Instagram adds five new filters for subtle photo effects

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Instagram’s delivered an early Christmas present with an app update that adds five new filters.

When Instagram was launched in October 2010, the initial filters were designed to give users greater scope when editing lower-quality images from smartphones.

Instagram has introduced five new filters to make the most of better image quality. They include:

Slumber: Adds haze and desaturates the image for a retro dreamy look, with a particular emphasis on blacks and blues.

Crema: As the name suggests, adds a creamy look that both warms and cools the image.

Ludwig: A minimalist look with a hint of desaturation. It also enhances the light. “We named it Ludwig because of the famous minimalist mantra “less is more,” coined by architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe,” said Instagram. “It works especially great with portraits, architecture, and geometric shapes.”

Perpetua: Inspired by Cape Perpetua in Oregon, this filter gives a blue/green natural look

Aden: Ideal for portraits, this filter gives a pastel look and feel to images.

The filter tray that appears underneath the image can now be personalised so you can add, rearrange or remove filters at your leisure.

On top of the five filters, Instagram now offers a perspective tool for adjusting the horizontal and vertical planes of an image, as well as the ability to upload slow motion video. The update will also unlock real-time commenting on photos, so users no longer need to refresh their feed to see new comments.

Earlier in December, the photo sharing service announced that 300 million users are on Instagram at least once a month. That’s a rise of 50 percent from the previous milestone of 200 million active users in March 2014.

Other features rolled out by the Facebook-owned app this year included the ability to edit photo captions after the fact, as well as a tweak to the look and functionality of the Explore tab.

As for standalone apps that operate independently from the main photo-sharing service, Instagram introduced two this year: Hyperlapse for smooth time-lapse videos, and Bolt for ephemeral photo and video sharing.

Bolt is only available in select countries, and runs on both iOS and Android. Hyperlapse runs on iOS only at the moment, as the required Android camera APIs are currently not compatible.

The five new filters and additional features will be rolled out via an app update, available now for Android (version 6.12) and iOS (version 6.4).