Let’s be honest, you’re probably stuck somewhere between buying mobile presets from an influencer on Instagram who has a killer looking feed or slapping on a generic filter (or no filter at all) and calling it good before uploading it to social media. While I don’t see anything wrong with either option as long as it’s what you want to do, I do think there’s an app right at your fingertips that you can use to make your photos POP!

When I first started this project I can’t tell you how READY I was to show you all that Lightroom has to offer. You can do so much and really manipulate photos to look the way you want (and build your own aesthetic!). I’m all about creating a unique style and not looking like every other Instagrammer with their cheesy sponsorship posts and LikeToKnowIt links (no hate on their influencer game!). I had all these steps written out and then realized it went from 0 to 180 real, real quick! So in this video I cover the basics – the edits that aren’t super adventurous and have become muscle memory to me at this point.

You can see in the video below that even though I have certain steps, each photo is going to be edited just a little differently. There are so many different factors that change from photo to photo, so slide those sliders until your heart is happy! You’ll be surprised what little time it takes to really make your photo stand out! After the video, keep scrolling for more tips!

Here are some additional tricks for photo editing (wait, a Jolley Blog EXCLUSIVE?) that I didn’t include in the video!

ADDITIONAL TIPS

1. Turn up your phone’s brightness setting! Dim phone screens make editing harder.
2. Edit photos while you’re inside and your phone screen isn’t hit by direct sunlight. Funny how the best place for taking photos (in natural light) can be the worst place for editing!
3. I wasn’t kidding about straightening the horizons! Nothing stands out more to me than a diagonal photo (remember when turning your phone in weird angles to take photos was “cool”?). You’ll hear more about this in another video about tips on taking mobile photos!
4. If you ever have a pop up for export settings, always do HD or the highest setting! Your phone can handle it! I delete the photo from my photo library after uploading to social media to save the space.
5. Preview your photo on Facebook/Instagram before uploading to see how it looks with the white background! Your photo will look different against the white background that most social media apps use.
6. Vertical photos work best on social media. While I believe you should upload the photos you want above everything else, vertical photos give you more “free real estate” on apps like Facebook and Instagram. They take up phone screens more than horizontal photos!

I hope you can use this video and the additional tips to change your social media game with your photo posts! I’m all about keeping a classic look that will look great even as trends change through the years. That being said, as an artist I love seeing trends and participating in them so I’ll definitely come back with some tips on how to make photos trendier, similar to what you see influencers post!

In the meantime, happy editing! Be sure to tag me in your phone edits on Instagram! Did you know I’ve created another DIY video? This one is about creating your own name cards for your wedding/bridal shower/whatever event you’re planning! Check it out here.

– Jenny Jolley