Instagram is without a doubt one of the most popular social media platforms on the planet. In fact, over 2 billion people use it, from all over the world. While it can be used in many ways today, it is still a photo-sharing platform first and foremost.
And if you want the photos you share to look their best, it is a good idea to edit them. Editing can make photos more flattering, interesting, eye-catching, and will ensure they look exactly like you want them to.
However, too much editing can make the photos look strange and unnatural. Without any further ado, this article is going to go over a few helpful tips to make sure you can edit your Instagram photos subtly like a pro.
Experiment and Try New Things
First and foremost, you want to take some time to practice and experiment with editing. No one becomes a master overnight, and it will take some time to become proficient. You should check out how to blur background, how to properly sharpen, how to crop correctly, and even how to ensure the colors look vibrant, without being too much.
The more you know about editing, the better you will be able to edit with subtlety in mind. It can take a few days or even a few weeks, but eventually you will become more comfortable and be able to edit like a pro. Practice with all different kinds of photos, featuring different colors and lighting. This will ensure you always know the right way to edit a variety of different photos that you may feel like posting.
Always Keep a Copy of the Original
When editing photos, it is a good idea to always keep a copy of the original. Unfortunately, many people participate in destructive editing. This is when you essentially edit over the original and save it. When this happens, you will no longer have access to the original photo and now will only have your edited version.
Instead of this practice, you want to save each edit as a new version, and thus keep the original intact if you need it. Not only does this allow you to start from scratch if you want, but it also ensures you still have the original to compare against your creation. Without the original, you may not know how far you have deviated from the original, and how close you are to your vision.
Don’t Change Too Much on a Single Photo
The key to editing photos on Instagram is editing them in a way that improves their look, without making it painfully obvious they are over-edited. The art of subtly is difficult to master, but if you try and change too much on each photo, it becomes even harder.
When editing a photo, pick out one or two issues you want to correct, and don’t try and do too much. Every photo doesn’t need to be perfect, but the goal of subtle editing is to keep it natural, but give it a little boost. This could be adding colors, smoothing lines, changing the background, or doing anything else.
If you try and make several different edits to a single photo, it can be quite noticeable. Even if each edit is only subtle, a lot of subtle edits can still make a very large difference and can look tacky, at times.
In conclusion, these tips will be able to help you edit your Instagram photos like a pro. It can take some practice, but eventually you will be able to edit your photos easily and quickly.
