In an effort to be transparent, I have to admit my photos don’t originally look how they do on my Instagram, blog or other social media channels. Surprise, surprise. What might come as more of a surprise is how I edit the photos: mostly in the Instagram application.
That’s right — I don’t use presets on every single photo or edit on my computer!
I do use some applications, mainly A Color Story, Aviary and Lightroom but pretty sparingly. Other bloggers and influencers might look down on this but it has worked for me and the aesthetic I want (bright and colorful but pretty true to how it looks in person) so why fix what isn’t broken?
Here is how I (generally) edit my photos:
- I enhance the brightness, usually to 100%.
- I decrease the highlight, mainly to maintain proper skin tones.
- I enhance contrast a bit and adjust shadows, if/as needed.
- I saturate OR de-saturate color, as needed.
- I adjust the warmth to fit within the aesthetic.
*I sometimes will save the photo and then edit it more (i.e. make it brighter).
I only use A Color Story for Color Fog (I bought the package) if I want to add a pop of color; its curve tool; or the flare tool in its free starter kit. I use Aviary to blur backgrounds (if the photo is not shot in iPhone Portrait mode) and/or for its blemish feature. I edit in Lightroom, as I deem needed, which has only been a handful of times.
Here are a few of my photos before + after editing in Instagram, only:
