This is taken a ReadWriteWeb post I wrote for this morning in which I interviewed Adrian Salamunovic, co-founder of CanvasPop, about the Facebook acquisition of Instagram. Salamunovic has studied the Instagram app closely and had a no-nonsense explanation on why Instagram photos look so good:

Salamunovic listed two main technical reasons: First, the filters the app uses make almost anything look better. And second, the square format makes it easier to compose striking images than the usual rectangular frame.

“When you’re dealing with a square format, the 2/3rds rule and other composition rules pretty much go out the window,” he said. “It’s harder to mess up a square photo.”

But there are other factors at play. The social nature of Instagram means people are looking for likes and taking their time to get photos just right. Salamunovic said the increase in the number of users has not diluted the quality of photos his company is seeing.

“At the end of day, the people who are drawn to Instagram are good communicators,” he said. “Whether or not they’re good technical photographers, they’re good at communicating visually, and Instagram has made it pretty simple for them to do what they’re good at.”