Editing for Instagram

Did you guys catch last weekend’s Blog Brunch?  I jumped in at the end, but it inspired me to finally finish this post that I’ve had as a draft for what seems like forever!  I’ve been on Instagram for about six months now.  Leading up to getting my iPhone I read a lot of posts and tutorials about it.  I knew from the start that I’d want it to be an extension of my brand, and I couldn’t wait to join in!

I loved how {av} shared her Instagram editing process a few weeks ago, and I thought it would be fun to share mine with you today.  As I went through it I realized that there’s a lot more than just the photo apps that goes into my process, and I thought I’d share that with you guys today too.

Content

Images

The first thing I decide when posting on Instagram is the what of the picture.  It might be hard for me to sum up what my blog is about in one sentence, but it’s easy for my Instagram: I use it to capture moments of beauty in my life.  When I scroll through my feed, there are some things in there that others might think is a stretch for “beauty,” but for me there’s a common visual thread.

There’s plenty of stuff that I like to share through images that don’t make it onto my Instagram:

1. Things that are funny.  If it’s only funny, but not especially pretty or interesting visually, it goes on Facebook or Twitter.
2. Memories with friends and family. There aren’t many people when you scroll through my Instagram feed.  I put most of my outing pictures with friends and family on my personal Facebook, or save them for Starred this Week posts.
3. Screenshots.  Unless it relates directly to my Instagram followers (like this very post or this post I wrote a few months ago) then I try to keep screenshots on Facebook or Twitter (or Dribbble, if it’s design related.)

If any of the above is compositionally interesting or beautiful, then sometimes you’ll see that stuff on there.  But for the most part, those categories stick to other social media platforms.  I also try to limit the number of selfies and food pictures that I post.

The thing is, my life is far from interesting.  If I can find beauty in my everyday life, then seriously, anyone can!  I try to find moments in places you wouldn’t expect.  I’ve taken pictures from the drive-through at Wendy’s.

Captions

It took me a while to realize this, but captions are actually very important.  The type of caption that you write can greatly affect the amount of engagement on a post.  I try to keep my captions in my voice as much as possible, and try to make them humorous or tell a story, my story.

Editing

Filters

There are so many editing apps out there, and each app holds a million possibilities.  While my editing process might be more complicated than some, I’ve limited my options so that it isn’t so overwhelming, and so that my feed feels fairly consistent.  I use both VSCO CAM and Afterlight, and I highly recommend them both.

VSCO CAM is beautiful in its simplicity.  There are only 8 filters, but they’re all beautiful.  Seriously.  And the community that uses it on Instagram is pretty awesome.  I decided kind of recently to stop using filter hashtags, but it’s really fun to browse the VSCO Cam hashtags.

Afterlight has more variables.  There are way more filters and frames, and I almost always crop there because it lets you tilt your image very slightly to make sure that it lines up with the grid (and it’s the final step!)

Just using those two apps can make the filters overwhelming, so I’ve made it pretty easy on myself.  I only use one filter from each of these apps (well, two if you count the one I use for black and white.)  I like that this keeps my pictures consistent as well, and I use the same filters to edit the photos that I include in Starred this Week posts to keep the photos consistent across my brand. I almost always layer them, and I love how Afterlight lets you apply filters with a percentage.

Sometimes I’ll only use one or the other.  For example, I’ve noticed that my VSCO filter really washes out sunsets, so I usually just apply the Afterlight filter at a low percentage for pretty sky shots.  I use the VSCO filter kind of as my base, and then the Afterlight filter (Glacier) to kind of warm it up.  I typically keep that pretty low, and I always do any adjusting and cropping in Afterlight as well.

Frames and Effects

I limit my options pretty severely in the frame department.  I try to either have no frame at all, or use the circle frame on Afterlight.  I also use the tilt shift on on Instagram (the little drop tool that makes the edges blurry), which is the only editing that I do within the app itself.

Afterlight has tons of cool effects that make your photos look more vintage.  A lot of times I leave those alone, but they’re fun to play with and sometimes I’ll add one, usually in a way that’s pretty subtle.

What about you?  Do you have a system when it comes to posting on Instagram?  What apps to you use to edit your photos?  And of course, leave your handle in the comments- mine is @kate_baird!