How I Edit My Bookstagram Pics Using PicsArt and VSCO

I never actually thought I was good enough to do a post like this, but let’s give it a try!

Recently, I’ve been getting more requests on how I edit my bookstagram photos. Editing pictures can be time consuming, and some methods take longer than others. I try to experiment with my pictures to find easier ways to make my vision into a reality. Two simple ways I found are PicsArt and VSCO.

PicsArt is a free editing app with the option of purchased features. I’m not ashamed to say the free part hooked me. Plus, the app allows access to various stickers, brushes, and other cool elements you can add to your photos.

VSCO is also a free app (yay! more book money!) that has the option of purchased features. I like to use this one for adjusting lighting, sharpness, and other elements of that nature.

Think using two apps can get complicated? Well, here’s a little overview of how my process works:

Go into PicsArt with a photo you are happy with.

I usually like to go into PicsArt with an untouched photo. By doing this, the stickers and brushes you use will look more consistent when you touch up lighting and filters at the end.

2. Draw and add stickers to your heart’s content!

Stickers are my best friend when it comes to editing my pictures. It may take some getting used to, but try layering different stickers over/under each other. In this case, I actually resized multiple gold glitters streaks and layered them on the purple. Another good reminder is to not be afraid of the eraser tool. For example, the purple “magic” actually had a flying magic carpet on the end of it. After erasing it out, I rotated and resized the purple streaks to fit what I was looking for.

3. Save your creation to your phone.

It’s a little embarrassing, but you cannot guess the number of times this step was the reason I had to redo my edits.

4. Open photo in VSCO and edit lighting, sharpness, etc.

Now comes all my adjustments in exposure, saturation, sharpness, clarity, etc. Notice how the added PicsArt stickers also get adjusted.

I usually use the following:
✶ exposure: 1.0 – 1.2
✶ white balance (temperature): -0.7
✶ saturation: 1.0
✶ sharpen: 2.0
✶ clarity: 0.5 – 1.0

Since I take my pictures in natural daylight, my adjustments can sometimes be off from the “recipe” I use. It depends on how bright my photo is.

And that’s it! These edits do take time, but PicsArt and VSCO have made it a lot easier for me to create bookstagram photos I’m happy with. I hope that showing you a little bit of my process helps those of you struggling with editing.

Let me know if you want to see more posts like this in the future! I would love to share the tricks I’ve learned over the years.

Until next time! ♡

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