HOW TO MAKE YOUR INSTAGRAM POP

I´ve had Instagram for years, but it´s only this past year where it has really taken off for me (thanks to so many of you guys!) and naturally I´ve started putting more time and effort into it. Instagram is my favourite social media account; I love working with pictures, photographing and editing… I´m not a total pro, but I´m getting there! Read on for my top tips and what works for me…

1. SNAP 

I seldom leave the house without my Olympus Pen camera, which has pretty much changed my life when it comes to my Instagram and blog. Not only does it look good; it takes great pictures, it´s compact and easy to carry on-the-go, and it´s got a genius function of which you can send pictures directly to your phone! You can also adjust the settings for square format, so it fits perfectly within your Instagram frame.

When I don´t have my camera with me, my iPhone 6 Plus takes pretty good pictures. They´re not always as sharp and bright as my Olympus, but that´s when photo editing comes in handy!

2. ADJUST 

Gone are the days of using regular Instagram filters (although, there´s nothing wrong with that if you do!) – I just find that more specialised photo apps works better for my photos and I much prefer not using any filters at all, rather manually adjusting the brightness, colours, etc. I think it makes the picture looks a lot more ´real` and I´d rather just enhance what I already have, instead of changing colours and adding any effects.

I´ve been using various editing apps, from Snapseed to VSCO – but my all-time favourite is Afterlight. It´s so simple to use and I think it gives the best results in terms of brightness, clarity and tone.

Step-by-Step Photo Editing: 

1. I amp up the Brightness to 100%, and often higher, if the photo needs it! What I like about this app, is that after each adjustment, the photo saves and you can go all over again (i.e if you want to brighten it even more).

2. Next I go onto Contrast, and again, depending on the picture, I amp it up to anything between 10 to 60% – depending on what effect I´m after.

3. The right colour is important to your picture (especially if you want your feed to look consistent and tonal), so I always use the Saturation. If you’ve followed my feed for a while, you might have noticed I went through a period of having very bright and colourful pictures. That´s when I was over-saturating them (a bit too much in hindsight). Now, I´m all about de-saturating my images, making the photos look that bit paler (and prettier, in my opinion). Again, depending on the picture, I do this between -5 to -20%.

4. Then I like to lower the Exposure, giving the picture more of a contrast and texture (at this point I might even brighten it a bit more, if needed).

5. Lastly, I lower the Temperature slightly, which just makes the overall picture look a bit cooler (this is especially useful if your picture is in a warm light setting or just looking a bit too yellow!).

3. PERFECT 

You might have heard of Facetune (or not) – but contrary to the name, it does so much more than make your face and body beautiful! It´s a popular app for smoothing out your skin and wrinkles (it works pretty well on crinkly bed linen too!), whitening teeth and reshaping… I like to use this app to just make the last finishing touches to my photo – be it through smoothing out the background, or enhancing an object or some text that I want to highlight, by using the Details function. You can also Blur the background here, making the item you want to focus on, pop out even more.

…and that´s pretty much it in a nutshell! I´m still finding my way and constantly learning and discovering new tips and tricks. I would love to hear from you if you have any other recommendation or apps you use!

Follow my journey over at @annelibush.