How I Edit My Blog Photos

One of the common questions I see on blogger groups is people asking how they can edit their blog photos to look more professional. I don't have access to anything fancy, no Photoshop or expensive programme (some of my old blog photos were edited with Photoshop but when I got a new laptop I lost my copy of Photoshop). What I use is available as an app on a computer, and is available through the google play and apple stores. I use a programme called Afterlight, it cost 79p on my laptop, and similar on my android phone. I edit my phone photos through the app, as well as my blog photos taken on an actual camera. For the iPhone there is currently Afterlight 2 which is a more complex updated version, available for £2.99.

This is the original image I took using my DSLR, a Canon 50D. Full disclosure, I was a sort of photographer back before my carpal tunnel, so I know how to use a manual SLR which obviously helps my blog photos to an extent. However, as I stated before, I also edit my phone photos using Afterlight and I'm not using any fancy modes on my phone.

You can adjust a whole bunch of different things in Afterlight, I usually add some contrast to make the detail pop a bit more, and maybe increase the exposure slightly if it's a little dark. All of these options shown above are edited using a sliding scale, with previews, so you can see the effect before applying it to the image itself. With this image I'm going to increase the contrast slightly.

The thing that I love the most about Afterlight, is the filters. It comes with a whole bunch of built in filters that can really push a photo from OK to something much more finished looking.

Here I've opted to use one of the 'wander' pack, a filter called 'wicker'. I've used the built in slider to turn down the filter effects slightly, so it's at about 75% of it's full application.

Now this filter is a little cool toned, but I really like the depth and the green tones. So in this case, I'm going to increase the 'temperature' of the image and make it slightly warmer toned. I added about 15% warmth to make it seem like a lovely warm autumn day.

This took me a handful of minutes, but I think it took an OK photo and made it a lot more interesting and professional looking for my blog.

From this... 

To this!

Not a huge difference, but enough that I feel like they really add to my blog and look more finished.

The app is very similar on my phone, easy to use, and easy to undo any effects. Here's a before and after phone photo I've edited on my phone using Afterlight recently.

Edited vs unedited.

This isn't any major kind of edit, but I think the tones and the textures look a lot more interesting in the edited version on the left.

Little differences can make a lot of difference to the overall look of your photos. 

Here are a few more photos I've edited on my laptop and their originals.

Edited

vs

Unedited 

Edited

vs

Unedited 

Edited

vs

Unedited

I think it really helps my blog photography get that step ahead! And it's a really cheap and easy to use programme. I really pride myself on having blog photos that look professional and Afterlight really helps.

You don't have to have the fanciest and most expensive programmes to edit photos, so long as the exposure is roughly OK before you start editing.

Much love,

Kitty xxxx