A while ago, I wrote a post about creating an Instagram theme & a few of you said you’d like a post on how I edit my photos. As VSCO Cam have changed their app & it’s features, I thought I would share with you how I edit my Instagram photos since the VSCO Cam changes.
To start with, I’ve deleted VSCO Cam. Yep, that’s right! I used VSCO Cam for two things, the -4 tint (green) & the grid view. Seeing as VSCO Cam drastically changed both of these features, I’ve found other apps that will serve in it’s place. Enter ColourStory & UNUM.
The first app I use to edit my Instagram photos is AfterLight. I don’t do much in this app, as I like my photos to look natural. With beauty photos, I sharpen the image & increase the brightness. I’ll then save the image & open it in Phonto.
Photo is a great app that allows you to add a watermark to your photos. There are naughty people on Instagram who are happy to steal your photos & pass them off as their own. As a result, I highly recommend watermarking your photos. Watermarks can be removed (Nivea removed my watermark when they reposted one of my images. They did credit me in the text.) but it’s more work for the person wanting to post your photo, so most won’t bother.
I’ve used a few different watermarking apps to edit my Instagram photos, but one of the things I love about Phonto is that you have the option to add a curve to your text. I’ve not come across another watermarking app that has this feature. Being able to curve text can be great if you have a round product, as you can see below. From Phonto, I save the image & open it in Squareready.
I use Squareready to make non-square images square & to but a boarder around my photos. I like the boarder because it separates my photos a little & means that if my theme doesn’t match perfectly, I can get away with it a little easier! If the background of my image is already white, I’ll add a grey boarder, save the image & then add a white boarder around that. This keeps all the photos consistent with a defined boarder round them & stops some images looking out of place. I save the image & then open it in ColourStory.
ColourStory is a new app to me. I use it purely for the ability to tint my photos. My Instagram theme has a slight green tint to it. The thought behind this was to give my followers a “looking through my eyes” feel, what with me wearing green glasses. I used the Tint option (found in Tools-Adjust) to create a green filter as close to the tint I had with VSCO Cam.
The great thing about ColourStory is that you can use all sorts of different options, such as Tint, Clarify, Sharpen & Brightness to create your perfect filter & then save it to add to future photos at the click of a button! I’m going to be playing around with this more & may well transfer the steps I do in AfterLight to a preset filter. ColourStory also allows you to create a number of ‘saved’ filters, so you don’t just have to have the one.
At this point, my editing is complete & I open up UNUM. I have to not look at this app for a few seconds while it loads because on each of the images there are three moving black lines signifying that it’s loading & this messes with my photosensitive migraine. UNUM gives me the option to plan out my Instagram in advance with it’s grid view. One of the bonuses to using UNUM over VSCO Cam is that UNUM allows you to move photos around after you’ve imported them. So if you suddenly decide you want a different order to your photos, you can switch them around & see how they will look. To me, this is a big plus!
So that’s how I edit my Instagram photos. Do you use any of these apps? Which are your favourite apps for editing photos for Instagram?
Find me on:
Bloglovin’ | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest | Snapchat | Google+
You can also sign up for my newsletter!
This was very useful, thanks for sharing x
So glad I could help! Xx
Afterlight looks amazing!
I hate the VSCO update, why why why!
Parie x
classandglitter.com
There are so many option on AfterLight! I can understand VSCO updating the app, but not changing the colours of the filters. That’s beyond me. Xx
I have only recently started my Instagram page so I’m still finding my way around editing photos etc., so this post is actually super helpful – thank you for sharing! :) <3 Never heard of these apps before but I will check them out, Afterlight especially sounds very handy. :) <3 x x I typically just use Photoshop for editing all of my photos, for blog and social media. x
Kay
http://shoesandglitter.com
I’m so glad it was helpful! It’s been a lot of trial & error, as well as reading posts like this & speaking to other bloggers to find the right apps for me. AfterLight seems to be a popular option among bloggers. With so many functions, I can see why! Good luck & let me know if there’s anything I can do to help you along the way. Xx
Wow, there’s so much that goes into one of your photos! I honestly had no idea that any of these apps existed. I take my photos on a DSLR so I edit in Lightroom and then just upload to Instagram using Later…sometimes I add a bit of a filter but that’s it!
COLLEENWELSCH.COM
I didn’t realise how much went into them until getting the screenshots ready for this post! I tend not to use my DSLR because I find it hard to set something up that will work in a square with my camera. I prefer using the square on my phone. Xx
That unum app sounds amazing! Tbh I got so overwhelmed about the whole instagram theme that I stopped instagramming so much… I’m definitely going to have to download the unum app though. I love how you can see what your insta page would look like without actually uploading stuff to instagram!
Ps congrats on the nomination :)
Mili | Sharmtoaster
I’ve not been using it long, but I’ve been really impressed so far. I like to have at least a few days worth of photos ready to go. I’m failing at the right now, but it really helps me. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. Xx
I’m terrible at keeping a theme on my instagram – I want to then end up breaking it haha. This app sounds really good :) will have to look into it!
Hana | http://www.hanarosella.blogspot.co.uk ♥
I find it really hard & mine is definitely a ‘loose’ theme. I’m enjoying doing it & being able to plan out how things will look is really helpful in keeping the theme going. Xx
Love this!
http://www.bonaupetite.com
Thanks! Xx
I’m really bad at editing photos – I always used VSCO cam but I can’t get on with the new update – so this will really help me! I will have to download a few of these and have a play. Thanks for the recommendations!
FloralsAndCoralsx
I’m so glad this was helpful! Particularly in light of the updates. Good luck finding an alternative method of editing your photos. Xx
I’ve just downloaded UNUM and it’s so great! I’ve been lost since the VSCO Cam update so thank god for your post! xx
|Georgia Megan|
I’m so glad it was helpful for you! Xx
Loved this post! Haven’t heard of Afterlight before but I’m going to go and download it straight away :-)
<3: Jasmin N
littlethingswithjassy.blogspot.fi
Thanks! AfterLight has so many options, I really just skim the surface of what it’s capable of. I hope you enjoy it. Xx
I deleted vsco too it changed and was a nightmare to use, I usually just use the settings in Instagram to edit my images, their settings have been fine so far, if the image is taken from my blog it has already been edited so I won’t need to edit it but for others I find their settings ok for me :) great post as always lovely xx
Zoe ♥ MammafulZo
So many people have said they’ve deleted VSCO Cam, so I’m glad it’s not just me having issues with it. I haven’t played much with Instagram’s own editing options. I tried to find a filter I liked, but it always started with a colour that affected my migraine, so that was a no go! Xx
We’re on such the same wave length with posts! I have this in my drafts to post haha. I love love Afterlight! I deleted VCSO too, they total ruined it! xx
Tamz | http://www.throughneweyesx.com
Haha I love your blog, so it’s great to know we’re on the same wave length! So many people are saying that they’ve deleted VSCO Cam, it’s reassuring to know it’s not just me who hated the update. Xx
Such a good post! I have found that not having borders now makes my insta look a little messy if the photos aren’t a certain “theme” however, find the process of posting a little bit easier now!
Bee | QueenBeady.com
I’m so glad you liked it! I can totally understand posting being a little easier for you since getting rid of the boarder. It’s one less step to add in. I’m so glad I tried a boarder round my photos. Xx
This is an awesome post. I’ve just gotten both of these apps based on your recommendation. I’m going to set some time aside tonight to try them out.
Thanks you so much! I really hope you like the apps as much as I do. Xx