(this blog post focuses on editing using the VSCO app for iOS and Android)

Hello there, lads!

It’s been a long time indeed. Well, that was because I had my Arangetram last month! I’ll be talking about my Arangetram experience in my next blog post!

I get asked quite often, “Sakhi, how do you click such good pictures?” In all modesty, I don’t! It’s all the magic of editing. You don’t believe me?

Well, look at this picture of some random flowers in a little San Francisco Cafe.

And this is what it looks like after I add a filter to it.

Edits for this picture:

HB1/Hypebeast (Filter): +12.0

Insane what a little tweak can do to the entire aesthetic of a picture right? Today I’ll be giving you 5 tips to edit your photos in a way that they translate to who you are!

1. Decipher the feel of the picture.

How do you want your picture to feel? It makes a big difference when picking the filter and adjusting other factors like the brightness levels and exposure. Do you want your picture to have a mysterious, gloomy look? Or do you want it to be a very happy, summery vibe to it?

Here are some questions to consider:

Where was this picture taken? What is the setting? A beach? A spooky bungalow?
How is the lighting in this picture? Bright? Dull?
What is this picture of? Food? Car? Children? Flowers?

TIP: If you are editing pictures of fruits of vibrant colours, have fun with the filters and try to highlight the vibrancy! You can try filters like F2 on VSCO.

2. Don’t make anything too dark or too light.

We get it. You want your picture to be very mysterious and very gloomy. Well, reducing the brightness to the least might not work well for your image, especially if the original image is already lacking enough light! At the same time, don’t make the image so bright that no one can see anything on there.

3. Have a theme!

Now, I have never been a fan of themes since they limit me from posting a lot of good content as themes mean that there should be a similar colour palette or feel to every picture posted. And trust me, I’m not a person to follow that many rules! But if you want to have a theme, here are some gorgeous accounts that you can go through to inspire you:

@ihavethisthingforfloors – random colour scheme, but photos taken in the same way and visually appealing patterns

@dabito – bright, vibrant, green plants in every picture

@carleyscamera – white, minimalistic (not a recommended theme if you have sky photos, since the editing makes the sky look completely white)

4. Play around with different filters

Sometimes, there are pictures that you don’t really know what to do with. In these cases, just play around with all the filters and see which one looks best. Don’t just stop here, change the other factors like exposure, saturation, contrast, temperature, grain, fade etc!

TIP: For pictures with green plants, try using G3. Works wonders!

5. Too lazy to edit so much? Rely on some “safe” filters

Some VSCO filters tend to work on almost all pictures. A6, HB1, HB2, JM1, NC and P5 are some of my personal favourites. However, if the image get’s too dark or too light, don’t be afraid to increase or decrease the level of exposure and contrast to make the image look like you want it too!

ORIGINAL IMAGES