While some people may be able to capture the perfect photos to post on Instagram, most people will want to edit theirs beforehand. This can help them really stand out and help you get more Instagram followers and likes.
Whether you want to add a filter, change up the contrast or simply fix a few blemishes, editing is an important part of getting the photos to look just the way you want. Editing photos may seem easy, but unfortunately, many people aren’t editing their pictures as well as they could be.
With that in mind, let’s go over a few great photo editing hacks for Instagram.
Don’t Edit on Instagram
The first tip is to not actually edit your photos directly on Instagram. While they indeed have a few tools you can use, their efforts are lacking in that department. Instead, consider using a different Instagram selfie editor app. These can provide you with a wealth of helpful features, tools and sliders to truly create the photos of your dreams.
Many of these are either free or very affordable, and make it easy to import and export your photos. Some will focus on having great features, while others will help with getting the perfect color and others will be awesome for effects. Either way, if you handle most of your editing elsewhere, your Instagram phototography can be taken to the next level.
Focus on the Basics and Edit Tastefully
When editing photos, it is important to focus on the basics. Instead of making several huge changes that clearly show the photo has been edited, more subtle changes and tweaks can have better results. This includes changing the brightness, adjusting the contrast, messing with the shadows and reducing saturation.
These types of changes are basic, but can dramatically improve the quality of the photo without going too far. In a similar vein, you also want to be tasteful when it comes to your edits. Use them conservatively, and only in areas that truly need it.
Take Your Time
Another aspect of photo editing on Instagram (and anywhere else) that is of the utmost importance is taking your time. If you try and rush an edit, the finished product likely won’t look as good as it could have. While using presets can help you speed things up, always take time to go over the colors, the subject, the shadows and more.
The performance of a photo, and how good it looks, can have a major impact on how well your account does as a whole. Also, the more you practice editing your photos, the better you will get over time. While getting content out is important, taking the time to make that content look as good as possible is worthwhile.
Always Start With a Quality Photo
While editing can do a lot to improve a photo, it isn’t magic. In order to get the best editing possible, you need to start with a quality photo. It should be sized correctly, have a background that looks good, be well-lit and be carefully timed.
The better your picture is, the less editing work you will need to do as well. So when taking photos for Instagram, always take a couple of shots and try things from different angles. With more photos being taken, there is a better chance of finding one that works for you.
No matter how good an editor you are, if the original photo is out of frame, blurry, not sized correctly and experiences other issues, it will be challenging to get a final result that you are happy with.
By using these photo editing hacks for Instagram, you can ensure your photos look incredible and get more likes.