Lately, one of my most received DMs is about photos! How I edit, what programs I use, how I plan Instagrams and how I create my Instagram stories. Instead of breaking it down into individual posts (it’s a pretty short process!), I created one large guide!
Now that I have the hang of my process, it only takes about 10-20 minutes (depending on how many photos I need for a post) to edit, plan and create my IG story. I’m excited to share this with you guys!
First, I am going to share to share a few of my favorite programs for editing photos on my phone! I have used Lightroom before, but I just love how easy VSCO is. I also was able to purchase all their presets (aka filters) for $20 a year. This is huge because one Lightroom Preset can start at $60! They also can be tricky to get on your phone. If you are a beginner with editing filters, you may want to start with VSCO or you may love it like me and never leave!
A few other apps I use:
- Unfold. I use this to create my IG stories (more on this below)
- UNUM. I use this to plan my feed (also more on this below)
- Snapseed. Great for editing light, saturation, contrast, etc.
- KiraKira. This creates the ‘sparkle’ look on your photo or video, I mainly use this for IG stories.
- Inshot. I use this to edit videos vertically for IGTV.
VSCO.
VSCO is the app I use the most. I use it to edit photos for my IG, blog posts and stories. I also can edit videos or boomerangs in VSCO to give them the same cohesive filter as my photos. Like I mentioned above, I paid $20 for the yearly subscription and gained access to all of the filters. There are tons! The main ones I use are A6, the Q series, the C series & sometimes the K series.
I really like a saturated, vintage look to my photos. I think it fits my personality and works well with the lifestyle photos that I share. I recently had a Lightroom preset that looked awesome when I shot with my photographer out and about, but 75% of my photos are shot by me and these are usually at home. I found that my house and food shots just didn’t look good with my Lightroom Preset.
I shared a video on my IGTV Channel with the exact process I use when editing. It’s a lot of back and forth, playing around but once you realize what you want your photos to look like, it takes less time! I usually up the contrast, saturation and temperature. I find this can make me look orange so I will adjust skin tone and sometimes pull down the oranges in the photo. If it has colors thatI want to pop, I will increase their individual saturation as well. Finally, I like to add fade for a vintage feel. Above you can see the formulas I used for these three photos.
Often I’ll edit the same photo a few different ways to see which works best with my feed.
UNUM.
Once I have the photo or photos that I want to Instagram, I head to UNUM. This is a planning app that auto-populates what you instagram and then gives you blank spaces to plan your next posts. This is a huge help with planning my feed, matching my filters and helping me remember photos I want to post!
As you can see in the left photo, I imported all three photos that I filtered. Then, when I pick my favorite edit, I can deleted the other two and place it where it will be in my feed. I can add in more photos that I know I will be IG-ing soon to make sure I like how it flows (right photo).
*I also have a video for this on my IGTV Channel
UNFOLD.
Once I have all my photos and boomerangs edited, I then head to Unfold to create my Instagram stories. If you’ve been curious how I layer photos and videos, have the cute polaroid edits or the scrolling video without just being the phone frame- this is it!
Unfold is free but I purchased the additional frame packs for $1 or $2. This app is a little additional work, but it doesn’t take that much time compared to just creating them on IG stories directly. I have so, so much fun making these and feel that it’s the perfect place to show my creative side! Within the app, you can add text but I like to do that in IG stories because they have more options.
I open Unfold and select whichever template I’d like to fill. I like to mix videos, boomerangs and photos for a fun, playful story. I usually will edit all of these before pulling them in the Unfold app. Once I have my story how I like it, I will save it all and open it in IG stories.
*I have a full video for how I create my IG Stories with Unfold and the IG app on my IGTV Channel.
IG STORIES.
My final step is adding text, decor and GIFs in Instagram Stories. This is where I have the most fun! I usually use Unfold when I’m creating a series of pages to highlight a post, trip, recipe or eventful day.
A few of my favorite edits to add:
- Layered Text. I like to mix and match fonts, colors and sizes.
- Pens: I mainly use the two on the far left. The first one I use for drawing lines like frames around the photos or on my actual story, adding polka dots, or writing. The second one I use for adding things like ‘tape’ on the polaroids or highlighting words.
- GIFS. These are fun to add but I’ve noticed if you add more than one, it can make your IG Stories blurry (IG PLZ FIX THIS!)
I hope you enjoyed this little breakdown of my IG process (@RileySitton). I know it seems like quite a lot of steps, but it really isn’t! Plus, I have doing it, so it’s worth it. If you have any questions find my on Instagram or comment below. XO
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