Knowing how to edit photos on Instagram is an art; it requires skills to handle editing programs or applications and a well-developed sense of aesthetics. But learning is possible if you have the right advice.
Do you want to improve your photo editing skills for Instagram? Do you need tips on how to edit photos on Instagram?
This article will share 20 tips to help you recognize how influencers edit pictures and start uploading pictures that accumulate thousands of likes. If you want your photos for Instagram to be as striking as those of your favorite accounts, you have to keep reading.
1. Select the image you want
The first thing you should do to learn how to edit photos on Instagram is select the photo you will use. It can be a photo you took a long time ago that you want to share on your feed or in your stories, or you can use the camera to capture something at the moment.
The important thing is that you make sure that it is high-quality photos and that it fits the measurements of the publication that you are going to make. The sizes of an image for the feed are not the same as a photo for Instagram Stories.
2. Choose a default filter.
Editing photos on Instagram is very simple; the application is intuitive and shows you all the options available to achieve it. In the case of publications for the feed, you can select between the application’s default filters, and in the case of stories, you can add effects, although you have to have downloaded them beforehand.
Similarly, people learning how to edit photos on Instagram can start by using the Lux feature for feed posts. It allows you to adjust saturation and shadow levels on images that don’t need much retouching.
In the case of Instagram Stories, if you need more advanced editing, it is best to edit photos for Instagram with third-party apps. There are countless applications to edit photos on your cell phone that you can download for free, regardless of iOS or Android, so we recommend you see the options.
3. Edit Instagram photos manually
To learn how to edit photos on Instagram manually, you have to know about photography because it is not about altering the values without knowing what they work for.
In this part of the Instagram editor, you can adjust the image and play with the values of brightness, contrast, structure, saturation, lights, shadows, and other parameters of the image.
You can edit photos on Instagram by changing as many values as you like, but remember that the results will depend on how much knowledge you have about photography and lighting, among other things. If you are researching how to edit a photo on Instagram and have no idea how to set the values manually, it is best to use the filters.
20 Tips how to edit photos on Instagram
Learning how to edit a photo on Instagram is not that complicated; however, getting good results in each of your Instagram posts can be. It is not just about uploading images and waiting for the likes to arrive; you have to work to captivate the public and impress them with what is published.
For this reason, we want to share with you a series of recommendations that will be very useful when editing photos for Instagram. It does not matter if you use the native editor of the application or prefer to use third-party tools; the important thing is to keep certain basic editing principles and share quality material.
Start taking note of the tips because we are sure that they will help you stand out and that you will be able to use them to edit photos on Instagram professionally.
- Use good quality photos
Regardless of your Instagram photo editing skills or filters, if you don’t have a good quality photo, all your hard work will be for nothing. You must be very clear about this; there is no way to improve an Instagram photo with low resolution, bad framing, or composition.
To know how to edit photos on Instagram, you will first learn to take quality photos. In our note on portrait photography, we discuss some tips you can use to make sure your Instagram photos are the best.
- Crop and straighten your photos
Sometimes, ideas for editing photos on Instagram start from the simplest, such as the photo frame. If you want to know how to edit photos on Instagram, you can start by learning to select what you want to attract attention in the image and maintain the visual horizon.
Cropping your photos allows you to remove any distracting elements from your composition for better results.
- Adjust the lighting
Sometimes the lighting of our photos is not the best, so we will have to edit the values of the highlights and shadows manually. If you want to learn how to design photos for Instagram, we recommend mastering color correction.
Although there are some applications with filters for Instagram photos that meet what is needed to adjust the lighting of your photos, it is best to use the color curve and define some custom parameters.
If you have advanced knowledge and know-how to edit photos on Instagram professionally, we recommend you review our catalog of digital marketing courses. You can learn to take advantage of your skills and start generating money doing what you like with them.
- Use some Instagram photo editing apps
To know how to edit photos on Instagram and have amazing results, you don’t have to be a photography scholar. Technology has made many things easier, including photo editing.
If you want to edit photos like a pro, you can download some photo editing apps on your phone; many are free and easy to use.
- Edit what is necessary
Editing photos with Instagram filters is a good idea for those new to photography. However, it is necessary to maintain a sense of aesthetics and not go overboard with the edits you apply to your photos.
To edit photos on Instagram, you do not need to apply all the filters you find and modify all the photo values. We recommend that you only use the basic editing parameters; it is unnecessary to make it so complicated.
- Take the time you need to edit
Editing photos for Instagram can take some time, whether basic or complex edits. For your photos to capture your followers’ attention, you must try the options you have in the photo editor until you find the result you are looking for.
If you want to know how to edit photos on Instagram because you want to work editing other people’s images, you should also keep this in mind. Take the time to make your edits; quality matters more than quantity.
- Define your editing style
Professional photographers have a photographic style that makes it very easy to recognize their work. Although editing images for Instagram does not make you a professional, it is still recommended that you start defining your editing style.
It is best to create a preset that you can automatically apply to the Instagram photos you want to upload. The ideal program for this is Lightroom, so if you’re going to learn, you can review our note on how to edit Instagram photos in Lightroom.
You can also save time and work by downloading our pack of Lightroom presets. With this resource, you can give all your photos a professional touch without knowing how to edit photos on Instagram.
- Apply a black and white filter
Despite not being a new effect for photo editing, the black and white filter is one of the best filters for Instagram photos. Editing your photos with this type of filter is ideal for generating contrast in your feed and inviting your followers to come in and see your photos.
If you want to start grabbing your audience’s attention, you need to make sure that your editing work is also visible to the naked eye. Laura Figueroa, professor of the Instagram strategies for companies course, tells us about how editing photos on Instagram is essential to capture the attention of our audience:
“Within Instagram, there are different formats that you can create. From images, designs, graphics, carousels, short videos, and even long videos. (…) They all have the same basis when it comes to structuring them; you need a hook that catches the person, the main content of the story, and at the end, the call to action. The main goal is to get people’s attention and make them want to see the rest of your post .”
- Use a text overlay on some of your photos
Fonts are one of the most important elements of graphic arts, and using them to edit your photos for Instagram is a great idea.
Including a couple of lines as a title helps your followers know what each of your posts is about. You can apply this advice, especially if you have a business and want to know how to edit photos on Instagram.
- Create a collage
One of the editing formats that does not go out of style is the collage. In any image editor for Instagram, you can find a format that will help you edit your photos and create an incredible design with several of them.
You only need to choose a good selection of photos for Instagram and play with the templates available in the editing apps.
- Edit with colored backgrounds
If you want to know how to edit photos on Instagram to have a rainbow feed, the best thing you can do is play with the composition of the elements of your photos, keeping in mind that there must be a predominant color that generates the effect you want.
You can also choose to edit your photos in groups of three and place them on a colored background to have lines of three pictures with the same aesthetic.
- Create a blur effect
In any photo editor for Instagram, you can find the basic Instagram photo editing tools, and within them, there is one that is used to blur some parts of the photo and draw the public’s attention to a specific point. In the Instagram photo editor, you have the option of radial blur and linear blur, for example.
- Use templates
If you have some images that you want to use for marketing on Instagram, the best thing you can do is use a pre-designed template to make editing easier.
If you don’t know how to edit photos on Instagram through templates, don’t worry, it’s very simple. You can download the page templates as Freepik and adjust them through Illustrator or Photoshop.
- Play with color saturation
Depending on what you want to convey with your photos, you can use saturation levels to capture your audience’s attention. A good idea for editing photos for Instagram is to lower the saturation of the colors that can distract the eye; in this way, you also make sure that you highlight just what you want in your photos.
You can also raise the levels to have more intense colors and generate visual impact. However, you must be careful because it could ruin the photo and cause the opposite effect.
- Use the Instagram app for photo editor.
If you want to learn how to edit photos on Instagram, one of the easiest options is within the app itself. Instagram has a very intuitive and functional photo editor built in.
In addition, it is very easy to learn how to edit on Instagram; you have to try the available filters and see how the photo editor that is incorporated in the app works for you. According to Hootsuite, one of the best filters for Instagram is Clarendon, so you can start using it and test the results.
- Add a color mask
Another way to edit your photos for Instagram is to use color filters since they are an excellent expressive resource to communicate emotions and sensations to the public. According to color theory, each hue is usually associated with a particular meaning, so you can play around with this to make a bigger impression with your photos.
- Remove imperfections from your photos
You have to follow a couple more tips before saying that you already have everything to know how to edit photos on Instagram. One of them is that you consider the importance of editing small details.
If there’s an element in your photo that’s out of place or seems to ruin your Instagram photo, you have the option to remove it. For small things, you can use Lightroom’s clone tool, with which you can remove any object or fix some skin details.
- Follow Instagram trends!
There is nothing more effective in discovering how to edit photos on Instagram than consuming a lot of content and being inspired by what you see within the application. Following Instagram trends is a good way to learn how to create content that helps us connect with our audience, although it is also a good idea to innovate based on your ideas.
- Practice as much as you can
Learning how to edit photos on Instagram will not happen overnight, so you have to put in the effort to practice and test the editing tools at hand. Whether it’s an Instagram photo editing app or a professional editing program like Lightroom, master the features you need to learn from your own experience.
- Edit your photos with a theme format for Instagram
With this tip and learn how to edit the Instagram feed, you will have a trick to edit your photos and give them an aesthetic coherence that makes your feed stand out. You have to choose a composition theme, use borders, apply the same filter, or edit your photos in a puzzle format.
In the following image, you can see how to edit photos on Instagram with a mixed border format.
Can you edit photos on Instagram after posting them?
While everyone would love to be able to edit photos on Instagram after they’ve been posted and find something to improve, that option isn’t available. If you made a mistake setting the photo values or didn’t choose the right measurements, all you can do is create a new post.
To avoid headaches, in the next section, we will share a shortlist of free editing tools that you can use to edit your photos for Instagram and create posts that meet your goals.
Free tools to edit photos on Instagram
We refer to three very useful template packs for those learning how to edit photos on Instagram and who need an editing tool that makes their work easier.
These resources are free, and you can download them as many times as possible. So we recommend you take a look at them and use them to edit your photos on Instagram.
Carousel template for Instagram in vector
The carousel format is one of the most used to edit photos on Instagram, especially because it gives your posts a touch of interaction and allows you to play with the dimensions of the images.
Don’t worry if you have trouble using the format and don’t know what the measurements are because, with this resource, you will learn how to edit photos on Instagram with the popular carousel design. All you need to do is have Adobe Illustrator installed on your computer and have one or more photos that you can use within the template.
Instagram template pack for influencers
If you want to edit photos on Instagram to make a career as an influencer, you should start making more engaging content posts. And we are not just referring to the type of photos you upload, but to the graphic elements, you use in the composition of your publications.
This pack of Instagram templates for influencers can help you improve the results you get with your photos. It would help if Adobe Photoshop was installed on your computer and followed the tricks to edit photos on Instagram that we discussed earlier.
Collection of posts for Instagram with natural design
Entrepreneurs should also learn how to edit photos for Instagram and pay close attention to everything they post, as keeping posts consistent and having a defined style builds trust with the public.
Do you remember that when we talked about how to edit photos on Instagram, we suggested using a theme for all your posts? This resource can help you with just that because it includes many editable templates with which you can define the style of your posts.
You have to click on the download link and start editing your photos with the templates that we include in the collection to download it. In addition, using them is very easy; replace the default image of the templates with the photo of your choice.
Now you know how to edit photos on Instagram or the basics of doing it. Getting the perfect image depends on many factors, so you have to keep practicing until you develop the skills needed to edit photos like a pro.
We hope that our tips on how to edit photos on Instagram will help you move forward on the path and that in no time, you will be able to obtain the results you expect.