Instagram adds its first new filters in two years

For all that you hear about Instagram’s filters, the company doesn’t release that many; there were two additions in December 2012, and nothing since then. Apps like VSCO Cam have picked up the slack since, offering a wider variety of filters and editing abilities to help your photos stand out. Instagram responded in the summer with some more granular tweaking tools, and today it’s releasing five brand new filters — its first in two years. “Photography trends have evolved,” acknowledges Instagram in a statement. “We’ve seen tremendous creativity within the community, not only in the moments they share, but in the time spent carefully composing and editing photos and videos to bring out emotions and make them beautiful.” That suggests that these new filters — called Slumber, Crema, Ludwig, Perpetua, and Aden — are directly designed to appeal to users of apps like VSCO Cam. And one look at these samples backs this up; although we haven’t had a chance to use them for ourselves, on this evidence most of the new filters look subtler and more realistically filmic than the sometimes heavy-handed present set.