. Am I shooting for Instagram and mobile consumption, or am I looking for photos I find interesting, seeing the full width and composing with it?

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/19/ae/19ae7b7e-3267-4ec9-a3d4-d56fe8dd66fb/content/images/2026/07/DSCF7024.jpg) 

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![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/19/ae/19ae7b7e-3267-4ec9-a3d4-d56fe8dd66fb/content/images/2026/07/DSCF7897.jpg)

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/19/ae/19ae7b7e-3267-4ec9-a3d4-d56fe8dd66fb/content/images/2026/07/DSCF7901.jpg)

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/19/ae/19ae7b7e-3267-4ec9-a3d4-d56fe8dd66fb/content/images/2026/07/DSCF7923-1.jpg)

The results: from the photos I picked and edited, the majority were vertical, while only 3 were horizontal. It seems my brain has been [conditioned](https://www.luisnatera.photo/001-running-away-from-the-algorithm/) to look a certain way. To prioritise the social media format rather than the full width of the frame.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/19/ae/19ae7b7e-3267-4ec9-a3d4-d56fe8dd66fb/content/images/2026/07/DSCF7976.jpg)

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/19/ae/19ae7b7e-3267-4ec9-a3d4-d56fe8dd66fb/content/images/2026/07/DSCF7981.jpg)

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/19/ae/19ae7b7e-3267-4ec9-a3d4-d56fe8dd66fb/content/images/2026/07/DSCF7986.jpg)

It's good to notice and be conscious of our own biases. In this case, a precondition to shoot vertically. Something I want to be more aware of, to look for the full picture, and capture the world the way we actually see it when we live it: horizontally.