Enhance Your Image #52Assignments No. 4

The fourth assignment in the #52Assignments series asks you to look at how you enhance your image and the effect you can have by using Instagram’s own editing tools, or an outside editing app like Photo Lab, BeFunky or Snapseed.

*Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase using one of these links, I will receive a small commission at no extra cost to you.

What Can This Assignment Teach You?

The project takes four pages in the book and has plenty of thoughtful suggestions about ways of adjusting your images and how these edits can impact on your Instagram image. The fantastic photos in the book show how effective enhancements can be.

Adam Juniper, the author, suggests exploring beyond the available Instagram filters and edits. There are hundreds of apps from the very simple fun filters to seriously sophisticated applications that allow you to work with RAW images.

….it is not uncommon for professional smartphone photographers to spend as much time editing as they do composing a shot.

Adam Juniper

How Should I Approach Editing An Image Then?

The tips in this chapter will get you thinking more carefully about your approach to enhancing your images and the apps you use. One important tip that hit home with me was this:

• You should correct anything that seems wrong with your image and move forward with your image enhancement explorations from there.

I have never thought of editing my photos in this way but it makes sense and maybe you already do without realising it.

This tip allowed me to review my image of Sienna, our tortoiseshell, more carefully so that the image is lighter, and sharper so she stands out better against the soft bokeh background.

The Effects of Photo Editing

I decided to use Photo Lab from my smartphone, and Affinity Photo editing software from my computer as part of my explorations. I selected the ‘Styles’ option from Affinity to explore some of the instant transformations available. To enhance your image you will find something similar in your own software.

This screenshot shows a series of cogs on the right and each gives a different effect. I used Gold Art Deco for a vintage look and the dramatically named Bloodpool for a second amazing image – see it below.

Editing Can Transform a Photo

The examples in the book show how subtle enhancements can lift a photo from good to great and that regardless of the effect, it should have a lot of thought behind it. Don’t rush, if you aim for impct consider if it will be subtle or dramatic.

Be systematic.

• Correct any flaws
• Consider the impact you want to make
• Explore Instagram’s editing tools but don’t be afraid to use other software

Dramatic Edits

Finally, I want to show how you can really push your edits to extremes. These two photos, formatted for Instagram use Photo Lab’s ‘Mellow Yellow’ filter and transform two simple pictures into scenes of drama and graphic colour. The first is Natasha as a youngster cradled in Paul’s arms and the second our beloved Nemo, fospice cat and unforgettable cat.

Sbtle or dramatic, becoming skilled with your software filters and editing can make a real difference to any photo you post in Instagram. Have you created an amazing image today?

Join Dash Kitten on Social Media