This tutorial shows how to make Instagram ready images for Facebook’s go-to flagship, social media image promotion app.
When working on the photo manipulation of my images I often also add a cloned version of the strongest images with punchier settings, that I can use on my own Instagram feed.
With befores, adjustments, and afters these step-by-steps show how I used Adobe Lightroom to make the images punchy enough to stand out on Instagram.
Before
The basic settings has the Shadows set to 100, to lighten the darkest area beneath the monorail, shot in Germany.
The rest of the changes can be done with Graduated and Radial filters…
1 Radial Filter on the Water
I created an elliptically shaped radial filter to make the water more dramatic. The settings were: Highlights 62, Whites 100, Clarity 79, and Dehaze 16.
2 Graduated Dehaze Filter On the Sky
I added a Dehaze setting of 21 to darken the sky slightly.
3 Graduated Filter Lightening Shadows
I created another Graduated Filter specifically to further lighten the shadows underneath the monorail.
After
The final image shows how a few simple adjustments can enhance this shot of the Schwebebahn monorail in Wuppertal, Germany.
Before
The blurred light is from a speeding, yellow tram leaving this tram station in Lodz. The shot is interesting but it is all too yellow.
These shots were taken with a sturdy tripod of course, with a 2.5 second Exposure at F11 and 100 iso.
1 Graduated White Balance Filter
This Graduated Filter adjusts multiple faults. The yellow cast is cured with a White Balance was changed from a Temperature of 0 to -87, and Tint to 28. Then the deep Shadows were adjusted to 18. Finally to make this area appear crisper, the Clarity was adjusted to 17.
2 Second Graduated Filter to the Left Side
The left of the shot is too dark and lifeless. I have adjusted the Exposure slightly to 0.26. Then to add more drama, the same Graduated Filter has been used to increase the Highlights to 78, the Shadows to 60, and the Blacks to -5.
3 Graduated Noise Filter
The final change was to use a separate Graduated Filter to reduce the Noise in the sky area set to the maximum 100.
After
The subtle cooling of the white balance has made the right hand side blue and more interesting. The other changes have further emphasised the blurred light of the speeding tram.
Before
The blurred light is from a speeding car going past this tram station in Lodz. The flash is interesting but could look a lot more dramatic.
1 Graduated White Balance Filter
This single change makes a dramatic difference. White Balance was changed from a Temperature of 0 to -56, and Tint to 35.
After
Changing just the White Balance has made the car a rich blue colour.
Location
The shot is of Piotrkowska Centrum tram station, amusingly also known as the Unicorn Stables. Lodz, Poland.
Before
Reflections on passing cards from this giant neon sign looked like a good shot. I waited until a reflective, black car sped past to take this striking shot in Warsaw, Poland.
This is how the image looked when imported into Lightroom. I thought it could be more dramatic which much darker blacks and cleaner whites.
1 Basic Exposure Changes
The basic exposure needed to be adjusted to make the whole image brighter and to add even more contrast. Here I increased the Exposure to 1.25, Contrast to +5. Then altered; the Highlights to -74 to avoid losing details, the Shadows to 51, Whites to 63, and the blacks to -16.
2 Gradiant Clarity Filter on the Car
The biggest change was to add an angled Gradient Filter to the bottom of the shot to alter the car. Here I boosted the Clarity to 65 and the Whites a little more to 17.
After
The brightness of the neon sign is now the same as its reflection on the car, making the shot more punchy.
Location
The shot was taken outside SEZAM – an iconic department store opening in 1969 in Warsaw, Poland. The neon sign has been preserved. The store has been redeveloped to integrate it with the metro station below and now includes offices and apartments above.
Exposure 1/60th at f4, 800 iso.
Before
If I had set the camera to manual it would have made the shot much lighter and lost the wonderful moody sky. This is why I always use manual and tend to slightly under expose by -1/3 of a stop to hold more details.
I think it could be even more dramatic with some changes using Graduated and Radial filters in Lightroom.
1 Graduated Highlights Filter
The first change was to reduce the highlights to -47. This has effectively darkened the sky without using Dehaze which would have made the buildings too heavy.
2 Radial Clarity Filter
Water and windows benefit from the Clarity filter. Here I created an ellipse with the Radial Filter then adjusted the Clarity to 89. This technique usually needs other changes too to make the areas look convincing. So here I experimented with the other basic exposure adjustments, deciding on the finished settings of Highlights 100, Whites 69, and Blacks -31.
After
The sky now looks even more dramatic and the water looks more defined.
Location
Shot taken of the City of London from the opposite side of the Thames, on the 5th floor balcony of Tate Modern.
Exposure 1/160th at f11, 100 iso.
Before
I love the reflections on the ground, but I find the right hand corner too dark and dull.
1 Graduated Shadows and Clarity Filter
The effect I wanted to achieve was to give more details to this corner of the image. So I created a Graduated Filter that changed the Clarity to 43. But that wasn’t enough so I also changed the basic exposure settings to: Highlights -15, Shadows 74 and the blacks to -14.
After
These changes emphasises the tiny highlights on the edge of the paving slabs, so that the corner of the image is more detailed.
Location
Shot on a rainy day in Margate a few moments before closing time. The next second the shop lights were turned off and the street was totally dark. Using a tripod, the exposure was 1 second at f4, 100 iso.
Colin Walton at WaltonCreative.comPhotography Tutorial 6: Spotting Patterns