No matter what you post or who you follow, I think we can all appreciate a good Instagram feed. If we’re going to spend so much time on social media, why not spend it looking at aesthetically pleasing things! These apps are for all of you who have looked at pretty pictures or stories on Instagram and thought, “how did they edit that?” Here are 5 fantastic photo apps for your feed:
VSCO/DSCO
I’m sure you’ve all heard about VSCO cam at one point or another and it’s overwhelming social media presence. Influencers everywhere have been using this app for a while now and with good reason. The app offers various packs of great filters for free! VSCO cam also charges $20 per year if you want access to all the packs, more editing tools, and video coloring. However, if you just want some nice filters, the free version is already worth it. Along with photo editing, the app comes with a feature known as DSCO that most people don’t use as often. It’s similar to a boomerang on Instagram but looks cuter and lets you apply a VSCO filter to it straight away! This app is a great two-in-one.
Unfold
Unfold is one of the best apps for Instagram stories! It comes with three free packs of frames. You can put whatever pictures you want within them and even add text or background to each one. You can also put videos within them, which is a unique feature. However, it is most popular for its FF1 and DW1 packs, which are the film frames and the digital wave frames. This will probably look familiar to you if you follow a lot of social media influencers. So if you were wondering how they got these analog film and computerized looks, here is your answer. These packs are great to use, in company with the free ones, and only cost about .99 cents each!
(Photos by VSCO on Instagram)
Storyluxe
Similar to Unfold, Storylux is marketed more toward Instagram stories and highlights, though it can be used for usual posts as well. It has similar looking templates, and most of them are free. As opposed to Unfold, Storyluxe can be considered more “cutesy.” It has templates for photo collages, for single photos, and even has templates for interactive Instagram stories. In addition to that, the app features seasonal packs that correlate what holiday is occurring around the time, such as New Year’s Eve or Valentine’s Day themed packs.
(Photos by Storyluxe on Instagram)
Kuni Cam
While everyone is overusing HUJI nowadays, Kuni Cam is actually a much easier and cuter alternative, and its main features are free. With this app, you can edit both photos and videos with multiple tools and filters. It allows the same HUJI filter along with many other ones, while still including the same date stamp we all love (in different fonts, colors, and positions!). You can also add light leaks, dust overlays, glitch/3D effects, and even make your own recipe out of your usual edits. To top it all off, you can take photos and record videos using the app’s camera to put your desired filter on it automatically.
(Photos by Shanelle Huynh)
Dazz
Last but not least, if you want to take polaroids without spending all your money on an Instax or Fujifilm camera, then Dazz is the app for you. It allows you to both take and import photos to add vintage filters to them. It features multiple types of cameras that you can click on to have different effects on your photos. The most popular camera on there, for free, is the white “Inst C” camera button. This one makes puts your photos into a polaroid frame but also filters them to make them look like a true polaroid. This is a great and cheap alternative to using real Instax cameras especially since you can’t edit or retake on those.
(Photos by Shanelle Huynh)
Always remember, Instagram and social media should be for fun. Nothing truly has to look picture perfect because our lives never are. These apps are meant for playing around with a new way to keep memories of your favorite photographed moments. Don’t stress if your feed doesn’t look someone else’s, what matters is that you make it yours.