Instagram

How I Edit My Instagram Photos

If you’ve been reading my work on Zanita Studio, you probably know that I have a personal blog.

I’m no veteran compared to Z, but I love the vision of Zanita Studio and sharing things I’ve learned along the way. So today, I wanted to share something I’ve been getting several requests for: How I edit my Instagram photos.

Truth is, every blogger starts doing it for themselves, meaning no monetary intentions engraved (typically)… I started my blog to show people back home what life is like in New York City. Instead of telling 10 people what was I up to, I showed them. Eventually it turned into something more and I shifted my goals and content towards the people interested in my story. You should do the same! They are the ones who will tell you what they want to see. Until then, you’re more or less guessing and experimenting - that’s also heaps of fun!

Knowing that your readers want specifically is even better though and more rewarding. Blogs should be conversations and telling stories. You should be able to tell a story others relate to and engage in dialogue around it.

I reckon it makes you feel less alone and a part of something important.

Over the course of time, if you keep up with consistent content (and always remember that quality trumps quantity), you’ll start to gather a sizable audience and they’ll start to ask questions. I can’t express how great it feels when someone takes interest in your work and starts asking about your process - in this case, it’s been about my Instagram.

I really started worrying about my Instagram back here. Even though I had already been working on it, I felt like there was no consistency to it. As I poured through other bloggers’ Instagrams, tapping some insta G’s, it clicked. I needed to be more careful with the content I was putting up.

And it worked!

People seemed to like my photos and engaged more. For starters, I take my camera everywhere. I don’t usually take pictures on my phone. Then, I either transfer them to my phone or wait to get home and do some work on Photoshop. I don’t do a lot besides tweaking brightness, contrast, highlights, warmth, and clarity.

After that, I usually AirDrop them to my phone and upload them to Mosaico. It’s this great app that let’s you plan out how your feed is going to look like. It’s been a life saver!

If I’m satisfied with everything, I go to Instagram, upload the picture, write a caption, and add hashtags. There’s a lot of controversy surrounding hashtags. Some people say you should use no more than 3 or 4, others say use them all. You can get up to 30 hashtags on a single comment, which is what I usually do. It takes time to write them all down.

TIP: have a few bundles of them saved on your phone notes and just copy-paste onto the comment. It’s easier and you’ll save time.

Also, add geotags so people can find you easily and know where you are/were. Tag brands, places, restaurants, and people. It’s a great way to connect with others. For instance, you can tag @Glossier if you’ve used one of their products. Or say you were @Ladurée picking up some macarons. Don’t be shy because you either get no response or they send you a winky face. It’s a win-win.

Lastly, and most importantly, don’t forget to interact with your followers. Respond to their comments, ask them questions, and take interest in their feeds. I try to respond to each and every single comment I get and erase the spammy “get more followers” ones.

Now, for the crème de la crème, here’s a short video you can watch to see exactly what I do. It’s only 5 minutes! I hope you enjoy it and definitely let me know in the comments.