MY PHOTO EDITING PROCESS; AN UPDATED GUIDE.

It’s taken me a little longer than expected but it’s finally here– an updated photo editing guide! This is my most requested topic to share more about and thought I’d use this space to share my editing process and answer all of the most asked questions I receive about how I edit my photos. So to start, here are some frequently asked questions;

Do you use or sell presets?

Probably my most asked question & I understand why, as presets are so popular. I don’t currently use presets, I edit each of my photos individually in a number of apps rather than applying a preset in one app– obviously the majority of my pictures are edited the same way so sometimes I’ll copy and paste an edit onto a collection of photos. I’ll also use filters like the ones in VSCO, for example, which is similar to using presets but on the whole I don’t use just one preset– it’s more of a process. I’m constantly learning about editing and like I mentioned I enjoy the creative process that comes from taking a photo through to sharing it on Instagram and I feel like it’s an important aspect of being creative, for me personally. At the moment I don’t plan on creating presets to sell mainly because I don’t use them myself.

Favourite editing apps?

My favourite and most used editing apps are; Lightroom Mobile, VSCO, Snapseed. I also use Afterlight and Photoshop Fix occasionally.

What do you use to write on your photos?

To add my handwriting and type to my photos I use the app Procreate along with my iPad Pro and Apple Pencil.

I just include a little note here about my editing process– this is the way I currently edit my photos and it does develop and change over time and just because I edit my photos this way doesn’t mean that I believe this is the best or only way to edit photos. I enjoy lots of different editing styles and I think it’s important to experiment and learn about about editing and which process most fits the style and mood of your photos. But I hope this guide gives you a little insight into how I edit my photos at the moment and which apps I like to use!

So now I’ll talk through my editing process, which apps I use and how I use them. As I mentioned earlier I edit most of my photos one by one so the process can change slightly depending on whether I shot the photo indoors or outdoors, the lighting on the day and whether I add in another light source like a candle for example & the way I edit is also generally the same whether the photo was taken on my phone or on my camera.

Lightroom

The first step of editing is done in Lightroom which I mainly use to edit the colour and light of a photo. After importing my photo I start by clicking on the colour tab and then on mix which is where you can edit the colour tones of your photo. As I like my photos to have more warm and neutral feel I click on the blue and purple tones and turn down the saturation, sometimes I’ll also try changing the hue or luminance to get the look I want. Occasionally I’ll adjust some of the colours but mostly it’s just the place to turn down the colder blue tones.

The next thing I’ll do in Lightroom is click on the light tab and edit specifically the exposure, the contrast and the highlights– this is something that really does depend on the individual photo but often I’ll increase the exposure and highlights a little.

VSCO

Next, I’ll open the picture in the VSCO app and this is where I’ll add a filter. I use a few different filters on VSCO and choose one depending on which one I think looks better with the mood of the photo, the season, the lighting– all can be factors in which filter I pick.

The ones I most often are; A6, A4, J6, J2 and X5– I usually turn the amount or the level of the filter I add again, depending on how it think it looks. I also use VSCO to add grain as I really like the grain feature and the amount that you can add.

Snapseed

Usually the last thing I do with my photo is upload it to Snapseed– this is where I usually add a lot of warmth to my photo and tune the image further. Once I upload the photo I click on tools and then on tune image– this is where I’ll usually up the contrast and usually decrease the ambiance– I really like the ambiance tool on Snapseed.

Next I click on details and adjust the structure and sharpening, usually increasing the level quite a bit. I also adjust the white balance and increase the temperature and also decreasing the tint slightly too. Sometimes I use the selective and brush tools which are both great for working on specific parts of a photo like brightening a specific spot.

And that’s a look at my photo editing process– once a photo is edited I’ll sometimes add a dusty filter which I do in Afterlight or I’ll add some text on top in Procreate. If there’s something in a photo I want to remove– like a street sign then I’ll use the app Photoshop Fix and the healing tool to remove it.

I hope that this updated guide is helpful and has been an insight in how I edit my photos & answered some of your questions. If there is anything else you’d like to know then please feel free to ask any other questions you have in the comments. I hope you’re all keeping well!