HOLY GRAILS TO PHOTO EDITING

How to start your own insta page and secure brand deals (3)

You have made it to HOW TO START YOUR OWN INSTA PAGE AND SECURE BRAND DEALS part 3~! Welcome and I'm so happy you have made it this far in your decision to be dedicated in creating amazing Instagram content! This post is dedicated to tell you more about editing photos.

Here are my holy grails when it comes to great photos:

1) Lighting (Lighting makes a wild of a difference in any photo! The more natural light the better!)

2) Clean background (This depends on your niche)

3) A great camera or phone! (I use an Iphone Xs- switching soon though!)

First things first, here are the apps I downloaded in editing my Instagram content. I recommend playing around with these apps or creating your own presets using Lightroom.

Apps: Facetune 2, Snapseed, Lightroom, Vsco.

Other Apps: SNOW, PhotoWonder

What is a preset?

A preset it a mode of functions that have been optimized to the correct number to create a visual effect. So if you save one preset, all of you other photos that you use to edit using that preset will basically lay over all of the editing that you saved onto that preset! It's sort of like a magic paintbrush that brushes up over your photos to enhance and make them Insta worthy!

A lot of creators sell their presets, because it takes a lot of hard work into creating great ones with the right hues and vibes! It can be a bit confusing to use them at first. Personally, I enjoy using presets only for up close photos and content for branding instead of on my regular feed. However, some people ONLY use presets, and that preference is up to you in how you want your Insta feed to look!

Here is a website you can buy presets: www.123presets.com. You can also check out the #presets on Instagram to find creators who sell their presets! There may be free presets, but most cost 15-60$. There are also sets that offer 10 in 1 bundles. Note: you have to download Lightroom, and use it in conjunction with these presets.

How do you edit your photos Diane?

As I am in the aesthetic minimalism and fashion/beauty niche, I strive to take photos and edit them to look 1)As clean and high quality as possible 2)Neutral colored. I try to edit my photos as little as possible, and let the natural beauty of what I shot come out in the photo. However, where I tend to edit more is when the photo is not in my color palette, and I shift the colors to match my theme.

Taking photos: What I first do is use my phone's back camera (as the quality is better) and try to use it during the time of day when the lighting is brightest outside! I never take photos on a cloudy day. I take photos near windows, outside, or right where the light is shining.

Editing photos: After choosing the photos I like, I go into Facetune 2 and whiten the background! Facetune 2 is the only app I have seen where you can touch and lighten certain things in your photo. I use this and the black and white tool to turn some bright objects in my photo to be more neutral. Here is a photo I edited used Facetune 2 whitening/ black and white touch.

After whitening the photo, I go in and use Snapseed to use structuring and sharpen any details I need. No photo is the same, so think about how you want to portray the photo. Less is more!

Finally, I will use SNOW or PhotoWonder or Snapseed to get heal any dirt smudges or random colors that get in the way of the photo! Practice is key in knowing what to edit, and how to edit in in photos!

I definitely think that using a great high-quality camera, good lighting, and minimal editing goes a long way when it comes to keeping a photo look more professional and appealing! Find what works for you and then make it consistent :) Make sure that each photo can be identified with you insta handle so that if someone sees your photo they say "Oh that's definitely lensofestelle's!".

I truly hope this helped, and my next post will go into hashtag targeting and optimal posting strategies for when you actually POST the photo! Until then, Happy Wednesday and wishing you the best in your editing adventures!