How I edit my Instagram Pictures

August 18, 2017 by sayeedahsparkles

First things first, you have to take a picture (duh!). But what camera should you use and does it actually make a difference?

I think Apple definitely stepped up their game when it came to the iPhone 7 camera. However, I feel that the camera still isn’t where it needs to be and the quality is not as amazing as I’d expect. Compared to other phones like the Samsung and the Google Pixel, the camera just doesn’t perform as well. It also doesn’t capture details like a professional camera would. Professional cameras show pictures with more clarity and sharpness than a regular iPhone. It’s also easier to edit pictures that are taken by a professional camera because of the higher picture quality. (I really want a Nikon but I don’t have one just yet). See below for a picture taken by my uncle’s Nikon.

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A post shared by S.✨ (@sayeedah_) on Jun 29, 2017 at 8:15am PDT

Do you see how clear the image is and how you can actually see my contour? I typically don’t see that with my iPhone.

Anyways, now that you’ve got your camera ready, you need good lighting. I find that it’s easiest to edit pictures that are taken in the sunlight. It’s a little tricky sometimes because you have to make sure that the light is reflecting onto you and not directly hitting you – that way you aren’t squinting your eyes and the color comes out more true. I do have a ring light for makeup shots but I still think sunlight makes for a better picture. It’s a little hard to capture details using the ring light and at times I find it to be too bright so it washes out my face. I’m still figuring it out.

Now onto editing! I edit my pictures mainly using Instagram because I am way too lazy to go through 5 million apps. I basically increase the brightness (which is kind of a must), adjust either the contrast (to balance it out) or shadows (because I like my hair to look extra black), and sharpen it just a little. If you sharpen the picture too much I feel like it can look a little fake and kinda like those over processed pictures people used to put on MySpace (not a good look)! Sometimes I’ll add the “Lux” (the little sun icon on top when you’re editing picture) & that kinda fixes the saturation of the picture without making it too orange.

Shadows

Sharpness

I actually decreased the shadows in the picture above because there were quite a few shadows on my face and I needed to brighten it up.

Here’s the final product:

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A post shared by S.✨ (@sayeedah_) on Aug 18, 2017 at 2:35pm PDT

If I really want a picture to look nice, I use Google Picasa on my laptop to edit the picture. Here are the features I like:

The “I’m Feeling Lucky” button kinda works like magic to balance everything out and fix the colors in the picture
Then I add light and adjust the shadows, highlight, and adjust the color temperature
Sometimes I like to add a little bit of a glow, but not too much cause it can look fake

Then I send it to my phone and do any last minute adjustments on Instagram.

When I edit my picture using Picasa I typically don’t add a filter. However, when I do use a filter I typically use Sierra. I feel like a lot of the filters on IG don’t flatter my skin tone but I think Sierra really does.

Recently, I’ve noticed that when I edit a picture on my laptop and then send it to my phone, the quality diminishes. I’m thinking it’s because the iPhone cannot handle the picture quality? Anyone else have that issue?

How do you like to edit your pics & what’s your favorite Instagram filter?

I’m not a photographer and I definitely don’t claim to be the best photographer/editor. I just wanted to share my steps with you and see how everyone else likes to edit their pictures too.

Side note: You know what’s a real shame? I went to a technology high school where I could’ve learned to use photoshop but I never took a class. Ugh I could’ve really used those classes right now!