46 Comments
Finally!! The long awaited blog post of how I edit all my Instagram photos! 90% of all my photos that I post on Instagram are shot on my beloved iPhone 7 plus. So here we go, if you have an iPhone then you too can have a beautifully curated feed just like all the Instagrammers out there! I will give you all my tricks that I’ve learnt over the past three years of how to make your photos beautiful!
I should point out that fashion is my thing. If you have an Instagram or social media presence where your followers are far more interested in the subtle composition and exposure of your photography, you’ll be calling me a fool by now! But when my audience wants to how to pair a blazer, shorts and heels like a rockstar, the finer details of the photo aren’t going to leave them too distressed!
Tools:
iPhone 7 plus. You can use any smart phone to take your photos, and I know that Samsung and Sony have amazing camera phones, but if you’re in the Apple ecosystem then, trust me, the best so far is the iPhone 7+. If you are serious about Instagram then it is probably a good thing to invest in one!
The reason why I love this so much is because it has dual cameras on the iPhone 7 Plus – it uses two separate cameras to address any flaws – it has one 12-megapixel camera with a 28mm f1.8 lens and another 12 megapixel camera with a 56mm f2.8 lens. Mumbo jumbo aside, it just has a really kick ass camera!
Apps:
Here are the apps that I use on a regular bases:
Facetune 2: Most of you are already familiar with Facetune 1 but Facetune 2 has made my life so much easier. Hahaha. It’s true! It has so many cooler functions like removing shadows from your face, Lightx, anti glare, mattifying and so much more. IMPORTANT: I’m all about a healthy body image so by using this it’s not so you can change the way you look or your size. Don’t be turned off by the name of the ‘Facetune’ app – it has come a long way since it launched, and I would never use it to ‘tune my face’!!!
VSCO: I have been using VSCO for years!! I still love it, but not as much as when it was free… They have just recently started charging you for the service, which is $19.95 a year. There are so many other apps that you can use for free. Just have to find the right that you love using, but I’m a creature of habit so I persist with this one.
My favorite filters are: HB1, HB2, A5.
I mostly use these three filters. If you want your feed to be uniform, I would recommend for you to try and use 2-3 filters at the most. This could be your Instagram filters or filter in your apps. Otherwise your feed can come across a little too inconsistent.
Snapseed: I use Snapseed if i need to put in specific saturation or de-saturation. For example, if there’s a bright red stop sign behind me, this can be very distracting so I normally just go in there and use the brush tool to de-saturate the colour to make it a neutral tone so it’s not distracting for my followers when they look at a picture.
This is pretty much it!! So let’s go through some samples of how I edit from start to finish!
EXAMPLE 1
- Here is my original photo that I took with my iPhone 7 Plus. Note that the more filters you use while editing, the lower the quality of the photo. For Instagram this is totally fine, but if you are using it for a blog post, I would use Adobe Photoshop instead on a desktop and ensure that the image is not compressed every time I alter it.
2. The first thing I do is to put this into VSCO and I used HB1 for this photo and this is what it looks like! I probably increased the sharpness by a bit and also add a bit of tint for a blush or pink tone. I pretty much do the same thing for every photo that I edit.
3. I think the photo looks quite good already but for more of a dreamy effect, I put a little pink tint in the sky with Facetune2 Light FX. Just a very subtle change to the photo to make it look a bit more dreamy. So here is the FINAL PICTURE that I posted! As you can see, when you blow it up on a blog you can see how the colours have become grainy (our legs), so it’s best just for the little pics in Instagram.
Example 2
- Here is a shot that I took yesterday from Coppa club. It was raining like crazy so the sky is quite grey! But I was there and having fun and I had to make it work. So here is the Original photo in VSCO.
2) I then put filter HB1 on it in VSCO. I think it looks much better than the original photo already.
3) I then go on and increased the saturation as well as tint to make the purple and pink pop!! I love brightness in my photos so I always just increase the saturation a bit – but not too much, you don’t want it to look like a cartoon. When I only want to increase the saturation to a specific area (in this case the wisteria) then I put the photo into Snapseed and use the brush tool to increase saturation.
4) Lastly I put this into Facetune 2 and used Light FX to put a bit of Sunshine in here for a bit more dreaminess!
5) Here is the finished photo that I posted!! Despite the rain and the greyness, the photo is bright and quite airy!
People always ask me what’s the best camera??!! To me is the best camera is the one that is on you! The one that you can just grab and shoot. As much as you I love my DSLR, I often don’t carry it around with me all the time because it’s so big, but I do carry my phone with me all the time!
So there you go guys!! I hope this can help you edit your photos on the fly. Just create your own personal style of editing and try to stick to it so your photo has a consistent “vibe” to it. I would love to hear about what you guys use to edit your photos!! So please leave your comments below!
Also I would love to know what you would like to see more of on the Miss Gunner blog. Anything you need help with? I want to try to make this interactive and beneficial to you guys. Again, thank you so much for reading and for all your support!
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46 Comments
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on June 28, 2017 at 10:22 pm
babe this was so much fun to read! I did always wonder how you edited your photos so thank you so much for sharing!! I pretty much use all the same apps as you except, I had NO idea that there was a Facetune 2 so I’m going to be downloading this right now!!
I have nothing in particular that I’d like to see on your blog tbh, I already get excited when there’s a new blog post in general haha. Miss you
Michaela
http://www.graceandcoy.com-
on June 28, 2017 at 10:33 pm
hahaha thank you so much babe!!! omg! you are so cute. ummm Facetune2 is the bomb.com hahaha hope you like it as much as I do!!
xxx
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on June 28, 2017 at 10:35 pm
Always a Beautiful post … the most essential editing tools for the ones on the go! I love ❤️ these tips! 🙂
Have yourself a fabulous day Gorgeous. -
on June 29, 2017 at 12:24 am
I am going to try all of this! You are such a doll to share! XOXO
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on June 29, 2017 at 6:43 pm
hehe thank you so much Kimmy!! lots of love for you stylish lady!! xxx
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on June 29, 2017 at 12:31 am
I really enjoyed this post Ash!! I love the creative side of photo editing and it’s great to hear about the tips and tricks other bloggers use! Also I can’t believe your pics are mostly from a camera phone, incredible!! Thanks so much for sharing, Judith xxx
http://www.talesofjude.com-
on June 29, 2017 at 6:44 pm
hehe Jude!! yes the powerburst!!! hahaha thank you so much beautiful!
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on June 29, 2017 at 4:47 am
Oh wow! They look so cool. I also love the A series on VSCO. Thank you for sharing your tips your feed is #goals!
xo | Cindy Elena
http://www.boringclothes.com -
on June 29, 2017 at 6:54 am
I bookmarked this right after I clicked on the title! I love tips like these, especially since everyone has their own way of making their pics look amazing. This post is much appreciated, thank you!
Xx, Lora | Cherry Cola Style
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on June 29, 2017 at 6:45 pm
Lora!! for sure! Thank you so much for reading lovely!! I’m happy to share!!! hehehe thank you!!! xxx
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on June 29, 2017 at 10:46 am
Love your tips babe! I’ll definitely be stealing a few for myself haha. I love following your London journey it’s so picturesque!
Mel xxx
https://melaniemay.me-
on June 29, 2017 at 6:46 pm
Mel!! Glad you found it useful babe!! hahaha Yes!!! i’m glad you will use a few tips!! Thank you so much!! xxx
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on June 29, 2017 at 11:00 am
Babe!!! You are such a sweetheart for sharing this.. I was wondering how to get that pop of light into my pictures without using the ‘lens flare’ option in photoshop (as all my editing is done on my phone). Must get facetune 2 for the lighting effects. Love you, Vettie xx @fashionevolve
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on June 29, 2017 at 6:47 pm
See i’m not just a pretty face!! hahahaha yes babe umm facetune2 changed my life!!! hahahah love you!!
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on June 29, 2017 at 11:30 am
Hey Ash, this is great! You should really do a series on Instagram – how you choose your pictures you post, how to edit a DSLR, what are the best cameras and lenses to buy with examples, how to choose your ‘vibe’, how to choose a theme and stick to it, top Instagrammers you follow and why, how you get your inspiration for your photos you post and why, the best time of the day to take photos, how you decide what brands to work with… the list goes on. Basically a guide on how you’ve got to where you are. Everyone wants to grow their Instagram accounts to the scale you have and you’d be the perfect example of how to do it properly. It’s so uninspiring seeing big Instragmmers tell their audience that they just use a DSLR and bam, they have all these followers. Everyone knows it takes time and effort, but to actually present a decent Instagram page is another story. People need actual examples of how to do it – just like how you’ve presented in this post. If you run series on this, it will be like gold dust for many 🙂
Annie
londonerinsydney.com-
on June 29, 2017 at 7:15 pm
Annie!!!! Omg! Thank you so much for your feedback babe! you have given me so much amazing ideas!! Thank you thank you! I will definitely take this on and start doing a series of these posts. I wanna make sure the readers get something beneficial from the posts too. Thank you again for so many amazing ideas!! You really are an amazing blogger and I always look up to you!!! ps, loving London!!!
xxx
Ash
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on June 29, 2017 at 7:25 pm
Glad you like the ideas! You could also start a side business of helping others with their insta accounts – like give them feedback on how to make their accounts better and more pleasing on the eye to gain more followers. I know my account is a bit all over the shop! 😉
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on June 29, 2017 at 7:27 pm
Also, how would you feel about a bit of an interview on my blog about moving to London? I get loads of Australians asking me for advice about moving there. Would be good to show them what it’s like for someone who is actually doing it right now. Let me know if you have time 🙂
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on June 29, 2017 at 7:46 pm
Omg I would love to do that actually. I am pretty good at critiquing a feed now. It’s almost 2nd nature to me now. I’m still a bit lost at times but I think i worked out what people want in a feed. Annie, the move here…. omg…. hahahaha not as easy as it looks!! I’m still trying to get used to things. It’s been 5 weeks and I’m still trying to wrap my head around things. Yup sounds like a plan!!! Shoot me an email my love. xxx
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on June 29, 2017 at 2:57 pm
It’s always interesting to see how other people edit their photos. I use the MIX app (which is free) and it’s absolutely amazing. You can do so much with it.
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on June 29, 2017 at 7:16 pm
Omg! I totally need to try MIX app. I’ve been using VSCO for like 3 years and its so natural for me to use and hence i had to fork out $19.95!!! hahaha I would love to not pay but they have sucked me in too deep!!! But always great to find out about new apps!!! Thank you for sharing girl!!xxx
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on July 3, 2017 at 12:54 pm
Yes, I totally understand wanting to use what you’re familiar with. Plus, you’ve already paid. I used VSCO a few times back when it was free, but I honestly like MIX more.
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on June 29, 2017 at 6:56 pm
Thank YOU Ashley for sharing! Most fashion bloggers never do this( kinda selfish) but u did, shows alot about u! I appriciate so much ??You literrly are my fave 🙂
Am still considering of visiting Australia….rem when we had a small talk about it??
Would LOVE to meet you since your visit in Zurich didnt work 🙁
xoxo Agnes -
on June 30, 2017 at 7:12 am
Wow! I love the way you edit your pictures. Isn’t so far from the techniques I use myself 🙂
Much love, Tiffany Lea
https://zimmylifestyle.com -
on June 30, 2017 at 2:44 pm
I have been loving your photos (both how you capture and the ways you edit) since day 1 I checked out your instagram feed! They are so amazing! Looking forward to much more of your great shots babe! xx
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on June 30, 2017 at 3:38 pm
I always wonder how iPhone only instagrammers edit their photos. The second photo was changed so dramatically.
I love it!https://www.bunnybernice.com/single-post/2017/06/29/The-Necessity-of-the-Everyday-Bag
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on July 2, 2017 at 5:11 pm
Such a fabulous blog post babe!! I love this so much! Very insightful and I love how you actually want to help out your fellow instagramers + bloggers and do not try to mask or hide your tips and tricks form other users. Great attitude and keep up the great work !
CCXO -
on July 2, 2017 at 5:14 pm
Thanks for sharing babe! I have iphone 7+ so these tips are great for me! Waiting for the london cute corners post!! xxx Carla
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on July 4, 2017 at 4:55 am
Definitely bookmarking this post.
I love the 7+ for the sheer reason that it takes gorgeous photos.
Thank you for sharing your favorite editing apps. Definitely going to download them as I love photo editing apps. 🙂
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on July 4, 2017 at 6:35 am
Hi Ash,
Thank you for sharing your Instagram editing tips! I love your photos.
X
Miri -
on July 5, 2017 at 2:16 am
So much fun to read! I actually use most of the same apps as you!! I love Snapseed because you can focus on specific parts of the image and I use VSCO too!!
x
Shloka
http://thesilksneaker.com -
on July 5, 2017 at 3:34 am
Thanks for sharing babes<3 Its always nice to see how everyone else does this process!
have a great week babes!!XO, Jessi
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on July 5, 2017 at 5:47 am
Girl, let me just say, YOUR PHOTOS ARE STUNNING!! I LOVE all the outfits you’ve shot so far and all your post. You are so inspirational!!
Have an awesome day!
xx Kris -
on July 5, 2017 at 11:27 pm
Amazing tips! I always love how your photos look, they are so beautiful!
xo
S
Grey Canvas -
on July 7, 2017 at 2:05 am
All great tips! Love this post, and your photos look amazing!
Love, Lindsey
http://www.thenomisniche.com/ -
on July 8, 2017 at 6:41 am
Ash I genuinely thought that light was just a ray of sunshine hahaha. Love the tips!
xo
Siffat
http://icingandglitter.com/ -
on July 8, 2017 at 12:52 pm
These apps are life savers! It is amazing how a small tweak can make photos look better!
Jessica | notjessfashion.com
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on July 11, 2017 at 7:58 pm
Loved these tips! Even though our editing styles are quite different I still absolutely love these apps. You went so into detail, thank you!
Imogen x http://www.faux-silk.com
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on August 1, 2017 at 7:58 pm
Thank you babe for this great post! I’m mostly using Airbrush, Snapseed and PS Express. But now I will try out your apps too 🙂
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on October 20, 2018 at 7:45 am
Thanks for sharing the tips! So many bloggers avoid sharing how they make their photos look so awesome, with the rest of the world! Your’e amazing!