The trend for becoming “Instagram famous” has skyrocketed over the years and maintaining a good-looking social media page has become the ultimate goal for many young women (and men) today. Now I’m not going to lie, I have been addicted to how my Instagram page looks and the past summer I spent hours tailoring my feed and my Instagram memories and stories… and it took A LOT out of me. Social media doesn’t drive my life, but the way I portray myself and my brand on my page is important to me. Here are some of my favorite apps I like to use before I post a “perfect” Instagram pic! (P.S. feel free to follow me @jeannemarie.branche ;) )
I went through a lot of apps and suggestions when I first began caring about how my pictures on my feed looked. I have narrowed it down to two apps that are simple to work with and get the job done. I haven’t dabbled in any of those cool effects you can add onto your pictures but I plan on doing that this summer. Here is what I love and recommend so far.
1. Beauty Plus
2. VSCO
So as of now, I use these two apps, Beauty Plus, and VSCO. I take the original photo and bring it into the Beauty Plus app (free) shown above. There are numerous features to pick from on the bottom toolbar of the app and you will have to play around with your preferred adjustments and edits you like. I usually smooth my skin out and remove small blemishes, nothing too serious and detailed. I do some brightening to my eyes and get rid of some of my dark circles as well as whiten my teeth a little.
Before Beauty Plus:
After Beauty Plus: After Beauty Plus, I bring my almost finished photo in VSCO. I just started using it and I am OBSESSED. The app is free and there are many preset filters to choose from along with ones that you can pay for if you join them for a monthly fee which is totally your choice and I am sure you won’t regret it, especially if you’re constantly posting on social media. Consider it as an investment to your feed :). What I love about VSCO is that it isn’t just an editing app, it’s also another social media “account” where you can post your edited pictures and have people favorite them or republish them. Kind of similar to how Twitter works with liking and retweeting.
Here is the layout of VSCO with the first selection of filters and then the various adjustments you can make to your pictures. Here, I edited my photo with the M5 filter and then made minor adjustments such as the exposure, contrast, sharpness, and clarity. I usually make minor adjustments to all the choices they have just so I can tweak my pictures and see the differences. Again, you can pick and choose what you prefer and whatever you like to enhance your pictures.
No edit:Final/edit/VSCO edit:
The photo to the right is my final edit!! On the left is my original. I absolutely LOVE using these two apps to edit my pictures. I see such a big difference in both of them from the little enhancements using the apps. I finally like to use the app UNUM to see how a picture will look and match my feed. You can drag and drop photos from your camera roll to see how it will look and also re-arrange pictures from your page as well.
I hope you guys enjoyed some of my tips and advice for editing!! Again, these are just suggested apps and tips and I’m sure you have some of your favorites already!! Feel free to share any of your tips and advice with me and follow me on Instagram!! XOXO @jeannemarie.branche