LRc Picture Profiles vs Develop Presets

Picture Profiles vs Presets

In Lightroom Classic, Picture Profiles and Presets are tools for editing photos, but they serve different purposes. Picture Profiles determine the overall color rendering and tonality of your image, acting as a baseline. They don’t affect the sliders in the Develop module and are applied globally. Examples include Adobe profiles (like Adobe Color) and Camera Matching profiles that mimic your camera’s in-camera settings.

Presets, on the other hand, are saved adjustments that modify specific settings in the Develop module, such as Exposure, Contrast, or White Balance. They allow you to quickly apply a predefined style or look and can be customized for consistent editing across multiple photos.

In short, Picture Profiles define the starting look of your photo without altering sliders, while Presets apply specific edits by changing slider values. Both can be used together for efficient and creative photo editing.

Applying a default Picture Profile

To apply a default Picture Profile to your images in Lightroom Classic without using a preset, follow these steps:

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Steps to Apply a Default Picture Profile:

1. Open Preferences:

   • Go to Edit (Windows) or Lightroom Classic (Mac) > Preferences.

2. Navigate to the Presets Tab:

   • In the Preferences window, click on the Presets tab.

3. Override Default Settings:

   • Under the Default Develop Settings section, check Use Defaults Specific to Camera Model or Use Defaults Specific to Camera Serial Number (if you want different profiles for specific cameras).

4. Set the Default Profile:

   • Open an image taken with the relevant camera.
   • Go to the Develop module.
   • In the Basic panel, choose the desired Picture Profile from the Profile Browser (e.g., Adobe Color, Adobe Landscape, or a Camera Matching profile).

5. Update the Default Settings:

   • After selecting your profile, go to Develop > Set Default Settings.
   • Click Update to Current Settings to save the profile as the default for that camera model or serial number.

6. Test the Default:

   • Import a new photo taken with the same camera to confirm the profile is automatically applied.

By following these steps, your chosen Picture Profile will be applied to all new images from that camera when imported, without the need for a preset.

Creating a custom Picture Profile

Creating and saving a custom Picture Profile for Lightroom Classic requires Adobe Camera Raw (ACR) and a tool like Adobe Profile Editor or third-party software, as Lightroom itself doesn’t offer direct tools to create custom profiles. Here’s how you can do it:

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Steps to Create and Save a Custom Picture Profile:

1. Prepare the Base Profile

• Open an image in Adobe Camera Raw (ACR) through Photoshop or Lightroom Classic.
• Make the desired adjustments (e.g., color grading, tone curves) in ACR.
• Save these settings as a baseline for your profile.

2. Use Adobe DNG Profile Editor (or an Alternative)

• Download and install Adobe DNG Profile Editor (if available) or use a third-party tool like ColorChecker Camera Calibration.
• Open a raw file or DNG in the editor.
• Apply your adjustments, such as:
  • Tone curves
  • HSL adjustments
  • LUTs (Lookup Tables) for advanced grading
• Test and tweak the adjustments to your liking.

3. Save and Export the Profile

• Save your custom settings as a .dcp file (Digital Camera Profile) in the DNG Profile Editor or other software.
• Export the profile to the following directory, depending on your OS:
  • Windows: C:\Users\[Your Username]\AppData\Roaming\Adobe\CameraRaw\Settings
  • Mac: ~/Library/Application Support/Adobe/CameraRaw/Settings

4. Apply the Custom Profile in Lightroom

• Restart Lightroom Classic.
• Open the Profile Browser in the Basic panel of the Develop module.
• Your custom profile will now appear under "User Profiles" or a similar category.

5. Optional: Share the Profile

• Share the .dcp file with others or use it across devices by copying it to the same directory on another computer.

Looking at the Adobe Lightroom Classic Lens Correction Panel

More Reading:  Looking at Lens Corrections

Adobe Camera Raw woke up with no standard Camera Profiles.

 Yesterday, ACR and Photoshop were behaving weird. This morning the Camera Profiles were empty with only colour and monochrome as choices. I asked Google Gemini, not a worthwhile reply. Then tried Microsoft Co-Pilot, slightly better, but didn't solve the issue.

Looked at 

• C:\ProgramData\Adobe\CameraRaw\CameraProfiles\
• C:\Users\<yourusername>\AppData\Roaming\Adobe\CameraRaw\CameraProfiles

Both empty folders.

and that worked

Photoshop was 25.9.1, reverted to an earlier version, no improvement.

I shut down Photoshop, went to 

    C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Lightroom CC\Resources\CameraProfiles

then I copied the whole folder to

C:\ProgramData\Adobe\CameraRaw\CameraProfiles\

and re-launched Photoshop and Adobe Camera Raw and that worked.

Don't confuse yourself by testing on an edited psd, test by opening a fresh raw file.

See also:

https://community.adobe.com/t5/camera-raw-discussions/adobe-camera-raw-missing-camera-profiles/td-p/10087240

New Article on Photographing Fireworks

It's been some time since I wrote here. I find it more comfortable on Notion. 

Here's a new article consolidating information from past articles and other external sources.

See also:

OM / Olympus Live Composite

OM / Olympus Live Time

But first you have to do what?

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the ever more powerful features for "fixing in post" have been persistent and omnipresent topics in photography these days. I was watching two recently beta released features in their photo editing suite. Give these videos a watch, they are to the point and not lengthy.

The videos show how easy it will be in manipulate depth blur and specific colour after the act of capturing the image with your computer. On reflection, a skilled artist directly working with physical media might produce a similar work of art,

So where do you go with your own photos? Abhor editing and stick to SOOC (Straight Out Of Camera) output? Embrace editing and change anything and everything?

Your decision to edit and which elements you edit are the real essence of you. Your artistic center Your artistic identity. Whatever photo gear or software you use, that's not the essence, Your artistic choices are the essence.

My preferences for setting up the Olympus E-M1 Mark III

 For my latest Custom Function Button assignments go to What You Can Assign to the Fn Settings 

For the rest, below are some notes.

I use:

• Aperture Priority when I am not so concerned about subject movement. For landscapes, cityscapes, still life, general photos
• Shutter Priority when I want a specific shutter speed either slow or fast.
• Manual Exposure when I shoot electronic flash as the primary light source or specific scene requirements. Or when the exposure metering is hyper active when I already know the lighting.

Fixed ISO, often with Aperture Priority or Manual Exposure.

Auto ISO, often with Shutter Priority especially for candid impromptu street photography

Cog Menu > E1 > ISO-Auto Setting > Lowest Limit / Default ISO 200 to ISO 6400

Cog Menu > E1 > ISO-Auto Setting > Lowest  - 1/160th sec 

Single Point Autofocus Patttern for patient, thought out scenes. Often with Aperture Priority. Trying to shift Focus Point using the Joystick as opposed to my long standing habit of Focus and Recompose

All Points Autofocus Pattern for street photography, often combined with Shutter Priority, With A2: AF Area Pointer: On2 - Display frame while shutter button is half-pressed,

S-AF-MF often with Single Point Autofocus Pattern and Aperture Priority or Manual Exposure.

C-AF-MF often with All Points Autofocus Pattern and Shutter Priority.

AEL/AFL: 

S2: Half Press S-AF. Full Press AEL/Exp.  AEL/AFL button: AEL

C2: Half Press AF Start, Full Press AEL/AFL/Exp. AEL/AFL button: AEL  

M3: Half Press: AEL. Full Press: Expose.  AEL/AFL Button: S-AF

*3: Half Press: AEL. Full Press: Expose.  AEL/AFL Button: AF Start/Stop

(Revised) What you can assign to the Fn buttons (OM-D E-M1 Mark III)

Revision 2

When I initially got my new-to-me Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark III, I thought it was just the good ol E-M1 but with more features. Well, in some ways it is, but in many ways, it's a whole different level of camera. There is higher image performance, courtesy of the newer image sensor with higher res and less long exposure high ISO noise, but the camera handles really differently.

At first glance, the new camera body has only one more physical control, the autofocus joystick, the sophistication of the camera has endowed it with heaps of finer behavioural tweaks. This may have been what we have been crying out for when we had the E-M1 original version but the sheer number of detailed adjustments possible means that over enthusiastic assignment to buttons will make this newer camera unpredictable, act with a mind of its own, against your expectations.

I've had this camera refuse to autofocus with the LCD screen swung out. Another time, the camera went into video mode prior to starting a movie when it supposed to be on stills shooting. The ISO could change unexpectedly. So on and so forth.

I've reassigned the Custom Function Buttons several times. Below is my latest revision. 

Note: It's not the assignment of the Button to the Role that is important it's more the Rationale for that assignment because the choices are very personal.

My work-in-progress background thoughts are in my brain for this topic. 

You don't have to accept that the default raw looks yucky

 Too often, people exclaim that when they display their raw image on the computer, the image looks yucky compared to the SOOC JPEG displayed on the back of their camera. You can customise that for all new images instead of re-working each image individually.

Here's how Adobe describes it:

https://blog.adobe.com/en/2020/06/16/streamline-edits-with-the-improved-raw-defaults

Oh, a new (old) camera

Fresh Greetings

I've been neglecting this blog, my (youtube.com/@AnandaSim) channel and Snippets of Photo Info site (for technical info). Life's been busy. I think the main reason I haven't been writing is because I've been out taking photos and posting primarily on my Instagram with older gear

Resuming this blog

What is it about a new camera that makes me want to reach out, chat, share? I reckon it's the idea of companionship and collaboration with new gear.  I haven't bought a new camera body for what seems like yonks - yesterday, the postman delivered my new camera, a second hand (but minty) Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark III. After skipping the Mark II, this Mark III is intriguing. Let's see whether more articles here are the result.

In the meantime, have a look at my Keen

Where else to find me?

I'm back there at itsnotthecameraitstheperson. I had a flickr pro account but over the years lapsed into a free account at anandasim88. The hub to these and other website is at linktr.ee/AnandaSim Oh, I've the opportunity to teach photography fundamentals. Come play with me at CAE.

Amusing questions by people new to film

Hiya, is there a way to check the expiry of individual film rolls without boxes? Found some rolls at an op shop with the label ‘new’ that I simply do not trust

do i need to shoot the whole roll of film at the same iso or is it able to be changed for different photos? not sure if changing it affects the developing process or not?

C'mon, I don't want to save to CC

 https://community.adobe.com/t5/photoshop-ecosystem-bugs/p-starting-in-v-23-1-1-keeps-nagging-me-to-save-to-creative-cloud/idi-p/12731870

Worldwide Pinhole Day - April 24, 2002

 So, that day is coming soon. Get your Pinhole ready. It doesn't have to be film, digital works as well.

Latest info on OM Workspace

 OM Workspace is the rebranded software formerly known as Olympus Workspace (Viewer). OMDS have added new features to support the new OMDS OM-1 camera. The Instruction Manual in PDF format does not seem to be ready so I retrieved the old Olympus Workspace manual. This and previous info is here:
https://sites.google.com/site/olycameras/olympus-om-d/adobe-lightroom-and-photoshop/olympus-workspace

Enjoy!

Olympus menu lockouts (old models)

 The new OM System OM-1 camera has a simple means to find out when a menu item is disabled / dimmed. We've been waiting for this. For those who still have older Olympus E-M1 models, here's the FAQ list I created a while back. https://sites.google.com/site/olycameras/olympus-om-d/menu-lockouts

Apple Photos (Mac OS)

 Apple Photos (Mac OS)

• Apple Photos is the free app that comes with Mac OS. Microsoft Photos for Windows has a lot of similarity in features to Apple Photos.

• The Photos User Guide is online for your reading

• The Apple Photos screen shows a vertical pane of objects (as opposed to Microsoft Photos which presents the objects as a top pane / menu

Menu items in the Left Pane

Library

On first use, Apple Photos creates a System Photo Library. Other DAM photo software may refer to this term as a Catalog.

• There is only one SPL.

• The SPL defaults to the Pictures Folder of the Mac but can be moved.

• You can make other Libraries but they are not connected to iCloud Photos and Shared Albums.
  • You can only work with one Library at one time.

Where are your photos really stored?

• When you import photos into a Library, they are copied to the Library folder (usually Mac’s Pictures folder).

• In Settings, you can choose not to copy the photos but reference the photos in other folders.

• If you reference the photos in other folders, they will not be automatically backed up to iCloud

Objects inside a Library

Photos have EXIF metadata. Apple Photos can use that metadata to bundle the photos together.

Memories

Memories will be a timeline of when you photos.

People

Apple Photos carries out face recognition so you can choose a person and drill down to their photos

Places

Photos can have geo location metadata embedded in them, especially mobile phone photos

Recent

Imports

Albums

• Albums are a bunch of photos and videos, given a name.

• Apple Photos creates some albums automatically, you can make additional albums and add photos to them
  • Albums can be nested
  
• You can Smart Albums which automatically collect photos for you based on keywords

Projects

Projects are customised slide shows that you can make

Creations

Apple Photos offers a launch point to create several different things

Photo Editing

Apple Photos has various editing features - some are fundamental, some are more advanced than the features offered by Microsoft Photos

Adjust

• Light (Exposure Brightness)

• Colour

• Black and White (Tones)

• Retouch

• Red-Eye (elimination)

• White Balance

• Curves

• Levels

• Definition

• Selective Colour

• Noise Reduction

• Sharpen

• Vignette

Filters

Otherwise known as Colour Grading

Cropping

Sharing

Guide to Sharing with Apple Photos

When sharing to macOS, be sure to choose "Open in Photos", otherwise

https://werkjohann.github.io/how-to-share-photos/

Using Microsoft Windows File Explorer to Organise Photos

Why would someone use Windows File Explorer to organise photos?

In a few words, because 

• it's there
• it's built into Windows
• it will always be in Windows
• the person already has Windows File Explorer familiarity
• the default Microsoft raw codecs have been installed and are satisfactory.
• for some additional features, Microsoft Photos is also part of the Windows 10 and 11 experience.

Why would some people want to use other software?

• They want more features
• They are not restricted from installing other software
• They don't like how Windows File Explorer presents itself

The Views and the Panes

People have different preferences to show how their documents or photos are displayed in the View. My most frequently used Views are Details and Large or Extra Large Icons.

In addition, Navigation pane display is on, the Details pane is on. I often have Item Check Boxes and File name extensions toggled to show

The Details Pane of Windows File Explorer allows you to look at and edit the following EXIF metadata

• 
  Date (Photo) Taken
• Tags
• (Star) Rating
  
• Title
• Authors
• Comments
• Camera Maker
• Camera Model
• Subject

Editing Tags is important for this tool because the other free tool in Windows 10 and 11 is Microsoft Photos and Microsoft Photos has no ability to edit EXIF Tags. Multiple tags can be used, a semi-colon separates them. If the Windows PC has OneDrive sync, then OneDrive will add tags using AI.

The Details View of Windows File Explorer can display more columns than default. There are many EXIF columns available. Tags, Copyright and Comments are editable.

Searching for images by metadata

It appears that the Search Tab in Windows 10 and Search Options in Windows 11 do  not display until there is something typed into the Windows File Explorer Search Box. 

Windows 11 File Explorer will search for words inside the Tags metadata of the files by default.

Window 10 File Explorer Search Tab does offer to search the Tags metadata explicitly.

Windows 10 File Explorer also offers a Picture Tools Tab. It can rotate photos without needing other software

Microsoft Photos (for Windows)

What is Microsoft Photos? 

Microsoft Photos is the free, built-into-Windows program that you can use to view and manage your photos. Microsoft Photos is either pre-installed in Windows 10 and 11 or can be downloaded from the Windows Store.

Who is it for?

If you

• can't install another photo organising program (sometimes referred to, with the lofty term Digital Asset Manager).
• want a DAM for free
• prefer not to use third party software
• have grown used to Windows File Explorer and want a few more features
• want to use it because "it's there"
• don't shoot raw image files or have a camera that is supported by the free available raw codecs
• are not bothered by missing features
• do minimal editing to your photos

It is also inevitable to discover and try out what comes in the box with Microsoft Windows before thirsting for more or better tools.

What's What

The top menu is displayed in a way that explains how Microsoft Photos thinks.

The Collection Tab

Collection presents your photos in a timeline view, Microsoft Photos automatically looks at all the folders you have nominated, at the files and shows them in groups according to Month-Year. 

You can choose to View by Date Taken or Recently Added. Date Taken would be from the EXIF metadata (?)

The Collection is automatically populated by Microsoft Photos

Along the top of the Collection screen are tiles representing actions you can take.

• Recent photos
• Protect your memories - Back Up to OneDrive
• On This Day
• Happy Days - it appears to AI identify the "Smile"
• Most Popular Tag - it appears to AI identify recognised subjects
• On This Day - specific date
• You're the director - click on the tile to switch to Video Editor Mode
  
  

The Albums Tab

You can create a virtual album by nominating photos into an album that you name yourself. The photos are not moved from their original folders, this is virtual. This means that a photo can be displayed in more than one Album. Certain albums are automatically created and named for you.

Where is the Albums metadata stored? In an SQLite database in

%USERPROFILE%\AppData\Local\Packages\Microsoft.Windows.Photos_8wekyb3d8bbwe\LocalState\MediaDb.v1.sqlite

This database contains details of all your albums, as well as metadata from images (date taken, camera models, etc.) as well as information extracted using the AI engine (such as recognising faces, types of scenes, etc.).

The People Tab

Microsoft Photos uses face recognition to show candidates for you to name. You can click on the person to dive down to all relevant photos.

The Folders Tab

The Folders Tab is surprisingly not a Windows Explorer like tree of folders. It is a set of Tiles, (including Recent) which you can click on to dive into to show the photos. Photos in those Folders will be displayed in the Collections Tab timeline

The first Tile is Add a folder. When you click on this tile you will see the suggested folders to add to the Windows Library - Pictures. Windows Photos relies on this library concept to populate its Collections

To remove folders from the Folders Tab, Click on the thee dots symbol (elipsis) on the top right of the Photos window and look at the Sources section.

The Video Tab

The Video Tab takes you to the Video Editor and shows your Video Projects

Integrates with Paint 3D

Editing Features of Microsoft Photos

Microsoft Photos has rudimentary editing features.

• Rotate
• Flip
• Crop
• Auto Enhance
• Adjust Brightness (Light)
• Colour (Saturation)
• Clarity
• Apply a Vignette
• Remove Red Eye
• Spot Fix
• Apply fixed set of colour grading filters
• Draw
• Resize
• Add 3D effects
• Add animated text

This program can also

• Edit Metadata on
• Filename
• Description
• Data and Time Photo Taken
• Tags can't be edited manually. You can use Windows File Explorer to edit Tags. Additionally, Microsoft OneDrive uses AI to autotag photos
• Set Favourite
• Save As
• Print
• Copy
• Set As
• Desktop Background
• Lock Screen Background
• Share
• Slideshow
• launch other Photo apps with Open With
• launch Microsoft Store for more editing Apps

File Type Support

• jpeg
• tiff ?
• bmp ?
• raw (given that relevant raw codecs are installed
• HEIC / HEVC - there is a codeC available for a small price from the Microsoft Store

Why you might not want to use Microsoft Photos

• You feel that there are many features you want, missing.
• You don't have faith that Microsoft will continue this line of software in future versions of Windows.

Migrating my Google Sheets table of Photo Editing Software to Notion

 Come and have a look: Photo Software

 

 

Have your third party Filters for Adobe Photoshop gone missing? Again?

Pretty much every time there is a new year version upgrade for Adobe Photoshop, for example from 2021 to 2022, your third party plugins may go missing from the Filter drop down menu panel in Adobe Photoshop. The fix used to vary and some third party software still have different methods to resolve it. Here's what I tried for Microsoft Windows installations

Method 1: Make a shortcut to the relevant third party folder in the Photoshop Plugins folder.

For example, for the old Nik Collection Analog Effex Pro 2 which is stored in:

c:\Program Files\DxO\Nik Collection\Analog Efex Pro 2\Analog Efex Pro 2 (64-Bit)\

Drag that folder holding the right mouse button down to

c:\Program Files\Common Files\Adobe\Plug-Ins\CC\

and release the button, choosing Create Shortcut

Note:

• You have to do this separately for each Nik Collection Filter.
• I use 64 bit Photoshop

Method 2: 

Make a copy of the third party folder and place it in 

c:\Program Files\Common Files\Adobe\Plug-Ins\CC\

I did this for my DxO ViewPoint 2 folder

As to why the folders have a name called Plug-Ins and the Photoshop menu says Filters?.....

Putting Up Your Name in Lights

The Preamble

Firstly, this article is written from the viewpoint of a hobbyist photographer without great leanings to generating income from photography. If you are yearning to make money from photography using the web, there are many, many gurus and articles that would be of interest to you.

Why put up your photos online?

Before you read further, I'll pose the question, "Are you concerned about photo theft from unknown people on the internet?" If you are obsessively concerned about image theft, stop reading now. Putting up photos on the internet is just making it easy as pie for someone to steal your exact photo or at least copy your concept. Don't do it. Point people to Unsplash if they ask you to put up your photos.

Now, for the rest of us, here are my thoughts about some of the services I use and don't use.

Google+

Oops, that slipped out. I was on Gee Plus for several years, almost from its launch until its termination. It was a grand time. Google had made an antfarm to watch how people would behave in the social network to rival Facebook (ostensibly, at that time, Facebook was taking big chunks of search and advertising away from Google's Search engine). So as ants, we were really happy, we had a social network that we could control comments to our posts, free photo storage and did not have to suffer relos and school buddies who would never "come over" to the photographer's eye and urge to take random photos of puddles and shoes. Of all the services that let me celebrate my joy of photography and meet like minded people, G+ was it. But it's gone, repurposed as a corporate intranet.

Facebook

So my presence on Facebook preceded G+. Initially I posted on my private personal presence. No, that was not good. Negatives of posting as private person?

• Strangers want to friend you. Some are genuine nice people, others are all kinds of nefarious.
• When you friend someone and eventually are not so into them, it's a painful experience to disconnect from them.
• You mix your relatives and close friends with people you are superficial to.
• Your relatives and close friends treasure you for what you are but don't like your artistic leanings in photography.
• and a tonne of other issues.

If you want to post on Facebook, you have several better ways

• Make a public Facebook Page - people make Facebook pages to present a business or just be at a different doorway. Here's mine.
• Your close friends and relatives don't automatically follow your Facebook page. They can opt in if they want, voluntarily. One issue solved.
• You don't have to lower down the boom gate to strangers and friend them. Strangers can appreciate your artwork without needing to be friended.
• You can hop into private or public photo enthusiast groups. Some are camera or gear based. Some are photography based. You can join in more than one. If the group is private you can show photos and have long winding conversations, these will not appear in public view. Negatives to this?
• Unless you are the owner or administrator, you are a guest in the group and have to comply with the moderation rules of the owners and administrators.
• Poorly managed groups that allow undesirables to come into the group will get spam postings from said undesirables

The negatives of Facebook postings?

• The image display dimensions are restricted. Even if you have a wide screen, the image display does not expand in size.
• Image quality is reduced due to compression. This limits examination and appreciation.
• Facebook slaps a hand on your photos - the old fear of losing your copyright to them is as old as Facebook - it's a perceived fear.
• Your Facebook account could be abruptly suspended or terminated based on a complaint from someone about violating community guidelines.

The positives of posting photos on Facebook?

• It is after all the largest social network in the world, filled with laypeople, not just limited to photographers. These people might give you likes and appreciate your photos differently, as laypeople, compared to the sometimes paranoid critical response from image makers.
• You can feed your ego by paying real money to sponsor your posts. 
• The Facebook algorithm is generally kind to you and your followers will see your postings.
• You can make private album postings to targeted stakeholders.
• The conversation about your posting is threaded for easier reading
• You can mention someone in your posting or your reply - meaning they get notified (dinged) and hyperlinked.

Instagram

Instagram started as a photo sharing service for snapshots from phone cameras. It was so successful, it was bought over by Facebook. Here's my current Insta

Positives of posting on Instagram?

• Like Facebook, your photos potentially reach many many eyeballs, normal people, photographers, marketing and branding companies, and so on. Not just photographers. These people often have a different appreciation aesthetic to photographers.
• Although Instagram has recently stated that it is no longer a pure photo service (meaning they want to Tik Tok and Youtube), there are many established photographers and delegates on it. As well as upcoming talent and wannabes. This is a great place to see what you feel is talented work, and rub shoulders by posting your own shots.

Negatives of Instagram?

• There is no concept of albums, your images are all in one stream, mixed. If you want to have curated albums of different genre, or to split work images from personal casual images, you need to create separate accounts.
• The postings do not accept hyperlinks - so you can't direct a conversation to another location / blog article / presence. The only place a hyperlink will work is to place it in your bio. If you want more than one hyperlink in your bio, try linktr.ee - here's my linkte.ee .
• Like Facebook, your account could be abruptly suspended or terminated. This could be due to a complaint about violating community guidelines or just plain switching between machines often when you log in. Potentially worse than Facebook, if your account is terminated, there is no phone number or email address to register a rebuttal.
• The aspect ratio of an image is preferably square or squarish. Grossly rectangular images are either automatically cropped or have to be fiddled with third party editors so that there are huge borders and very little image content.
• The image display dimensions are restricted. Even if you have a wide screen, the image display does not expand in size, more restrictive than Facebook display.
• The discussion to your posting is not threaded, so threads are difficult to follow.
• There is no concept of a discussion group like in Facebook.
• Your account is either private or public, you don't have the option of having both private and public "albums" to show for example a family event.
• The native client for Instagram on your desktop computer does not allow posting of images. You have to fiddle with the Browser's User Agent  to fake the situation that you are using a mobile device so that the Upload icon and subsequent pick-a-file dialog works.
• The background around your image is white and is expected to be white. That means you need to edit your images with that appearance in mind.
• Many people will view your images on their small phone screen, often in bright light. Bear that in  mind when you edit your image as well as choice of content. Although a full sized image can be uploaded, the display by the native Instagram web app forces a limited image size. You can find hacks to re-direct the image to full size in a separate web browser window.
• The famous Instagram algorithm will fiddle with whose images appear on your stream.

That having been said, why does Instagram attract so much talent? Because it is the most popular photo sharing service