How I Edit My Instagram Photos and Stories

You all have been asking for this post like CRAZY, so today I’m finally sitting down to share how I edit my Instagram pictures and Instagram stories to maintain high-quality content that’s on brand for my blog. I’m giving you the rundown on the camera equipment, editing platforms, presets and apps I use to create the light, warm, creamy photos you’ve been seeing on my feed and blog for the past few months.

…so you want a nice Instagram feed?

Don’t we all? A great Instagram feed is key in blogging and social media careers. I did a post on this back in the spring (you can read that one here), but my style and techniques have changed a bit since, so this will be an updated version that coordinates with my current feed.

First and foremost, I want to be real with you guys and reiterate that it took me years to pinpoint my photography and editing style. No joke — a really long time and it certainly did not happen overnight. I’d thought I found it tons of times in the past, but I’m always improving and often find myself cringing at old photos that I had once loved. I hope this post helps you find your style sooner, but do be aware that it often takes time.

…what are the benefits of having a great Instagram feed?

This can (and likely will in due time) help you book collaborations, leading to earning money and getting opportunities for yourself and your business. Your Instagram and blog photos should flow seemlessly to create a professional online presence that brands are attracted to. The key to a fluid, pro feed is sticking to a specific filter/preset or editing style and running with it. Find a look that you love and commit to it.

FIRST THINGS FIRST

DO
Define your brand. Select a color scheme (I suggest 2-4 colors), decorative elements and overall vibe you want your content to have. Creating a Pinterest board and mindfully pinning things you’re drawn to will help in this process

DON’T
DO NOT REPLICATE. Don’t do what someone else is doing simply because you like it and it works for them. Replication is the dirty, dark side of blogging that makes it all feel so washed out and repetitive. Be original and strive to make your content as YOU and UNIQUE as you possibly can. Find your niche.

INSTAGRAM/BLOG PHOTOS

WHAT I USE:

• Cameras
  • Sony Alpha a5000 (compact and fits in my purse — I use this a majority of the time currently)
  • Canon Rebel t3
    • EF 50mm f/1.8 STM lens (fixed lens that creates a blurred background)
    • EF-S 10–18mm f/4.5–5.6 IS STM lens (wide angle lens often used for outfit or scenery shots)
  • iPhone 7 Plus (I use this extremely rarely)
• Editing apps and programs
  • Lightroom (Jaci Marie presets)
  • VSCO
  • Over app
  • Facetune

STYLE CONSISTENCIES:

• Warm tones
• Creamy tones
• Pastels — often pops of green, pink and blue
• Brightness

Cameras
If you want professional looking photos that will book you collaborations, I think you need to use a real camera (preferably shot in RAW), not just your phone. Though our phones are convenient, can take good photos when the lighting is right and are fun to intermix here and there, sometimes it just can’t capture the quality you need to maintain a professional feed.

I suggest investing in a DSLR (a Canon Rebel is a great place to start) with a couple lenses, or a more compact camera like the Sony Alpha a5000. The Sony Alpha is the camera I use a majority of the time now because it’s so easy to throw in my purse and keep with me on the go for spur-of-the-moment photoshoots. The Sony Alpha is also great for vlogging and selfies since it has a flip out screen — I love it!

Editing
This is such a crucial step of the photo posting process. A good camera gives you a great base, while the editing is what takes your images to the next level. I found consistent editing far more difficult to do before I started using Lightroom because some photos just weren’t going to look the same when editing them with other apps, regardless of the filter I used. Lightroom allows you to alter all the colors in the image, making it 100x easier to make your images flow. It really changed everything for me and once you get comfortable with it, it’s a godsend.

As for my editing process, I always download my images and edit them in Lightroom on my computer first, then bring them over to my phone and make minor tweaks in VSCO and FaceTune as needed. Lightroom and presets take some getting used to. It’s not a one click process and you’re going to have to play around with it to achieve the look you want — so don’t feel defeated!

I suggest using an app like VSCO that lays out your images in a grid like Instagram so you can see how your photos flow and if they all match color wise. I know this can seem like an annoying extra task sometimes, but I find it 100% necessary for making sure my photos look uniform.

Last but not least, I use the detail tool in Facetune to detail out my hair, eyes and key elements of the image to make it sharper. All in all, I’d say it takes me an average of 30 minutes to edit an Instagram photo and I really take my time to insure I’m happy with it before posting. Below are the edits I make on every photo.

Edits in order (as needed):

• Apply Jaci Marie preset (usually Faded, but sometimes Pink or Warm)
• Increase exposure
• Sharpen the image a bit
• Bump up the clarity
• Turn up temperature quite a few notches
• Increase saturation or alter key colors in the image to match my previous photos
  • Brighten blue and increase saturation to more of teal tone than a blue tone
  • Brighten greens and increase saturation, play with tones to make it more warm toned
  • Increase saturation of pinks
• Increase orange saturation on skin tone a little
• Decrease lumination on orange tones to darken skin a bit
• Brighten whites
• Lighten shadows
• Darken blacks

INSTAGRAM STORIES

WHAT I USE:

• Over app
• Afterlight app

STYLE CONSISTENCIES:

• The same shade of pink
• Pastels
• Two fonts and a third basic sans one occasionally
• Polaroid frames
• Stars
• Overlays — stars, flowers and agate stones
• Magazine style layouts
• Scrapbook style layout

How I design my Instagram stories is another big question I get. I find that a huge part of branding and making your blog and social media appealing to others is fluidity, intricacy and personal style. This can be achieved consistently with a few editing apps.

Over App
This is my #1 app for graphics. This is how I add stars, flowers and other designs to my images and Instagram stories. You can color match in this app as well to make sure your font and background colors match those in your logo, images, etc., which is so helpful. They have tons of free font options and you can purchase additional ones too if you’re wanting a specific look.

Afterlight
This is the app I use to create the polaroid image frames. This app also provides tons of other standard editing options, as well as light leaks if you’re into those. I’ve had this app for years and always find myself using it here and there!

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If you enjoyed this post and would like even more tips, check out the rest of my blogging series here. I share everything from how to book brand collaborations to content calendar management, branding tips and so much more. If you need help with your blog or social media, I offer design services and consulting through my creative shop: Bone & Bloom. Thanks so much for stopping by the blog today and I hope you all have a great weekend!