A lot of people have been asking me about what I use to take my photos and how I edit them, so to be 112% honest, when it comes to me constantly being on the go {and if I don’t have my DSLR camera with me} I use my iPhone. I have the iPhone 7s and after diagnostic tests at the Apple store, it’s hanging on a thread BUT I make do with what I have {first world problem… I know}.
{hint hint parents: my birthday is in 10 days and I MAY or may not need a new camera}
Now, if I am vlogging I use my new SONY camera which I am OBSESSED with or if I'm just taking pictures I use my DSLR camera which typically is on manual mode {where I choose the aperture, shutter speed, and ISO} and if they’re photos of myself… Well… I put my camera on a tripod and use my camera’s timer.
OH — I also have a diva light to use when I am recording vlogs or taking photos inside my apartment and it works like magic.
Now, A TON of y’all have also asked me what kind of apps I use to edit my photos, so I’m going to help you out a bit.
LIGHTROOM:
I know TONS of famous bloggers // vloggers have their own presets and a bunch of them sell them for like $50- $300 depending on the amount of edits in a package; HOWEVER, I refuse to purchase anybody’s. I absolutely love playing around with Lightroom on my computer and I have a few of my own presets and I am thinking about selling for about $20 {so if you would be interested in my edits, then let me know and I can put some on sale for y’all}. Stylistically, I do believe that having the same edits on an insta-g feed is more aesthetic and appealing to the eye, so I am sure to apply my preset prior to posting a photo. Not to mention, I think the preset that I have chosen to go along with makes my photos look more crisp and vintage looking at the same time. By playing around with highlights, shadows, whites // blacks, contrast, temperature, etc. I have created some presets that look similar to bloggers and insta famous people {that I’m sure you follow} as well as my own that have my own artistic flare.
HUJI:
So many people have messaged me on insta-g when I use the Huji app for photos I post to my insta story. I don’t know what it is about Huji but I became OBSESSED with it the moment I started using it. The colors are more vibrant, the photo looks like it was taken on a disposable camera {sometimes with light smudges on it}, the date stamp is on the photo in the corner {however when you post to insta on your story it will get framed out}, and the “developed” photo is always a fun surprise.
UNUM:
Now that I’m talking about insta, I love being able to plan out what my feed looks like in order to be more appealing to the eye. In order to do this, I use the free app, UNUM, which will show my current inst feed and allow me to paste down about nine more photos and move them around in order to see what my feed will look like as I post. By curating a certain feed, I am able to see if I am posting too many selfies, too many “ads,” too many posed photos, etc. If you are wanting to make your feel look like it is in tip-top shape {or if you are looking to apply for jobs that relate to social media like I am}, I HIGHLY recommend downloading this app and playing around with the order of posts before you actually post one. I used to be a major stickler for posting photos the day that I took them but now that I have the app {and I know that consistency is key: aka if you post every day for a week and don’t post anything for two weeks, you will lose followers} it doesn’t matter when I take the photo, as long as i eventually post what I want to and what I think my followers my like.
UNFOLD:
This is a more recent app I have been using and also getting a lot of questions on; HOWEVER, the set of templates that I have been using costs $1.99 but will provide you with 15 templates inspired by analog photography {FF1}. Although it does come with free templates, the ones that are offered to purchase are more appealing to me, so it’s just a personal opinion. A lot of the times I will use Unfold to create insta g stories that include both a photo and a video or just a selection of photos that go well together if I’m not wanting to post consecutive photos in my story {sometimes I have to spare my followers}.
VSCO:
This app I don’t really use much anymore BUT when I relied on it all the time, people would always comment asking what I used to edit my photo. The app is free and comes with its own free presets {as well as some you can buy}. My favorite preset to use was always C1, which looking back at it, made it kinda look as though I used Huji to take my photo. I also went through a phase on my travel insta-g that I LOVED making my photos look as though they had some natural grain to them which you could edit in through the app {and you may be able to kinda see it in the edit above}.
AGAIN — If you would like me to start selling my presets {only one is pictured above but I am willing to share my others as well} please please PLEASE let me know. Tomorrow night I’ll be going to the Beyonce and Jay Z concert so my post Wednesday will definitely be about that and then I have had some requests for some other things so be sure to continue checking out my blogs on Mondays and Wednesdays ANDDDD Fridays!!
xoxo V
