How I Edit my Photos for Social Media

Happy Thursday, friends! I’m hanging out in Nashville (hence the photo location- my mom took it in front of her and my dad’s house!) for spring break and I’ve been chilling. so. hard. But recently, I feel like a lot of people have been asking how I edit my pictures for Instagram, so I thought I would share!

I use and love the app VSCO Cam. I’ve used it since high school and I find that it works really well if a person knows how to use it! The app comes with some filters, but I’m really not a fan of those, so I went into the store and downloaded the free presets that it has. I use the A6 preset 100% of the time! It controls my color palette really well so that my feed looks a bit more composed. If you’re going for a bit of an antique look, you can stop here. I, however, like my images to have a bit more of a purple tone to them, so I head over to the editing section.

If my image is underexposed, I’ll go ahead and brighten it up. This only occurs if I’ve taken the picture on my phone, because I edit everything taken on my camera in photoshop beforehand. When fixing the exposure, I always make sure that I don’t lose any detail in the image, because I personally don’t like the overexposed look. So if anything becomes so bright in my picture that I begin to lose the detail, I’ll dial it back a bit.

I then move to the saturation. I just barely adjust this one, and only when needed. If I find an image is just way too colorful for my feed, I dial the saturation back by no more than a point.

Then, I edit my warmth and color tone. I find that these play the biggest part in my pictures. I hate my images looking too yellow/green since I love that pink/purple color. So I typically take anywhere from half a point to two points off the warmth, depending on the image. I then add anywhere from one to six points on the color tone. I just love the effect it has! It really freshens the image and makes it look super crisp.

The only thing I occasionally mess with is the contrast and sharpness. Usually the image doesn’t need it. However, if I find it to appear a bit blurred or dull, I’ll mess with these just a tad. Be sure to not overdo either of these! I never go over two points for sharpness or contrast. It’s really easy to overdo when you first get started, so be sure to always err on the side of caution.

Thats basically my instagram editing routine!! I would love to also hear tips and tricks from you guys. I feel like I’m constantly changing this up, so I would love to hear what you guys do!

Much Love,
Vikka