Quick In-App Editing for Beautiful Instagram Photos

One of the biggest photography misconceptions I hear is that your pictures can't be beautiful or high-quality because they were taken on a cell phone, not with a "fancy camera." It is true that DSLRs or other "fancy cameras" go a long way in the overall size and quality of your pictures, and if you're a serious photographer that makes a difference, but it's still easy to make beautiful pictures on your phone!

There are easy ways to make your phone pictures look better using nothing but the Instagram app, and today, I'm here to show you how!

First of all, here are some before and after pictures. All of these were edited using only the Instagram app.

Here's how:

STEP 1: CROP STRATEGICALLY

Use the rule of thirds! When you choose a picture on Instagram, a grid pops up that divides your screen horizontally and vertically into thirds. Use this! The most interesting parts of your picture (such as your subject's eyes) should land on the lines, or even better, on the intersection of two lines. In this case, I centered the tops of the flowers on the bottom line.


STEP 2: RAISE THE BRIGHTNESS

Click NEXT, and then click on wrench icon on the bottom. Then, click brightness and slide the blue dot up! This will make your picture much brighter and cleaner. Click the check mark to save your changes.


STEP 3: RAISE THE CONTRAST

Lots of people don't think about this one, but it makes a huge difference! Click on the contrast button and slide that bar up too! This will make your colors pop, and the brightness look even cleaner. Really, the only way you can overdo this is if someone's skin is so bright that it disappears, in which case you need to lower contrast and brightness slightly.


STEP 4: DONE!

Occasionally  you might want to adjust the saturation a little bit too, but mostly all you need to do is slide up the brightness and contrast and you're done! All it takes is 30 seconds, and it makes such a huge difference in the beauty and brightness of your Instagram pictures.


P.S. If you are looking for a separate app to edit pictures in, I recommend Afterlight. I use Afterlight all the time, and it was worth the dollar or two I spent to buy it. You can see more of my pictures on my Instagram account @brookejanette.

How easy is this?!

Anything else you'd recommend for beautiful Instagram photos?