The 5 Best FREE Apps for Instagram.

Good morning guys, I'm back with another Instagram related post! I've been really enjoying Instagram recently and luckily my account is still growing steadily which is fantastic news as I know the algorithm can be a bit temperamental. Out of all the social media apps I think people find Instagram the hardest to grow on, whether that's creating cool inspiring content or improving their reach and followers. So today I wanted to focus on the apps that I use and some hints and tips or curating a beautiful Instagram feed.

Before we go any further be sure to follow me on Instagram!

1) Facetune

Without a doubt my favourite app for adding effects, removing unwanted objects and even changing the sky colour. Facetune is renowned as being the 'plastic surgery' app and whilst you can definitely change your bum and boobs to look like Kylie Jenner if you wish, it does way more than this.

Facetune is like Photoshop for beginners. It's super easy to use, a lot of the effects are automated and for me it was a real game changer in editing photos. I currently only have the free version but I'm very tempted to upgrade. 

My absolute favourite tool is the makeup one. I use this for when I have individual colours in a photo that I want to brighten up without affecting the rest of the picture. For example whites that look a bit grey, or pinks that are a tad dull. This is such an easy way to make your photos pop without buying into an expensive editing programme like Lightroom or Photoshop. 

Above: Subtle example: The bright yellow on the left didn't quite work with my feed as my palette is more warm tones. So I went over the background with the red makeup tool to just give it a warmer orange feel! Same with the shorts - because these shots were in bright sunlight it made them look washed out, so I just enhanced the black a little!

Below: A bolder example: the classic blogger pink door that wasn't quite pink enough. If you want you can use the tool too make quite drastic changes like this!

2) Lightroom

The Lightroom app is a great general photo editor. Personally I don't use it to do anything fancy but for the basics, such as brightness, exposure, saturation and contrast it's a great alternative to the build in editing software your phone will have. (To be honest, a lot of the time I do use the built in editor on my Samsung Galaxy S10 as it's great and the filters are FANTASTIC.) 

Another great use Lightroom has is for presets. Currently I don't use any Presets however I'm seriously considering investing in some. I know a lot of bloggers sell their own but honestly I think they're overpriced for what you get. I've seen people charge upwards of £30 for 5 presets... and whilst I know a lot of work goes into them, I'm not made of money. However, a fantastic alternative for a more affordable version is Etsy, with my favourite store being Colour Me Presets. They have a great, affordable range for all feed styles and I'm definitely going to buy their fall bundle when autumn comes around.

Below: Some really subtle enhancements just to add an overall warm and cosy look to the photo.

3) Preview / Planoly

If you're serious about Instagram you NEED a planner app. My favourites are Planoly and Preview. Planoly is great because it updates as you add new photos to your Instagram feed, however it has a maximum of 30 uploads per month. If like me, you enjoy playing around with lots of different styles and photos, this probably won't be enough.

Because of this, I also use Preview. Preview has no limit but it doesn't update with your feed so both have their perks. 

However I would highly recommend downloading one if you haven't already. It will make your life so much easier and it's a good way to organise content and see when you need to shoot again. 

4) Inshot

So this is an app that I don't currently use but I wanted to recommend on the basis that I know a lot of people who do use it and it's considered one of the best. Inshot is a video editing app which is perfect for IGTV. If you don't want to edit video on your computer this is by far your best option.

For me, I really want to try and get into making IGTV videos in the coming months as it's an alternative to YouTube these days. Let me know if you guys watch IGTV and the kind of content you like seeing as I'm a bit stuck with it all!

5) Unfold

If you want to take your Instagram stories to the next level you absolutely need Unfold! This app is my favourite for recipe stories or when you have a group of photos that you want to flow together like a story. 

I have the free version but there is also a paid one with more font options and layouts etc. 

Bonus: Highlight Cover App

So I thought I would just through this in at the end because I see so many people on Twitter asking about how to make highlight covers. Obviously if you're feeling boujee, you can make them on Canva or Photoshop or something like that but personally I just use a free highlight cover app. There are so many to choose from, literally just type it into the app store and have a browse!

Personally I found this so much easier than making them on the computer which I have previously done! It also means it's super easy to go back in and make more in the same style for whenever you need a new highlight.

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So that's it guys, I hope you found this post useful. I'm really enjoying Instagram at the minute and would love to see you there, so check out my feed and I'll follow you back! 

If you want to see any other Instagram related posts let me know and I'll be sure to get on that ASAP x 

Lily Olivia

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