You may have seen a slight transformation in my Instagram feed recently. I’ve opened my eyes to a whole new world of editing and want to share what apps I use to edit my photos. Now, not all photos are created equal. It is very easy to go overboard especially with all the photo editing apps that are out there. Today, I want to share my favorites and show a few examples of edits I’ve done on my feed recently.
Lightroom
This app is my #1. I purchased a pack of 8 presets from Jillian Harris and imported them into Lightroom. So, when I upload any photo I choose a preset, adjust a little from there, export and upload to IG. Below is an example of an edit done solely in Lightroom. I adjusted not only the overall look (exposure, highlights, shadows etc) but I was able to completely remove all the snow behind me. This can be done in any number if apps (another example being Photo Retouch) but I chose to do this in Lightroom.
FaceTune
This app is the smoother and whitener that I use. Below is just an example of how I would use this. FaceTune is not always used in my photo editing routine but when I do use it, I use it to brighten snow.
You can see above how much blue the whitening tool took out. I don’t like to adjust the blues in Lightroom because it alters ALL blue in the photo, which would make my jeans look like a charcoal color instead of denim. The above photo was only altered in FaceTune. (I would do more edits before I upload)
The smooth feature is one that I try not to use very often but sometimes a photo can be very noisy / grainy that smoothing things out is necessary. Above is just an example and you can see how less defined my facial features are. Don’t mind my crazy eye in this photo! HAHA!
PicsArt
This app is a new found love of mine! I downloaded it after seeing edits and recommendations from @sunsetsaraid She’s a Madison area vintage thrift blogger and her creativity is on another level! Not only with her edits, but her fashion choices and photography poses. The below edit was done with PicsArt showing that it can be way more than just adding cute stickers to your photos. Although, this is amazing and I do that as well, I wanted to show you this apps true potential.
Above are all the assets used to create one photo. These have all been adjusted in Lightroom for highlights, shadows etc. and a preset applied. I exported the images and brought them into PicsArt. I opened the far left image first and then one by one imported the others in. Once I brought in the ‘arm’ photos I clipped out the piece that I wanted, scaled it and placed it where I wanted it to go. See the after below.
I then brought the image back into Lightroom and changed the background color.
More examples of what PicsArt can do are below. You can choose brushes to add graphics, add lens flare and so much more.
Photo Retouch
The photo below shows how I used Photo Retouch and also Focus. First let’s address Photo Retouch. This app makes removing unwanted items in your photos so easy. I was able to remove all the snow and little flecks that were on my cardigan. You can also do this edit in Lightroom. Now that you know the snow has been removed you can see that the ground looks a little patchy but when you just see the edited photo while scrolling through, you probably wouldn’t think twice.
Focus
I use Focus to adjust the depth of field in some images. If I want something in the foreground to be in focus, I use this app. It’s subtle in the photo below but the background edges in the right side photo are softened and just add a little something extra. This helps your photos look more professional like you shot them with a fancy camera. Side note, I use my iPhone 11 Pro for ALL my Instagram photos.
The photo below was taken in a small space and I couldn’t use the portrait mode because I couldn’t move my phone / camera back far enough to capture everything that I wanted in the picture. Enter Focus. I was able to go in afterwards and soften the background to put me more in focus.
Snapseed
This app I use when I want a subject (most of the times it’s me) to be more of the main focus. The filters in this app help enhance the subject to bring them more forward in the photo and become what you want the attention drawn to. Example below. This app also allows you to add really nice grain effects for a more vintage feel. There are so many more features to this app and I haven’t even scratched the surface at what it can do.
Do you see how instead of me blending into the background, it accentuates the subject (me) and brings your attention to what the photo is about. Subtle but very effective.
Photoshop
I late added this section because I recently took a photo that needed Photoshop work. I needed Photoshop to add more wall space above my head in order to accomplish the ‘image’ I had in my head and what I wanted to do. I changed the image size to add space above me, copied parts of the existing wall and moved / transformed / rotated / stretched them into place until all lines looked as though they ran together.
I hope you all enjoyed this post. Are there other editing apps that you love to use? Leave me a comment below. Also, if there are features in any app that I talked about above that I should know about or that work for you please let me know below too.
Thank you all so much for reading. Until next time,
