Even nowadays, all you need to become a social media sensation is creativity, charisma, a good understanding of how social media works, and good editing skills. Not much, right? The good news is that you can learn all these skills and sharpen them with practice. But, if you want to gather an audience that will provide some feedback, it does help to start with your editing skills. Good pictures and well-designed videos are the best way to catch people’s eyes, so here are a few tips to get you started editing images like a pro.
Use the Proper Size
Each social media platform has its own image size recommendations, so it helps to know how to resize an image without losing quality or context. In short, it’s always best to start with a high-quality picture and resize it to a smaller version than the other way around. Even if platforms like Instagram and Facebook will limit the level of image quality (aka image size), you can’t get by with pixelated images. The goal here is to follow image size regulations to make sure important details won’t be cut out of the picture during upload.
Pay Attention to the Background
Don’t you hate it when you take an artsy picture while traveling and there are all those people in the background? Or, all those images where you like how you look but can’t use them because the background is too busy? Well, now you can use a simple background remover online and get rid of noisy or blurry backgrounds. Plus, you can replace the people staring at you while taking a picture with a beautiful and calming image that puts the focus on the subject and guides the eyes exactly as you want it.
Check Your Settings
You don’t have to be a professional photographer to know about exposure, white balance, ISO, and shutter speed. These settings are also available on most smartphone cameras, and you’ve probably played with them before. Also, most smartphone cameras have a “Pro” mode and a “Manual” mode where you can allow the camera to decide which settings to use or do them yourself. The main idea is that pictures taken with the right settings look better and need less editing.
Filters & Light Edits
You can use a wide range of photo editing apps from your smartphone to apply filters (many are pre-built in the app) and make light edits such as crop, balance, contrast, and saturation (to name a few). So, it’s a good idea to find an app you like and learn how to use it. Also, make sure you have plenty of room to safely store your images and media files in a remote location to avoid filling in your phone’s memory.
About the author
Richard has an established career as a technology consultant, helping business owners and CTOs harness new technologies for their businesses. He regularly writes and muses about emerging technology.
