Can we start with a little disclaimer here? Guys, I am in no way a professional photographer. But I do love taking pics of my sweet fam, and I’ve gained some tips and tricks along the way. And because you guys are awesome (and waaaaay too kind), a few of you have asked about how I edit my photos. So I’m sharing the five easy tips I use when editing all my shots (blog and otherwise). Here goes:
- Good light. Good light. Oh, and good light.
There’s nothing that’s going to save you more editing time than shooting a photo with great light. And there’s no replacement for it. Whenever possible, get your subject in natural light (find the lightest brightest room in your house, or get on outside) and click away.
Example: I shot this in overcast light outdoors, zero editing.
- Find Editing Software that Works for You.
Sure, Adobe Lightroom is awesome, but you might not be game for the investment at this point. If you’re looking for some solid, free options, I recommend trying out Snapseed (one of my faves), Pic Monkey (I find things get a little grainy with this one, so proceed with caution), Canva, and VSCO. All have unique formats and interfaces, so my advice would be to take an hour and test out each option using the same photo. You’ll get a sense of what each is capable of, and which you find easiest to work with.
- Make it Chilly.
My first suggestion for everyone editing a photo (after brightening it up) is to decrease the temperature. Taking the warm tones out of a photo and ‘cooling it down’ will automatically give you crisper whites and a cleaner overall feel to your image. Again, play with this to get a feel for it – pick a temperature setting and then make it alternately 20% cooler and 20% warmer. You might be surprised which version you like, and when it doubt, cool it down!
- But Don’t Forget the Saturation!
My biggest pet peeve with my own photos is when I’ve stripped out the warm tones, but haven’t increased the saturation in tandem. I end up having a washed out looking photo, with all the colours looking blown out. I love a photo that looks and feels real, so I always add a little bump of saturation back in after playing with the temp!
Before: Natural light, but back lit. Shadowy, and colours not so crisp.
After: Brightened, cooled the temperature, and slightly increased saturation to keep colours vivid (edited using Snapseed)
- Make Sure YOU Love It.
Resist the urge to style your photos after someone else. It’s tempting to want to emulate a blogger/online presence that you admire, but I promise, as you practice your editing skills you’ll find your own style niche. My favourite bloggers/feeds have photos that feel authentic, and feel like a true reflection of the people in the photos. The only way this truly happens is when you share images you really, truly love.
What have I missed, friends?! Let me know your own favourite editing tip below, because we all want to learn a little somethin’ somethin’!
xo
