I am extremely guilty of a two hour photo editing spiral when it comes to getting the perfect Insta. Here are some of my go-to editing apps that make my life a lot easier and help keep my feed consistent.
1. Prequel
So I stumbled upon this gem on Tik Tok (of course), but now I’m hooked. Sort of embarrassed to admit I spent 3+ hours editing all my live pictures into cute 90s inspired videos. My absolute favorite effect is “disco” mixed with the “Miami” filter. It gives your photo that starry vintage effect. They also have awesome video VHS inspired videos. Also has really amazing photo filters.
2. Snapseed
This app saves lives. Literally. One of my favorite features is the selective tool where you can selective any part of your image and change its brightness, contrast, saturation, and structure. I use this all the time to brighten up images with shadows in my eyes or anywhere else. Another favorite of mine is the expand tool. It’s perfect for when you want to fit more of your image into the Instagram fee.
3. Lightroom
Hands down the absolute best free photo editing app. Look up free presets you can download on Google that matches your ~aesthetic~. Or you can search YouTube to see how other people edit their photos on the app. My favorite part about Lightroom is how you can completely change the color scheme.
4. UNUM
This app lets you plan out up to 20 of your next Instagram posts. It’s amazing for making sure your feed aligns. It even has basic stats on your Instagram account and tells you what time/day your posts perform best.
5. Quickshot
I only use this app for one sole purpose. To replace my original sky with a better one. It looks natural and you can choose from quite a few different sky variations.
6. VSCO
This is obviously one of the best and most well known editing apps. My favorite filters are A1, A4, A6, HB1, and HB2. I use VSCO to finalize my pictures and sometimes add the grain effect.
7. Unfold
This one was extremely popular in 2019 but it still lives up to the hype. The free formats are perfect for Instagram stories. I purchased FF1 filters for $1 and I definitely got my moneys worth. It adds a cool vintage film effect to your pictures. It has different polaroid looking filters that spices up my Insta feed.
8. Afterlight
This OG app comes through when you want to add some light leaks or dust effects to your image.
9. David’s Disposable
The moment I found this app was the moment my nights out changed forever. Basically, you open the app and you take a picture exactly how you would on a disposable camera. You can’t see the pictures you’ve taken until 9am the next morning. You’ll get a notification that your photos are developed and ready to be viewed. The best part is you can actually order your photos as prints directly from the app straight to your home. Basically the best, most convenient disposable camera in the game.
10. Layout
This app is simple yet extremely effective. You can choose on or multiple pictures and format them side-by-side, mirrored, flipped, and even with borders. You can upgrade your average picture with this app by giving it some depth.
11. Dazz Cam
This is the free app responsible for all the 3D pictures you’re seeing right now. These only work with portrait mode pictures. It’s pretty cool and has other vintage filters as well including some polaroids.
