While I love book photography, there’s a 50/50 chance it’s going to make me scream. Why? EDITING. AGH. Why is it so hard?! Most tutorials involve photoshop which I have neither money nor time for. And editing photos is actually quite important! You can turn a mediocre photo into a dazzling piece of popcorn everyone will admire.
Now I am no photo-editing-pro. Obviously. I am a small mushroom of incompetence and mildew. But for those of us just sneaking a left toe into #bookstagram, a quick tutorial on HOW I edit might be interesting and handy.
You can have a quick sniff at my previous tutorials here if you so desire.
So today’s tutorial is on:
HOW TO SIMPLY EDIT YOUR #BOOKSTAGRAM PHOTOS USING PICMONKEY
Picmonkey is the only editing language I speak. Well, except for Scream Of Frustration. I speak that too. BUT LET’S MOVE FORWARD!
1. FIRST, FIND A PATHETIC PHOTO THAT IS A DISAPPOINTMENT TO HUMANITY AND SMILE AT IT.
The smiling is very important because photos can be cantankerous and we have to try and put them at ease. I picked this one of Dangerous Boys because it’s way too dark.
2. UPLOAD PATHETIC PHOTO TO PICMONKEY.
Here is a link to picmonkey if you’re living under a rock and haven’t heard of it before. (No sign up required.)
3. FIRST I’M GOING TO LIGHTEN UP MY MOODY PHOTO.
Although, have you even read this book?! I should probably leave the picture dark and also spill blood over it and hysterical tears.
4. “BRIGHTEN” AND “CONTRAST” ARE YOUR TWO BEST FRIENDS.
Seriously, just hug them now, because they’re going to save your life.
After I “brighten” a photo, I always fiddle with the contrast. Obviously every photo is different. So you need to experiment. Also have a play with “highlights” (although I find that option about 3% useful) and “shadows”…which is quite handy, but my photo is dark enough already.
5. I’M NEARLY HAPPY WITH THE COLOUR BALANCE, BUT I’M JUST GOING TO POP INTO “COLOURS” AND PLAY AROUND.
I like to live on the wild side. I like to go into “saturation” and maybe vamp up the colours. Make them POP. I sometimes overdo it though, so be careful. Your photo is supposed to be beautiful, not an alien.
6. TIME TO STRAIGHTEN THE SLOUCH.
This photo apparently has a slouchy attitude. The idiot photographer clearly can’t stand straight whilst taking pictures. But pfft, never fear! FIXABLE.
This also cropped the photo so it’s a) a nice close up, and b) also got rid of that groobly thing in the corner. I don’t even know what that brown thing was. DON’T WANT TO KNOW. Nature. Ugh.
I actually go outside to take photos sometimes, you know. The lengths I go to for photography, it’s ridiculous.
7. NEXT I RESIZE, BECAUSE IT’S TOO BIG FOR ITS BRITCHES.
The size you go down to depends on you, of course. I’m going to shrink mine to 999 x 664. I want good quality, but I also want my blog to load or you’re liable to toss your laptop down the Niagara falls and come screaming after me with small blue hatchets. Not fun.
8. UNFORTUNATELY RESIZING = BLUR. SO! NOW I CRISP IT UP.
Yum, yum, nice and crispy crunchy.
Yeah yeah, I know it’s a photo and therefore not edible. Life is disappointing like that. BUT STILL: CRISPY! I usually go around “10” because too much makes it look…weird. You can adjust the “clarity” too if you like. I forget. Because I am a deluded pineapple.
9. ARE YOU PROUD OF THIS UGLY-DUCKLING-TURNED-TO-SWAN? WATERMARK!
Okay, I no idea what the correct stance on watermarking is. Is someone going to steal your photos? Probably not. BUT. I occasionally watermark for kicks. I just type “Paper Fury” because I like to be unique.
10. SAVE AND PLASTER IT ALL OVER TWITTER, FACEBOOK, AND INSTAGRAM AND FORCE THE MULTITUDES TO ADMIRE YOUR WORK.
If they don’t, you can threaten them. I hear glaring and waving a spork is entirely frightening.
Lots of popping colours and crispy crunchiness! HUZZAH!
Entirely too easy, right?
Although, AGAIN, this isn’t a professional way to do it…this is just my way, mostly trial-by-error and figuring out HOW I want my photos to look.
-~-
Thanks for sharing your wisdom Cait you are simply a genius.
I usually just apply a filter and that’s it. My bookstagram photos are looking meh right now.
I KNOW. *flips hair majestically* I CAN’T HELP BEING SO GENIUS.
hehe.
AHEM.
In all serious though, filters are great. I particularly love the instagram ones! 😀
YAY THANKS FOR SHARING ALL YOUR TIPS. (I still need to figure out what are nice angles for book photography, though. Right now I go for the “take 362 pictures, delete approximately all of them, sell my firstborn, upload surviving photos to computer, madly fiddle with controls, and hide the worst with words” tactic. It’s not the most reliable, since I will only have 0-1 firstborns. IT’S A CONUNDRUM.
Although a note there for Mac users! Preview actually lets you do all these contrast, etc. things under “Adjust Colour” if you want, plus a couple more like Sepia and Tint I never use. You can even adjust size and add text with very little fuss. Although it doesn’t let you rotate by tiny angles, so I normally do that after I pop them into GIMP to add fancy text to it for blog graphics.
OMG. THAT IS NEARLY MY PROCESS TOO. It must be a common process. *nods* although I resist selling my firstborn because, ya know, I’ve got other things I need to pledge it to, blood sacrifices to be made, all that fun stuff. *nods* I usually end that process with “screaming and howling at blood moon” though, because GAH. These things can be frustrating. -_- STILL. EDITING CAN CHANGE PHOTOS SO WONDREFULLY. I should really look more into the built-in stuff in my mac. heeh. I found it couldn’t shrink photos though? So if I was going to have to go to picmoneky anyway to shrink, I might as well do all the editing there too.
OH YES YOU CAN SHRINK THEM. Go to Tools >> Adjust Size. It’s basically my quick fix when I don’t want to tiptoe around an actual photo editor, so it definitely has less bells and whistles though.
ZOMG YOU HAVE JUST EXPANDED MY ENTIRE WORLD.
I don’t really edit photos for Instagram and if I do, I use the filters on Instagram itself. But I do often use Photoshop CS2 and Photofiltre Studio X for bloggy stuff. 🙂 Before I got my fancy professional design, my blog consisted of a header, button & stuff I designed myself! 😀
Instagram filters = life. I use them still, even after I edit! Not always though, but definitely sometimes. XD
YESSSSS, BOOKISH PICTURES! <3 <3 I WILL FOREVER AND ALWAYS BE JEALOUS OF YOUR AMAZING PHOTOGRAPHY. But Picmonkey is an UTTER saviour. Like there are some photos which COULD be great but are too light/dark and BAM, it's fixed. (although I confess to usually being too lazy to edit photos.)
PFFT. YOUR PHOTOGRAPHY IS PRETTY DARN WONDERFUL TOO. I only ever take photos on automatic too, heeh, so I am a big cheat. SHH DON’T TELL THE MINIONS!!
Having my own little photography business, I needed to spend the money on a Lightroom Photoshop package. It was so worth it, I can edit photos so easily, I mostly use lightroom, which is I suppose in some ways similar to picmonkey by the looks of it, just with a lot more sliders that can change a photo subtly. But I do think your photos are nice, more than half of a photo is what it is as it comes out of the camera, so if you can get that looking great then you don’t need to do a heap of editing! Makes it much quicker.
I loooove your photos. THEY LOOK PROFESSIONAL. I think going the extra mile with photoshop always shows, I feel like I’d get overwhelmed with it though. >_< That's basically one of the biggest reasons I haven't pursued photoshop. (My sister wants us both to sign up for Lightroom and I keep saying maaaabye one day.)
Yup! This is how I edit all of my photos too, although it’s something I only started doing very recently. I LOVE PICMONKEY!!! It’s so easy to use, free and amazing. My photos look so much better after I have played around with them on there. Picmonkey is my best friend when it comes to editing photos.
YOUR PHOTOS ARE ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL. YOU SHOULD DO TUTORIALS AND SPILL ALL YOUR SECRETS, TBH. <3
Cait, thanks for sharing your genius ways! Tbh, I don’t edit my photos – I haven’t tried doing it – so I just upload the photos straight up from my camera to my computer and then to my blog and instagram. But I should try editing. Who knows, maybe my mediocre photos will end up as a visual treat if I try it! (It’s highly unlikely though:))
Instagram DOES have epic filters right?! I use them still, sometimes, even when I edit. heeh. WHATEVER IS EASIEST IS ALSO GOOD. *nods*
THANK YOU FOR SPILLING YOUR SECRETS. I will forever more worship your beautiful photography because omg, WHAT CAN I EVEN SAY?! because I am humanly trying to become good at this, but eh, time will help XD I edit my pictures on this as well, but for graphics and stuff, I just go on a mixture of Photoshop and Canva, hehe.
YES, YES, YOU MAY BOW. I WILL NOT STOP YOU. *nods regally*
Time! TIME WILL HELP! I used to take horrific photos too. I spend a LOt of time studying instagram and working out nice angles and ways to compose shots. *nods* I learn from looking. xD CANVA THO. <3 I use canva ALL the time. I love how it lines things up.
I don’t really use social media in general, but I use Picmonkey all the time for illustrated quotes and whatot. The Preview app on the Mac is my usual program for quick edits like downsizing a photo for a profile picture. I’ve tried BeFunky, and I’m experimenting with PicsArt–you can get some cool effects, but Picmonkey still wins.
YES. I occasionally experiment with others and picmoneky still wins. But I’m probably not giving the others a good go, because I like what’s comfortable and familiar. heeh.
Photo editing… I have always been too afraid to give it a go. It seems so complicated but you made it look simple! It does make photos look so nice and EDIBLE though, doesn’t it? 😉 The photos on my blog could do with a bit of love and care. Yours by comparison are LOVELY. Pictures of books make me happy happy happy! 😀
YES I WANT TO EAT THEM. hehe Aww, but thank you! 😀 I was taking horrific ones when I started, though, so it is a process. Mostly I just spend hours leering at instagram feeds and trying to figure out how to take better photos. XD
For pic editing, I usually use the thing already in the instagram app…it’s actually pretty good. It has all the things that pic monkey seems to have.
But if I want more options, I use Pic editor (I think it’s called), which is just an app for ipad. I literally just search ‘picture editor’ in the app store…there’s heaps of free ones.
I like all the instagram filters!! I often use them, unless I’m uber proud of my pic (which isn’t that often, though). I only have an older iPod though and a lot of the cool photo apps don’t like it. WAH. #firstworldproblems
I use PicMonkey, but obviously I’m not using it enough. Pfft. Lack of photography and editing skills, ya know.
>.< But yeah, picmonkey is very easy to use! 🙂
Picmonkey is LIFE. I mean, it’s not perfect, but it’s super easy to use. XD
NO WAY, trial and error is my favourite method as well!! Twinning.
But yep, I usually just play around with my photos until they look halfway decent. I mean, with a crappy phone camera like mine, I have to work some miracles 😉
Twinning forever. <3 We are practically the same person, tbh, except (naturally) I'm more fabulous. *flips hair regally* I THINK YOU DO PRETTY AMAZINGLY WITH ONLY A PHONE CAMERA!! Although I see some instagramers who are just doing stuff like pros and have only a phone camera and I kinda want to kill them. But. Ahem. Let's pretend I'm uber nice.
Okay. This is going to sound like a dumb question. But how do I upload things to Instagram that I didn’t take on my phone? Yours are way too crisp to be phone photography, and editing it always means using a computer… yet I can’t figure out a way to use Instagram other than on mobile, because the computer version only seems to let me view things.
WHAT AM I MISSING.
Also, I tagged you in a thing on my book blog: https://miriamjoyreads.wordpress.com/2015/08/22/bonus-bedtime-book-tag/
OKAY IT IS SUPER EASY (and probably cheating??) I email my photos to myself. XD I do all my photography on my DSLR, edit them on picmonkey, and then email them to my iPod, download them there, and then — boom — instagram. It’s super annoying though. I wish instagram could be used on a computer. WHY IS IT NOT?!? WHAT DECADE ARE WE IN? GRR. SRSLY INSTAGRAM.
Omg, I loooove tags. THANK YOU.
I like picmonkey too. I don’t have an Instagram account, can you believe it? I don’t have enough books to take photos of, but I keep thinking I should set up an account to stalk the awesome photos of others. Nice tutorial.
OH well you’re not too far behind. XD I only got an instagram this year! *nudges you* You’ll fall prey soon enough. 😉
Awesome tutorial! I do love PicMonkey, but I typically use it for collages and stuff like that. I didn’t realize there was so much photo editing abilities. Good to know. For pictures that I take, I use Instagram photo editing features. Also, I have about thirty photo editing apps on my phone. Ha
It does!! A lot of the more detailed touch-up tools are locked, but it still has a BUNCH of useful ones that are free. 😀 I love the instagram filters too. XD
I adore Picmonkey. Partly ’cause it’s free. Mostly ’cause it’s free. I don’t really see the sense in buying an $80 photo editing software like photoshop or something ’cause there’s a chance I wouldn’t even really know how to use it correctly. So, Picmonkey it is.
I like it cause it’s free and ’cause it lets me use my own fonts. When it didn’t, I pretty much hated it. I would LOVE to learn photoshop but I’m 1000% sure I would be overwhelmed and terrified and just not use it ever and then WHAT IS THE POINT?!
Wow, this post is awesome! I have not heard of PicMonkey until today. In the past I have used Pixlr, like I did when making my just-for-fun book cover. I just might have to start using this though 😀
OMG YOU WERE LIVING UNDER A ROCK. XD hehe, Juuuust kidding with ya. But I use pixlr too sometimes! It is super handy and has some glorious features picmoneky doesn’t have. Although I think picmonkey is easier to navigate.
Yes yes YES! I love PicMonkey so much, but I don’t use it for photo editing much because I never have the time to take the pictures I want to edit. But this is useful.
It has been bookmarked, I assure you.
WOOOOOT. I hope it’s helpful sometime in the future at least. 😀
Fantastic tutorial Cait. I will be sharing the link of this week’s Sunday Post. Thanks for the step by step instructions and snark! Loved it.
AWK, thanks Kimba!! 😀 THAT IS JUST SUPER EXCITING!! I’M GLAD YOU LIKED IT!!
Picmonkey is the best photo editing tool ever to grace our humble internet. It’s so genius, it’s a wonder I wasn’t the one to invent it. 😛 I love what you did with the photo–and yes, it’s so crisp and crunchy I just want to devour it. I haven’t actually read Dangerous Boys yet, but your photo really makes me want to. I love how you give such specific instructions–when I edit a photo, I’m just like “I will fiddle with this and tweak this until I see something I like”, which is similar to the attitude a toddler takes when clandestinely painting their parents’ kitchen.
WAIT.
LIZ.
You didn’t invent it?!??
YOU LET ME DOWN, YOU ABSOLUTELY DO. HOW DARE YOU NOT HAVE BUILT PICMONKEY. OMG. NO CAKE FOR YOU.
*ahem*
Edible photos are so much win, and do read Dangerous Boys. You’ll be traumatised, but you’ll think me for it. BECAUSE IT IS WONDERFUL AND TERRIBLE SIMULTANEOUSLY. <3 But seriously that "I will bash this until it turns into something I like" is my attitude for life. You should see me cooking. It's dangerous and entertaining.
THANK YOU! I hate photography and editing with a vengeance but this looks super easy, I will definitely use this in the future!!
Yaaay!! I’m glad it might make the process a bit easier for you! 😀 It’s always handy to know where to at least try and start, right?!?
Forget dogs, Picmonkey is a man’s best friend (well, mostly, except it’s shriekingly slow on my poor internet. Mostly my internet’s fine, but when it comes to Picmonkey it takes an absolute hissy fit, so I kinda dread using it … but apart from that, it’s great). The exposure/brightness fixer is so useful! Although I have been known to amp up the contrast to the point it looks like a twelve-year-old’s faux-arty Facebook profile picture …. I’m not proud, but it’s true. Ugh, but I wish I could learn to take photos where the exposure is correct! (If you have any wisdom on that, please share.)
Helpful post; thank you! 🙂
It truly is. Who needs dogs anyway. Can they edit photos? No. BRING ON PICMONKEY. *covers puppy’s ears so he doesn’t hear my blasphemy* AGH. My internet does sometimes shut down over picmonkey, so I don’t know?? Maybe it depends on when too many people use it and the server doesn’t handle it or something? OKAY I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT I’M TALKING ABOUT, I’LL SHUT UP. Eeep. Yes, I’ve been known to over-do the editing. I was looking at an old picture the other day thinking, “what the heck. is this from an alien planet” because the colours were INSANE. -_- It’s a learning process.
*whispers* The secret is…I only take photos on automatic. 🙁 I AM REALLY A CHEATER.
I adore picmonkey!! I haven’t been very active on my blog, so when I do post, you’re lucky if I use a photo at all. Ha.
This post gives me the urge to get back into it though. Eek.
YAAY!! THAT IS WONDERFUL THOUGH!! I’m utterly obsessed with photography at the moment. My computer is about to scream at me because I have so many photos on it. Of…erm, books. JUST BOOKS. xD My family thinks I’m nuts.
I love posts like these, because I’m a tech FAILURE. Pretty sure I started tying out picmonkey because of you, so whoo! I don’t have a smart phone – so no cool phone that takes pics and allows me to upload on instagram. BUT, whenever I do get one, I’d love to do pics of books for that because it’s fun, even if I’m not all that clever and creative with things!
-Lauren
*pats shoulder* I’m pretty much a tech failure too. BELIEVE IT OR NOT. Picmonkey is about all I can do. XD I ended up crying because I couldn’t figure out iMovie…sheesh. I don’t have a smart phone either!! So all those apps? Nope. I mean, I have an iPod, but it’s an old one and the apps don’t like it and the quality SUCKS and I have a beautiful DSLR that I’d rather use 1000% more than a phone anyway. xD
I NEED TO TRY OUT PICMONKEY! (And yes, I did live under a rock because I hadn’t heard of it till you mentioned it your last tutorial…)
Also! I just went to a bookstore and realized that I recognize like ALL of the new (or… just in general BOOKS) in the Teen section, because of reading your blog reviews!!! O_O THEY LOOKED LIKE OLD FRIENDS. I was like “Cait likes that one”… and “Cait didn’t like that one…” and “Cait said I should definitely read that…” IT WAS FABULOUS. You have such a positive impact on my life! :,)
HOW DID YOU LIVE UNDER A ROCK. ZOMG. JUST STICK WITH ME AND I SHALL SHOW YOU ALL THE INTERNET’S SECRETS. Well. I’ll show you, like, the 3 secrets that I know. -_- AHEM. hehe. Aaaanyway.
OMG. THIS MAKES MY DAY. A positive bookly impact, hehe. :’) Our library is having Australian Children’s Book Week and they’ve got a display and I’m just walking along the shelf going “read it, read it, yup deserves the award, whatisthisbookevendoinghereitsutterrubbish, oh read this one too”. xD I FELT SO PROUD AND UTTERLY NERDY. XD
THIS IS HOW YOUR PHOTOS LOOK SO FANTABULOUS ALL THE TIME?! Thanks for sharing, Cait! I’ve been more interested in photography lately, and not just for books but when people talk about editing photos I get SCARED. But then you go and type up a HOW TO NOT SUCK post! So thanks is what I mean, I guess!
YES ALL MY SECRETS ARE OUT IN THE WILD NOW, HUZZAH. YOU CAN GO FORTH AND BE FABULOUS. I’m utterly obsessed with photography except *whispers* I only shoot in automatic. BUT STILL. It’s fun. And the editing part is so so easy and doesn’t have to be this HUGE thing. I mean, I’m 100% sure other people edit photos better, but this is a good starting spot for us green newbies, right?!
GOD BLESS YOU FOR THIS. But seriously, thank you for this! I hate having to use complicated photo editors, so this looks really good to me. Now I just need to get good at taking photos. OOOH! Maybe that could be a tutorial sometime… Tips for Book Photography or something??
AH THAT WOULD BE A GOOD POST TOO. *nods* I feel such a cheater though doing these tutorials because, seriously, I only shoot on automatic. >_< Buuut...a behind-the-scenes of what I do could be fun, right?! XD
I always wondered how you edit your beautiful pics!! THANKS FOR SHARING CAIT!♥
I love picmonkey hahaha, so simple and easy. Thats what I use to edit my pics as well 🙂
It IS so simple and easy right?!? I LOVE IT. :’)
Oh how I love pic monkey! haha been using it for years now. Tried photoshop but it’s annoying and expensive when I don’t know how to use it.
But thank you for all these tips; eventhough I will try them, mine will never turn out as good.
Thanks for the post.
Picmonkey is pretty much GLORIOUS, although some of their best editing features are locked. Boo. Buuuut, they still do give you a lot to work with. XD
I am in love with Adobe’s Lightroom, but I get that most people don’t have access to that. I’ve used picmonkey in the past to play with the more “creative” edits that go beyond colour adjustment. I think it’s a great program, and it’s so nice that you don’t have to log in.
If I’m posting on instagram, I usually just use apps on my photo to edit the pictures. My current favourite app is Kiwi Camera.
Fun tutorial! I always like to see people’s processes:D
I would loooove to try Lightroom. My older sister (who’s like a WAY better photographer then me) wants us to both sign up and half the cost and pay BUT I JUST DON’T KNOW IF I’D GET TOO OVERWHELMED WITH IT. :O I need to work up the courage, hehe. Instagram apps = wonderfulness.
*bows down* THANK YOU FOR SHARING THIS CAIT. Now I feel like I know all your secrets to photographic success. *rubs hands together* Thanks for sharing this and all these wonderful tips and, as always, fabulous post! xx
YES ALL MY SECRETS ARE OUT THERE IN THE WILD, OMG. NOW EVERYONE CAN GO FORTH AND BE FABULOUS. XDXD
This is a really fantastic tutorial Cait, and all for free as well through PicMonkey! I love how some editing can turn a meh photo into a really amazing one. Thanks for sharing!
YES I LOVE IT TOO. I think editing does a LOT for photos. *nods sagely*
I use Adobe Photoshop myself and it is very frustrating and I’m not very good with it, but I manage. This looks like a easier method, I might have to try it. Oh and I just did my very first photo shoot with a bookish theme if you want to check it out.
I would totally try photoshop if I had it. But I’m scared if I actually went ahead and signed up/paid, I’d be too overwhelmed and wouldn’t use it. WAH. Ooh, I shall check out your photos! 😀
Definitely easy 🙂 I usually use phone apps to edit my photos to adjust the brightness and exposure. But mostly, I like taking photos using natural lighting so I can just shoot and post on the go 😉
Ah natural light = the best. Unless one is lazy and waits till, like, 2 minutes before sunset to take photos. Like *cough*Me*cough* AHEM. BUT YES. Apps are also glorious. xD
This tutorial is really helpful, thanks Cait! I generally just edit on Instagram but it doesn’t really give you that many options so I’m definitely going to try this!
I’m becoming a bookstagram addict. I’m looking at everyone’s pretty photos and then I see mine and I’m like ew no, so I’ve been trying to take better photos and I think I’m getting there, slowly but surely!
I totally know what you mean about taking risks when photographing books. I wanted a picture of my black and silver book inside this silver thing with lavender around it but there were BEES (I’m so brave) but then the photo didn’t work out (probably because I only tried taking pictures for 2 minutes because I’m terrified of bees) which is slightly disappointing. BUT PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT.
I AM THE SAME THO. I scroll through instagram trying to figure out what kind of lighting they’re using and how to set up compositions and fjadkslfads I just want to be a really good photographer one day. 😀 (Says…erm, she who photographs solely on automatic. -_-)
I once dropped a book in a mud puddle. D: I’M STILL DEVASTATED ABOUT IT.
I’m there with editing on Picmonkey, it’s my go to and I LOVE IT, it’s just so good, and you’re right, I always use brightness, (shadows) and contrast and then add some colour too. Sometimes, I’ll edit them too, but that’s rare, but hey, girl is allowed to shake it up, right? I always enjoying look at your photography, so you do a fabulous job, you should be pleased! 🙂
Awww, thanks Amanda! <3 I TRY HARD. hehe. I still have a lot to learn, erm...okay, make that EVERYTHING to learn. *whispers* I only shoot on automatic still, but I have fun. XD
I love bookstagram, but I haven’t been very active lately. I always use Photoshop to edit my photos. I’ve wanted to try PicMonkey to see if it’s faster, but I’m simply too lazy to open up my browser, type in the url, etc. It’s so much less work to right click on my photo and select “Open in Photoshop.” Lol.
Ha! I understand that! I’m kind of the same, but opposite. Like I could TRIAL photoshop or something…but I’m too lazy to figure out how to use it. xD
I decided I won’t really comment on these tutorial posts simply because I have nothing to add being a newbie blogger and all, and also because I don’t have an Instagram. (I know I’m quaint.) But you are not a small mushroom of incompetence and mildew, and that’s all i had to say. You’re a small mushroom of talent, and expertise in making brilliant, beautiful photos. I have more to say in response to your last comment here and on my blog but I’m trying to consolidate all those replies in one thing so that it’s less work for the both of us.
Aww, you are so nice Wesaun. EVEN THOUGH I AM A MUSHROOM. I’M A BEAUTIFUL QUEENLY MUSHROOM OF MILDEW. *nods*
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUUUUUH! *angels literally sing and scream from the heavens* I LOVE YOU. Literally, thank you so much for using PicMonkey over Photoshop. (No I do not work at PicMonkey nor is this a promo spam comment, even though it sounds like one.) Because I LOVE PICMONKEY LIKE MY OWN FLESH. (kind of.) I feel like it’s just a poor little lost three year old in a WalMart because none of my friends use it (waa) but YOU USE IT SO THERE! PicMonkiers unite, boom. ♥ Literally I use it for every photo ever. Photoshop is all nice for them fancy schmancy “creating something that wasn’t actually taken in the picture” kind of thing, but for simple edits that look HUGELY AWESOME? PicMonkey is perfect. <3 I wuv it. And I always gawk at your pictures on insta. Editing aside, you have a knack for brilliant book photography. Just saying. 😉
love,
abbiee
I UNDERSTAND THE ENTHUSIASM, DO NOT WORRY, MY FRIEND. XDD And your friends don’t use it?! WHAT IS WRONG WITH THEM. *stamps foot* Although, ehhe, tbh, from most of the comments here, most people just use phone apps, so we’ll be in the minority together, right?! AWK BUT THANK YOU. <33 I'd looove to be a better photographer one day. MAYBE EVEN LEARN HOW TO USE MANUAL. HAHA.
Cait, we are like twinsies- I do the exact same things! Your pictures still look far superior though, so don’t doubt your photography skills, and the value of good lighting 😉 OH I do one extra thing though- I crop pictures I am using for bookstagram into squares in PicMonkey, because that way I am sure of how it will look when I send it to my phone. Also, why can’t Instagram have a non-phone way of uploading pictures? It’s so annoying!
I do love bookstagram, a lot. But it is HARD for me to find places to do it, which is why I post like, 10 pictures in a row and then it’s radio silence for days. One day, I am going to buy a wagon, load books into it, and go on a book field trip to a pretty place. It is the only way, I think. Actually, you’ve inspired me- tomorrow, I am going to my parents, and I am going to gather all my books in a box that I plan on using. My parents have a pretty house and yard, perhaps it will work nicely! THANKS for the inspiration 😀
Well clearly if you do what I do: YOU’RE OBVIOUSLY DOING IT 100% CORRECTLY. XD hehe, and I agree. omg, it’s 2015, already, instagram. Why are you forcing us to do it all on the phone?!?!? I don’t even HAVE a phone, just an iPod and the camera is shockign so I do 1000% of everything on my DSLR and then email and blah blah it’s such a bother. -_-
I wish I had more props. XD My family moves a lot and we literally never keep anything. But food counts as props right?! RIGHT?!?
I SEE. So basically I can use all these tips for myself! Well actually I have a Mac so I just import my photos to Photos and I can edit it from there. If I have to add fonts, then I’ll go into PicMonkey and add them in 🙂
And don’t be modest, your photos look awesome in other words you are a PRO, Cait. I aim to be like you when it comes to editing photos.
Thanks for this! I thought Picmonkey was a pay for app. Good to know it is not. I definitely want to check it out because I use BeFunky100, and although the filters and effects are okay, when I have to put text on an image it is usually a little fuzzy. I have wanted to put “The Accidental Blogger” on my masthead image for forever, but the BeFunky100 lettering always comes out blurry. I will have to try Picmonkey. 🙂
thank you so much for all of these tips, cait! i’ve never really tried picmonkey but i sure will now 🙂 for editing i have an adobe subscription where i pay monthly instead of one go, so i get photoshop and lightroom which is pretty great. i also have apps on my phone called vsco cam and after light which is very good apps for taking artsy pictures. pls do give them a try! x
Isha x
Great tutorial! I really should edit more of my book photos, but usually I just snap them with my phone and upload to Instagram in a hurry so I can get on with reading. 😛
This is really handy. ^ ^ I do some photography for my blog. It’s usually a mix of mine and some stock photos for things I can’t take pictures of. XD I like taking picture of teas I review so this will be handy for that. ^ ^ Thank you!
Woah helpful! I don’t usually edit the photos on my blog, unless I’m in the mood for a fancy title. But I do use pic monkey, just to add text, and it’s usually quite good. I want to mess around more though….
Great tutorial – thank you! I don’t have Photoshop either, and only recently discovered PicMonkey, but I didn’t know all the things it can do. How did you create your watermark, though? That’s a little unclear – I see you added it as an overlay, but do you have it as a file that you overlay, or what?
Thanks – and I’ll be linking this on next Saturday’s News & Notes post. 🙂
”
Ah okay! So the watermark is easy. I created my own watermark file so I could just upload it every time without having to type it out. (For some reason I find that easier. :P) I just created a blank pic and made the background transparent and then typed “paper fury” on and saved!
OMG OMG OMG How did I miss this post!! Thank you for posting!
Great tips! I use Befunky. Interestingly the user interface looks the same. o_o
I get really lazy with the photo editing so sometimes I just… don’t. e_e
Oh, Cait! You gave a nice idea to do post on my blog, soon. I will share my editing skills with my readers. Is that okay? I stole your brilliant idea? I’m no pro but I think it would be useful for others like beginners! I use Photoscape bc it’s free and very friendly! You just search it on Google and download it on their site. I have been using it for seven years (You’ve read that right!) I use the sharpen. And brightness tools. I use GIMP too before for transparent blog headers, etc. I used Adobe Photoshop too but my laptop is new and it’s very expensive to renew my Adobe account so… I hope this will help you! + VSCO cam has lots of help with filters.
Sure, I don’t own the idea of a tutorial to show people what one’s editing process is!! 😂 Good luck to yours!! I’d looove to use the VSCO app but my iPod touch is too old to take it. TRAGEDY. *collapses*
Hi Cait! Thanks for sharing this information with us, I found it really useful! I looove how your pictures look!!!! I have just one question, I can’t figure out how to add a watermark using Picmonkey, could you please explain to me how to do this? Thanks a lot!
Also, I have a book blog, if you’d like to visit it and comment something this is the link: http://www.i-m.mx/Sunshine/dreamingwithopeneyes/
Lots of love,
Sunshine!
P.S.: YOU ARE AMAZING. I LOVE YOUR BLOG!
HELLO SUNSHINE!! *waves* And I’m glad you liked this post. ;D As for the watermark — I just used text? So I just picked Times Roman font and typed my blog name and stuck it in the corner! 😛 Super easy.
(Also I can’t figure out how to comment on your blog? Sorry. >_< But I have read your latest post!)
Well, Cait, you covered everything! And here I thought I was the only super-genius genius out there who had unlocked the tricks and secrets but NO! I should have known that the goddess would know! 😉 And don’t forget the fabbity fab Instagram filters!
We can be GENIUSES TOGETHER, Helen. *hi fives*
thanks for the tutorial!!! this was super helpful <3
YAY I’M SO GLAD!
I am a new #bookstagrammer, and I am SO excited about it. It’s very fun, although I am trying to learn how to get the hang of making a feed that matches and looks nice. This post was very helpful, so thank you!
Ooh yay and welcome to bookstagram! *gives you cake* It’s endlessly fun for sure, especially finding your style and everything! GOOD LUCK!