Insta-capture.
People always come to me asking how do I manage to take so many pictures and more than that to share them e.g. on Instagram. To be honest it doesn't take me more than a train ride to work. So, here is a very easy tip on how to start editing your pictures.
On a previous post, I mentioned a lame 'technique' that I am using to capture my daily wandering. In general, I love capturing. Yet, most of the time I use my camera as a tool to immortalise in a sense my trips, adventures, or just to archive the every day life, architecture or anything beautiful or memorable I come across with in my daily routine. I do this without paying too much attention -thus-wise all my pictures have some noise, so be aware. After all, I have to capture every image mainly with my eyes.
As a conclusion, it's hard to keep track of what I am shooting. Moreover, when I have company I don't want to be one of those people that only pay attention to their phones. So, I try not to look at my phone. However, I am capturing non stop. Later on, and as soon as I figure out some spare time I am going through my daily treasure finds and discover if anything's worthy sharing. With a few simple steps I can fix most of the imperfections. I always use only the basic editor of my Instagram app. The perspective only, can do most of the trick. It is certainly important, at least to have a good picture quality, a decent focus to avoid any noise, and last and most importantly the picture itself to have something to 'say'. These are not hard to achieve -even in my way- considering also the fact that as a woman I am a very good multi-tasker. At least one person will appreciate your result, and that will do. And if not, it is important to be self-sufficient and confident enough, not to care. Although, we all like our 'creations' to be valuable by others.
Featuring, are some random examples of my editing on some building facades. Apologies for the quality of the images, but they are just screenshots.
I have one basic principle: "If your picture is not straight enough, don’t share it". The horizon (If any) or the main horizontal or vertical elements need to be paralleled with the frame. Not everyone can notice if a picture is not up right. A good eye though can always say. Sometimes it's impossible to achieve perfection, but straight enough is good enough. As you would expect, it also depends on the purpose of the picture. These are mostly share for fun.
When you reach a satisfactory frame you can then apply a simple filter or play with the light/contrast of the picture based on your personal aesthetic. My aesthetic varies depending on my mood. Usually, I am following the seasons or anything that inspires me (you will always find me between buildings, looking up). That said, I am a big fan of Caravaggio's 'tenebrism' so I mainly tend to use a lot of strong tonal contrast between light and dark resulting a more dramatic effect (also known as 'chiaroscuro').
I hope my writing is not as confusing as my way of thinking and that my little tip will be at use to you. :)