Trends in photo processing for social networks

The fact that social networks today have become a truly unique channel for interaction with the target audience has already been appreciated by many business representatives and influencers. Today, almost every online store has its own representative office on such sites. Along with cult bloggers, social networks also feature so-called microbloggers, whose number of subscribers does not exceed three to five thousand people. And the most interesting thing is that they have already become more than worthy competition to much more famous and promoted opinion leaders. And the whole secret here is in the naturalness of the material that they offer to the consumer market.

All this suggests that the level of competition in social networks is increasing every day. To stay afloat, not to lose your existing audience and effectively attract new ones, you need to follow current trends, including in photo processing. In this review, we suggest getting acquainted with the most current solutions in photo processing for social networks, as well as applications that will allow you to implement this as efficiently, quickly and conveniently as possible.

TOP trends in photo processing for social networks

When discussing this topic, we first of all mean such a social network as Instagram, because it is here that photos have become the main content. The popularity of your account and, as a result, the effectiveness of business development will depend on how successful it is, how well it reaches the audience. To make good photo content, you need not only a high-quality camera and knowledge of the technical side of the issue, but also creativity, an extraordinary creative approach, and sometimes even quite bold, unusual solutions.

Here are some ideas that will allow you to get truly unique and unusual photos for social networks:

• Back to the retro style. This is something that will most likely never go out of style. Such photos are particularly unique and atmospheric. Perhaps this is due to the fact that previously people did not photograph everything. The film captured special moments in life, those that were remembered throughout later life with warmth and tenderness. It is these notes that your modern photos will get if they are given at least a slight hint of retro. As a result, you get something soulful, homely, cozy. And this is something that will always attract the audience and evoke positive emotions in them.
• Add neon. At first glance, such a decision will appear to be quite unusual and, one might even say, questionable. But try to implement it in practice. We are sure that in many situations the result will pleasantly surprise you. Neon accents in pictures — this is what will give your graphic content new colors. They are able to turn an ordinary photograph into a unique work of art. And here it will be important not only the correct selection of lighting, but also appropriate processing.
• We focus on desaturated shades. Sharp transitions, contrast, redundancy of color solutions in one photo — this is something that is already a thing of the past. Today, the emphasis of specialists is focused on reducing brightness and glare. But here you don’t have to opt for a dark presentation. Alternatively, all shades from the beige palette will look great. They attract with their brevity, tenderness, and naturalness. By changing shades from darker to lighter and vice versa, you will get away from dullness and sameness.
• We show our creativity. Here we have collected solutions that are designed to make your photos stand out from their analogues. In particular, you can add graphic elements to your pictures, be it frames or illustrations. The so-called glitch effect is gaining popularity. It gives the image a touch of mystery and makes adjustments to perception. You can also use artistic illustrations. Yes, they are quite far from natural, but still attract the attention of the user audience. We are not saying that creativity should be present in absolutely every photo you take, but from time to time such solutions can be safely used to refresh your feed and add originality to it.
• Adding text descriptions. Such a solution will be relevant if you want to tell your audience a story related to a particular photo, to show what exactly you wanted to convey to them. To solve this problem, you can use synchronized text overlays. Here you can play around with fonts, but the main thing is not to overdo it. Your text content should be as informative and concise as possible. You must convey your idea in just a few words, otherwise the whole meaning of the photo is lost. Come up with a dynamic, interesting text that can be presented as briefly as possible. That is, here you need to follow a simple rule: text — this is a complement to the photo, not the other way around.
• Minimal photo editing. Today, a trend such as No-Edit Edit, that is, “processing without processing,” is becoming fashionable. It is clear that absolutely any photo requires processing and certain edits, but in this case the secret is to make them invisible to the audience. That is, you can play with contrasts, perform light color correction, and change brightness. But at the same time, the authenticity of the content, its authenticity, and sincerity are preserved. Here you should avoid heavy effects and excessive sharpening of pictures. That is, the emphasis must be placed on naturalness, natural beauty. This is what always attracts the attention of the user audience. In addition, you will need a minimum of time to adjust the image before publishing it. By the way, a similar trend is actively developing today in the beauty industry. Here it was called “makeup without makeup.”
• We use video format. If you want to tell a fairly voluminous story, then the option of a photo with a text addition is clearly not suitable for you. Then it will be much more effective to record a short video. The so-called short video format, literally 5-10 seconds, is gaining momentum in popularity. Its essence is to show some impressive fragment. But at the same time, users will be able to save it and repost it to themselves, including in stories.
• We use pink shades. A similar solution should be used on social networks by those who would like to make their post somewhat nostalgic, romantic, unusual, one might even say a little whimsical. This is also something that will immediately evoke an association with Barbie. But not the modern one, but the one from the 2000s. Then this doll was associated with something unusual, exclusive, and expensive. A similar solution should be used in accounts aimed at millennials. It is precisely these categories of users that will cause the most association and positive response.
• Playing with reflections and highlights. Such a decision has already caused quite a stir in various social networks. But implementing it in practice is quite difficult. The whole secret here is in the original lighting, that is, in this case it would hardly be possible to do without a photo studio. At least it used to be, but not now that users have plenty of editing tools at their disposal. With their help, you can add highlights, apply shadows, and use the so-called prism function, which combines extraordinary light and shadow solutions.
• Film stills are making a comeback. A similar trend gradually began to appear about a year ago, but even today there are clearly no plans to decline. This is a kind of vintage that allows you to create a unique atmosphere of the past, something that is pleasant to remember. Don't be lazy to buy film and try to reproduce some kind of retro photographs. Well, if you don’t want to bother with this, then modern photo editors will help you.
• Create photos with continuation. Find an idea that could captivate your subscribers and encourage them to follow the unfolding story from beginning to logical conclusion. Here it would be appropriate to combine photos and small captions, telling some funny moments in them. This could be a single day in your life, literally framed frame by frame. In this case, you can play with angles, add different elements, add some accessories, food. But the main thing is that all these photos line up in a logical chain of history, which you would like to know to the end.
• Black and white photographs are back in fashion. They will become an unusual accent in the Instagram feed and will definitely attract the attention of the user audience. They will be atmospheric, unusual and truly beautiful. You can also add light grain and noise at the editing stage.
• Add bright shades. Excessive neutrality is not suitable for every account. Moreover, using it constantly will cause a kind of addiction among users. They will no longer pay as much attention to accents and ideas. Therefore, neutral posts need to be refreshed periodically. And the use of bright colors will greatly help you with this. But the main thing here is not to overdo it. It will be enough to choose one bright element and focus all your attention on it. So, for example, it could be a colored T-shirt, a bright bag in the frame, an unusual cup on the table. That is, there are more than enough options here.
• We take minimalism as a basis, get rid of excessive overload and complex decisions. The fewer objects you place in your photo, the more attention the main detail will attract. That is, the audience’s attention will be focused on what exactly you would like to convey to them. Third-party items, if any, should only complement the main element.
• Creating stories. We would like to draw your attention to the fact that recently the feed and the posts, comments, and likes placed in it have played an important role in the development of accounts on social networks. But in parallel with them, stories also gained popularity. These are small videos or photos that are posted in the format of stories, telling the audience about what is happening here and now. It is the fact that with their help you can share the brightest moments of your life that has made stories so popular among the user audience. Many bloggers are already betting on them today, so don’t miss this opportunity either.
• Use visual lines. The point is to find in the basic exposure strict vertical, horizontal, oblique straight lines that will pave a noticeable path for the eye, helping to trace individual elements. Thanks to this, you can create quite a serious visual impact, a sense of movement, rhythm. Finding such lines is quite simple. It will be enough to simply follow the movement of your own eyes. Alternatively, these could be paths, staircase handrails, bridge railings, railway tracks, etc.
• Add notes of coziness and comfort to the photo. These are the values that can rightfully be called eternal. This is what allows you to escape from the problems of our time, feel warmth, comfort, feel safe, and get away from everyday life. If you create a similar atmosphere in your own account, you can be sure that the number of your subscribers will increase every day. More and more people will be happy to log into your accounts and spend time there, sharing their own emotions. A similar effect can be achieved using pastel shades, muted colors, laconicism, and the absence of contrasting elements.

All these recommendations that we have given above — These are the absolute trends for today in the field of photo design for social networks. They can become a guide for many bloggers, not only beginners, but also those who have been working in the market for quite a long time and feel quite confident in their niche. But sometimes it’s worth going beyond generally accepted rules and boundaries.

It is much more important to get not a beautiful and one might even say flawless image, but to convey your own mood, your unique story, hopes and desires. Sincerity in posts — This is exactly what will make your account stand out from others, attract people’s attention and retain it for a long time. Try to turn your pages on social networks into a place where you constantly want to return.

Additional recommendations for photo processing for social networks

Along with the solutions that we talked about above, we will also now consider a number of points that will allow you to make your profile truly unique, unusual, and attractive to your audience. In particular:

1. Be inspired by the profiles of others, but never forget about your own uniqueness. It is clear that working with social networks will always require an unusual creative approach and a constant search for ideas. Therefore, there will be nothing wrong if you look for creative solutions from your competitors. But again, take them purely as an idea and come up with your own implementation.
2. Initially choose the style of your profile. If you make it too diverse, it will not allow the audience to follow your ideas and ideas, and will lead to difficulties in maintaining attention. Therefore, it is important for you to initially choose the style that will best reflect your ideas and correspond, so to speak, to your inner world. There is no need to use super-fashionable filters, poses, colors if you don’t like them. In any case, you must understand that your profile — it is a reflection of your personality. If your viewers don’t see you in your posts, they will simply leave your page. From time to time it can be diluted in order to retain the attention of the audience and enliven the feed. But still, the main style should be visible in any case. This is as important as brand voice when developing websites and other online representations.
3. When working with a photo editor, always initially apply a filter, only then make corrections. That is, initially you must choose the very idea for displaying your photo, and only after that make some minor changes. Otherwise, you will spend a lot of time editing and never get the desired effect.
4. Avoid artificiality. Often in practice there are situations when, in an attempt to get the perfect photo, editing, on the contrary, only makes everything worse. And the reason for this may be the high artificiality of the resulting photo. The audience, which is always for naturalness, naturalness, will clearly not appreciate such a decision. In some cases, adding a grain effect will help correct the current situation.
5. To improve the quality of a photo, you need to improve sharpness and emphasize some element of the photo. It is optimal to carry out this work at the final stage of editing. This way the effect of your manipulations will be the highest.

Another recommendation that the fair sex should use: your photos will look more attractive and impressive if you increase the volume of hair in the photo. You don't have to contact a stylist for this. It will be enough to simply use the appropriate software solution.

Now that you know exactly what trends in image processing for social networks are relevant today, and are familiar with the basic recommendations, you can move on to getting directly acquainted with the applications that will allow you to perform the upcoming editing as efficiently as possible, quickly and easily.

The best editors for working with photos intended for posting on social networks

The modern market offers a huge variety of software solutions designed for photo editing. Among other things, here you will also find plenty of options that will help you create truly unique, spectacular and extraordinary photos for social networks, regardless of whether they are regular posts or stories.

All these applications can be divided into 3 separate categories:

1. Mobile.
2. Desktop.
3. Online services.

Now let's look at each of these groups in more detail. Let's look at the most popular applications that exist for working with photos, highlight their capabilities and key features.

Mobile applications for photo editing

Now we’ll highlight 5 main applications that combine fairly good functionality and allow you to get really high-quality pictures as a result for subsequent posting on social networks. We would like to immediately draw your attention to the fact that all these software solutions are now available on Google Play and the App Store. Anyone can download them for themselves. So:

• Facetune 2. There is both a free and paid version. In the second case, you will need to pay about 2,600 rubles for a year of use. Among the basic functionality, we highlight the selection of filters, skin cleansing, increasing or, conversely, decreasing the volume of the body, adjusting hair and a number of other objects in the photo, adding highlights, reflections, and shadows. But if you want to fully evaluate the functionality of the application, you will need to subscribe.
• Pixaloop. Presented in free and paid versions. The latter will cost you approximately 500 rubles per month or 1,500 rubles per year. A distinctive feature of this solution is that it can animate an image, add various original effects, stickers, apply different weather conditions, make adjustments to exposure, saturation, and temperature. That is, with the help of this editor you can get movement where there was none a priori, add sparkles and reflections. You can get acquainted with basic operating skills the first time you launch the application: there are visual instructions here. In the basic version, the functionality is quite limited, but, nevertheless, in order to enliven your photos, add expressiveness, originality, and effect to them.
• Airbrush. Like the previous option, the basic version here is free, but there is also an extended version, which will cost you 550 rubles per month or 2,350 rubles per year. Using this tool, you can remove various defects on the skin, be it rashes, blemishes, even out the overall tone, optimally build the exposure, adjust color schemes, select different filters and experiment with them. Unlike the Facetune application, even in the basic version, the functionality here is wider, which many users will certainly appreciate in practice.
• Nichi. You can use this extension for free or purchase the full version for $1.5 per month or $12 per year. There is a fairly impressive set of ready-made layouts that you can use when creating collages. There is also an impressive set of stickers and additional elements, such as stickers, and a large selection of photo frames. All of these options are included in the basic free package. And these possibilities will be quite enough to get quite aesthetic and attractive minimalist pictures. If necessary, you can use the paid version. Buy it for a month to understand whether you will need the features presented or not. In addition, you can create your own template for later use with other photos, which will greatly simplify the creation of content in a similar style.
• Tezza. As in other options from our selection, there is a free version and in-app purchases (about 300 rubles per month or around 300 rubles per year). Suitable for adjusting exposure and making changes to the color palette. If necessary, it will be possible to copy processing elements from one image to another in order to easily and simply obtain a selection of solutions that are similar in appearance. Experts agree that this application is one of the best in terms of compliance with fashion trends and aesthetic concepts. Using the built-in filters, you can add warmth, delicate, beautiful shades to your image, add grain, dust particles.

Desktop applications for photo editing

If you plan to work with pictures for social networks via a computer or laptop, then you should pay attention to desktop applications. There are more than enough such options here as well. We have selected for you the most common, simple, easy-to-use solution:

• Canvas. This application will be free for all users of the SMMplanner service. And this is a kind of free analogue of the Canva editor, which is currently blocked in Russia. It offers a fairly large selection of templates and background options. You can add both monochromatic and multi-colored solutions or completely remove the background of the design and various effects. There is a set of ready-made solutions here for both standard posts and stories, and even for marketplace cards. There are also ready-made text styles and the ability to work with layers. You set the image size that suits you and save it in the format that will be optimal for you in this case.
• Photoshop Lightroom. This is a paid application that will cost you approximately 500 rubles per month of use. There is no free version provided here at all. With its help, you can remove unnecessary elements and fragments from pictures, create your own presets, or use downloaded ones. And the settings that you create for one photo can also be applied to the rest, creating collages or collections of pictures in the same style. This application can be called professional in the field of color correction, cropping, exposure. It will be more convenient to use for those who daily have to process hundreds, or even thousands of photographs in the same style. Instructions for using this service are presented in sufficient quantities in specialized groups on social platforms or on the Internet.
• Photoshop. Paid solution priced at about 500 rubles per month. With its help, you can remove third-party elements thanks to a special point restoration brush, stamp or patch. You will also be able to correctly crop the photo, maintaining optimal proportions, adjust the dimensions and save the pictures in a format suitable for you. This is a truly professional solution that can be used in various fields, not just photo editing for social networks. Unlike the Lightroom version, here it will be more convenient to work with each individual image in order to make fine adjustments. In Photoshop, you can retouch not only the entire image, but also individual fragments. Once again, this is a professional level application.
• PhotoScape. This application is offered to users both in a basic free version and in extended paid functionality. Completely free of charge, you can use a fairly large number of filters, including applying the effect of wear, texture, specks of dust, aging pictures, changing colors, adding highlights. There are also quite a lot of options for built-in frames and ideas for creating collages. In principle, such an application will be a worthy alternative to Photoshop, albeit with somewhat limited functionality. The range of tools here is quite wide and they are all presented in such a way that everything is clear on an intuitive level. If you want particularly creative solutions, you can add highlights, which will make your photo similar to film photos, create pictures as if they were taken under water. It turns out really original and unusual.
• GIMP. Another free application in our selection, with which you can change photo formats, crop it, remove unnecessary elements, change the color palette, lighting, work with layers. This is another analogue of Photoshop, not inferior to it in its functionality. Here you will find a complete set of artist's tools. Use a healing brush or stamp to edit and remove unnecessary people or objects from photos. At the same time, you can adjust the stiffness of the brush and its pressure. At the same time, the interface here will be much simpler than in Photoshop and, importantly, this application is free to use.
• Pixlr Desktop. With its help, you can apply various textures, effects, overlay frames, and add text accompaniment to pictures. They are simple and easy to use. The editor is free and its functionality is quite basic. You won't find an abundance of filters here. In addition, they are all quite contrasty, so it is important to set all settings to minimum, otherwise you will get overly bright and unnatural effects. Of the available creatives here, only adding texture and dust will be added.

Online photo editing applications

To edit photos for social networks, you do not have to download any offers and install them on your computer or smartphone. Today, there are plenty of online services on the Internet that will cope with the tasks no worse than mobile or desktop options. The most worthy solutions include:

• AVATAN. Absolutely everyone can use this software completely free of charge and even without registration. They offer a set of standard functions for editing pictures, in particular applying effects, filters, adding textures, text colors, and stickers. You can also use it to create collages and adjust color and exposure.
• Photoshop online. A free service that can be used without registration, which includes the basic functions of classic Photoshop. There are such quick effects as filters, changing the color of an element, removing the background, or highlighting a certain area. You can also use it to add a retro effect to your images.
• Pixlr. The basic version of this online service is provided to users free of charge, while in-app purchases are also provided. The main functionality includes the presence of filters, textures, glitch effects, the ability to adjust exposure color, and remove unnecessary details. This application is also presented on the market as a desktop version, but the online version has more advanced functionality. It is much easier and faster to work with the same Photoshop, which has made it extremely popular among users.
• Fotostars. A free service that you can use without registration, adding filters to your photos, sharpening individual elements or whitening them. You can also adjust saturation, play with temperatures, change exposure. Although the functionality here is quite limited, it includes all the basic tools that you may need in your work. An interesting solution here would be the ability to compare images before and after processing. That is, you can see what effect you managed to achieve and evaluate the correctness of the actions taken. But we would like to draw your attention to the fact that this online service takes quite a long time to load heavy, voluminous photos. It is best used with pictures taken on a phone.
• Instagram. Surely many of you already know that the social network has its own built-in photo editor. And for many users, the capabilities it provides will be quite sufficient. There are a number of effects, filters, and it is possible to change the sharpness, color scheme, and contrast. It is also convenient that you can process several images at the same time. But there are a number of nuances that you need to get acquainted with in advance. And the main thing is not to overdo it. We remember that today the emphasis is on naturalness, naturalness. Don't set all filters to maximum, start with minimal editing.
• Supa. Free online application with basic functionality. Registration here is required. But if you want to expand it, you will need to pay about 600 rubles per month of use. By the way, in the paid version it is possible to remove watermarks from a particular photo. This application offers a set of ready-made layouts where you can insert not only photos, but also video content, adapt it directly to social networks, add certain stickers, elements, and change fonts. There are also live pictures and formats for preparing videos for advertising, stories, etc.
• Video editor. You can use this tool for free and without registration. With its help, you can crop and merge pictures, add music and various effects, and add text accompaniment. Before working with the full video sequence, you can work through each file separately. At the same time, all information on them will be at the bottom of the page, which will increase the convenience of work. It works quite quickly.
• Clipchamp. After registration, you will be able to use this online service absolutely free, but for advanced functionality you will need to pay an additional amount of approximately 500 rubles per month. Great for working with video files, adjusting them to the formats found on social networks today. Can compress them, make adjustments to exposure, and are simple and easy to use. The interface is intuitive. Mainly focused on creating advertising content.

To summarize

As you can see, today there are more than enough options for editing photos for social networks. You can easily choose the most suitable option for yourself for use on a computer or on a phone or directly for online work. We will not give any individual recommendations regarding the choice, since everything here depends on individual preferences. We have introduced you to the features and advantages of each option. This means that it will be much easier for you to make the final choice.

Also, do not forget the recommendations that we talked about above. They will help you get results that your audience will appreciate. Here is the last recommendation:

• Keep an eye on the solutions your competitors are using in practice. And perhaps you will find ideas for inspiration and be able to create your own creativity.
• Don't go too hard. In an attempt to achieve perfection, many spend a huge amount of time processing one photo or creating a video. This will simply make you lose your vigilance. That is, the main thing is to stop on time.
• Always compare. Make several rounds of editing to get several options that you can compare later. This way you can choose a solution that will be best in a particular case.
• Constantly monitor the quality of your images. The optimal solution — saving the finished file in the highest possible resolution. The fact is that many social networks compress them when uploading photos, which will automatically lead to a deterioration in quality.
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