How I Edit iPhone Photos

Yesterday I posted a photo to Instagram that I love very much. However, I had to delete it to fix my editing error and repost it. I wanted it to show the exact creative look I had in mind to begin with. I love learning how others edit so I thought maybe you might like to see how I edit my iPhone photos. Instagram is not very “instant” anymore for me because it has become my artistic outlet. Over time my photos have changed in the style and look that that I like; it’s only natural and completely okay if you’re tastes change over time like mine. In the past I used to go for a more “filtered” style but lately I’ve been inspired by other moms on Instagram who’s photos have a more natural, bright, and contrasted look. I use 4 apps to edit photos although sometimes it only takes 1 app to get the photo to look the way I want. So keep in mind you don’t need all 4, I just like to have them in my photo editing tool box when needed.

My top 4 favorite editing apps are:

• VSCO Cam
• Afterlight
• Retouch
• Facetune

Here’s how I use them…

1. Open your raw image in VSCO Cam and choose the filter you like, then tone it down a bit to see how much filter you want add. I usually like it at A10 but it depends on the lighting in which you take your photo. *Side note: when taking a photo try to use as much natural light as possible, by a window inside with lights turned off or outside with the sun shining on your subject not behind it. In VSCO Cam the filter button looks like a paint brush.
2. Next I I edit the exposure, contrast, straighten and sharpen in VSCO. This button looks like a wrench. For this photo I didn’t need to add or decrease exposure since the sun was pretty high in the sky and we already look pretty bright. I use the straighten tool to make sure my horizon is horizontal on my photo or that my subject is straight in the middle. You’ll be amazed how cohesive your photos look when you use these tools. 
3. Now I save the finished VSCO photo to my camera roll and open in the “Retouch” app. This app allows me to take out items in the foreground that I don’t like. In this photo I didn’t like the beige buildings and telephone poles in the background. I used the paint brush tool to highlight them, pushed the play button and viola’ they’re gone. This tool takes a little finesse as it might look odd and totally obvious after you hit the play button, so if it does be sure to decrease the size of the brush or try the lasso tool to get a photo that looks alright. 
4. Next I save this photo to my camera roll and open in the “Afterlight” app to increase the clarity, brightness, contrast and sharpen it just a smidge. 
5. Lastly, If I notice there is white in the photo that I want to make stand out more, I open the photo in “Facetune” and hit the whitening button and lightly swipe my finger over the white in the photo to brighten just the whites. 

It takes a little practice to get down but once you do you’ll find your own look and style and it won’t take as long, I promise. Now you have a finished product ready to post!