Ever wonder why professional photos look so polished? The secret isn’t just the camera—it’s the color. A simple tweak with the right filter can make your images pop and make any ordinary picture look like it belongs in a gallery.
Why You Should Add Color Filters and Profiles
Filters and profiles automatically make your photos look more like the scene in real life. For example, you can change the camera profile to make your image look moody, desaturated, or more balanced. Besides editing the base colors, these tools can also add unique looks and feelings to your pictures; they go beyond just color correction.
While you can use tools like color grading for your smartphone photos, color filters and profiles are much faster solutions. You can often add them with just a few clicks, and some editing tools—such as Lightroom—let you choose the intensity. Besides adding them to pictures through editing apps, many social media networks (e.g. Instagram) have a large suite of filters.
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The three best ways to add filters and profiles to your images are via your smartphone’s photo-editing app, Adobe Lightroom, and social media. If you’re editing RAW files, Adobe Lightroom is the best choice. With JPEGs, you can use whichever tool you want.
1. Adobe Lightroom
Lightroom has camera-specific profiles for RAW images. If you use JPEG, you can choose between Color and Monochrome (or various artistic profiles). Regardless, the process is identical for both.
- Select the picture you want to edit in Lightroom.
- Expand the Profile dropdown menu, and choose your preferred profile/filter.
- Change the intensity if needed.
2. Your Smartphone’s Photography App
Your smartphone often has photo filters that you can add to your photos. Sometimes, you can add these filters before taking your pictures, but in other cases, you can include them later.
The way that you add color filters depends on your device. Android’s Google Photos editor has various filters, for example. Others are available in the iPhone Photos app, and you can add them to your pictures from the Camera tool as well.
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3. Instagram
Instagram has some amazing filters, which have become particularly good in recent years. However, you can only use these filters if you’re posting to the app. Start by uploading the picture on Instagram. Then pick your preferred filter and change the intensity if you like.
Color filters and profiles are the easiest way to transform dull pictures into professional ones. You can access these without downloading a third-party app. They’ll make your images look professional and add a unique feel.
