Are you curious about a perfect way of photo editing, aren’t you? If yes, you need to acknowledge that there is no such thing called “one-preset-for-all” in the field of photo editing. The photo editing recommendations that you will find here are undoubtedly good enough to make your pictures look incredible just like candies to the eyes of your audience.
The pictures that are put on the cover page are paramount as they play an essential role in making or destroying a brand’s image. Therefore, you have to maintain the best quality throughout the series of pictures that you put up there. If you follow the professional photo editing pages on Instagram or any other social media pages, then you will see how they utilize the emerging trends and curate them according to their own style or preset. This way, amateurs like you can gain tremendous experiences and knowledge in the subject of picture editing and photo retouching, which will be an excellent advantage for you to capture and post-produce captivating and unique pictures on your social media feed.
MINIMAL EDITING
I know these might seem to you similar, but the years come and go, but some trends just touch our hearts and creative aisle so much that we always come back for more. We can’t really ignore the fact that “less is more,” can we? It is significantly gone case when there were times, and people used to have a massive preference for perfect Images will proper pose and planned elements.
Even the most minute details were made perfect using photo editing and healing tools, which means all the acne pores, blackheads, redness, blemishes or any kind of scars were photoshopped and healed. Even the skin tone was preferably edit into a fairer skin for that stereotypical perfect face. But the good thing is this trend is changing, and the stereotypical preferences are getting out of trend as people are learning to accept their appearances as it is.
They are learning to be more and more honest to themselves first, then to the world. It is indeed a huge step to come as raw as you can on social media because we have stayed in the bubble of fake perception for so long, and it takes time to accept something different, only natural. They are now more indulged into seeing authentic and unfiltered things. Hence, many people have started the trend of #noedit or created a grading that involves minimal settings, like the primary color corrections, shadow removal, lighting enhancements, and etc., nothing related to completely catfishing a person’s appearances. This explains, there the trend of utilizing clean picture editing in 2022 is almost gone. You can bring minimal changes to the saturation, exposure, contrast or lighting only to make it look more approachable.
NIGHT FLASH
Another genre that is getting wide spread on social media is self portraits using flash or a sunset lamp. People taking photos in a dark room or somewhere out with low light, and they are taking their pictures or getting clicked by using flash. Some flash used pictures might look very preaky at first, at if it is hard on eyes, but here is the hack you can use. Select the photo that is looking over flashed or unreal to you, import it on Lightroom or Snapseed and then go to lights options, adjust the contrast and maybe the highlights too if needed, that totally depends picture to picture. This way you can make your unreal photos look more natural. Enhancing the contrast makes the images sharp and vivid, plus this technique can be ideal for shoots at night. I have seen so many people doing fashion portraits using this thing and sunset lamp too, but mostly that indoors. It looks impressive if you click some hazy pictures with flash, it serves a whole different aesthetic, and it’s pretty cool to experiment with your aesthetic, I guess.
ARTSY AESTHETICS
Care to be more creative? Then get ready to ride a euphoric wave this year on Instagram. Makeup artists around the globe are majorly doing these kind of shoots. I have seen so many reels where people are using crazy artistic things to decorate and accessorize themselves and trust me, it looks phenomenal. These are generally called creative/ artistic portraits, where they can go to extreme extents to improve their creative flow and skillsets. They play around with certain artsy things like glitters, mirrors, brushes or strokes on their faces, and etc. As we all know, experimentation is a great way to learn new things and practice till you become pro at it.
We are now coming to those talented people who like to experiment with their post-production process. They also nurture their creativity by diving into a lot of artistic elements only to bring it out in a more efficient way. Creativity knows no limit and hence, keep experimenting with your creative ingredients and never hesitate to create something new or unique just because others haven’t done that yet.
OLD SCHOOL
Do you remember what kind of photos were taken back in those days of your parents? Well, they looked beautiful. Those light leaks and negative films that took several days to come in form, those retro and vintage looks are coming back for now. Apps like VSCO, HUJI CAM, KUJI CAM, LIGHTROOM are always ready at your service to serve that old-school retro and vintage looks in your photographs.
Do you know why this trend has been gaining so many fans lately? Well, let me tell you, everybody loves that lost touch, that touch of nostalgia. Hence people going back in memory is what makes them crave for this kind of editing even more—vignettes, grunge, grains, paper leaks, and light leaks, including dust masks, etc. You can use these features mainly to turn your pictures warm and old. You can find how to make your new photos look old and vintage here.
MATTE FINISH
Have you ever heard of matte filters? Well, I have seen a lot of photographers using FADE in their pictures to make them look more like dark academia. Photographers and photo editors use this feature of adding matte to their images to achieve that slight washed-out look. You can apply these matte filters by adjusting the curving settings of your photos in the app called Snapseed.
Generally, people use this feature to reduce the sharp and crisp textures from the image, more like muting the rough textures and smoothening it with the fade. This tool gives the pictures a very smooth and casual look, which is also perfect for prominent portraitures which involve a certain mood to give that moody look. You can apply the matte effect to a portrait or a wedding photoshoot and give it a book-like impression.