How to Edit Your Selfies Like a Pro – A Beginner’s Guide

By Abdul Wasay ⏐ 8 months ago

How To Make Basic Edits To Your Selfie That Will Instantly Make It Look Better

Selfies have become a natural part of our daily lives. Whether you’re capturing a special moment, sharing your outfit of the day, or just checking in on social media, taking a good selfie has become a must. But no matter how good your phone camera is, a few quick edits can take your photo from average to awesome.

In this guide, we’ll walk you through simple, effective, and beginner-friendly ways to enhance your selfie using both built-in tools and popular free apps available on Android and iOS.

Why Edit Your Selfie?

Even a great shot can benefit from a little fine-tuning. Here’s what editing can help you do:

Correct lighting issues (too dark or too bright)
Improve colors and tones
Sharpen features and improve clarity
Smooth skin or remove blemishes (subtly and naturally)
Make your photos pop on social media

Best Tools for Basic Edits

You don’t need to be a professional or own expensive software. Here are a few trusted, easy-to-use tools:

Adobe Lightroom (Free + Premium options)

Available for Android and iOS, Lightroom is a powerful and professional-grade app with simple sliders and one-tap presets.

Steps to Edit in Lightroom

Download and open the app: Available on both Android & iOS.
Import your selfie: Grant access to your photos and pick the one you want to edit.
Start with the ‘Light’ tab: Adjust brightness, contrast, highlights, shadows, and exposure until the image looks well-lit but natural.
Move to the ‘Color’ tab: Tweak the temperature (warm vs. cool tones), vibrance, and saturation for richer colors.
Use the ‘Detail’ tab: Lightly sharpen the photo and reduce noise (especially if the selfie was taken in low light).
Apply a preset (optional): Lightroom offers a collection of free presets, or you can create your own for a consistent style.

Instagram Built-in Editor

If you’re already using Instagram, its photo editing features are quite powerful for quick touch-ups. Now, with the recent launch of their Edits app,

Steps to Edit in Instagram

Upload your photo in a new post or story
Apply a filter: Choose a filter that suits your mood, but don’t overdo it—adjust the filter intensity by tapping it again.
Tap ‘Edit’ and fine-tune manually: Adjust brightness, contrast, saturation, sharpness, and more.
Use the ‘Lux’ feature: This is great for balancing light and contrast. Slide right to add depth and detail.
Optional: Add effects like vignette or structure: These can subtly enhance focus and texture.

Snapseed

A Google app with professional-grade tools, healing tools, and many filters, Snapseed should definitely be in the list of the best free editing apps for your selfies.

Steps to Edit in Snapseed

Download and open the app: Available on Android & iOS.
Import your photo: Tap the “+” icon, grant access, and select your image.
Use “Tune Image”: Swipe up/down to choose brightness, contrast, saturation, ambiance, highlights, shadows, and warmth; swipe left/right to adjust values.
Apply “Details”: Select “Details” and use Structure to enhance mid-tone contrast or Sharpening to crisp edges.
Experiment with “Looks”: One-tap presets under “Looks” give quick stylized effects; tap a look, then double-tap to fine-tune strength.
Selective edits: Tap “Selective,” place a control point on an area, then adjust brightness, contrast, or saturation locally.
Finish with “Export”: Choose to save, export a copy, or share directly to social media

VSCO

The app became widely popular some years ago for trendy filters, soft color tones, and advanced sliders which are still relevant, especially to influencer consumer base, who rely on such photo editing tools.

Steps to Edit in VSCO

Download and open the app: Available on Android & iOS (free with optional membership).
Import your photo: Tap the “+” in your Studio, select an image, then hit “Import.”
Choose a preset: Tap “Edit” and scroll through free and paid VSCO presets; tap one to apply.
Adjust preset strength: Tap the preset again and drag the slider to decrease or increase its intensity.
Manual adjustments: In the edit panel, tap icons for Exposure, Contrast, Saturation, Highlights, Shadows, and more; drag sliders to refine.
Crop and straighten: Use the Crop tool to reframe or rotate your image.
Save and export: Hit the checkmark, then the share icon to save to your camera roll or share on VSCO/social channels.

Adobe Photoshop Express

The key features of Adobe Photoshop Express are its quick fixes, blemish removal, collage maker, and others. Even though it is a free tool, it has some of the professional-grade photo editing features which are otherwise only available in the pro versions of Photoshop (e.g., photo blending and merging).

Steps to Edit in Adobe Photoshop Express

Download and open the app: Available free on Android & iOS, with optional premium features.
Add your photo: Tap the “+” icon, allow permissions, and select an image.
Apply Looks (presets): Scroll through “Looks” at the bottom to add a one-tap style; tap again to adjust intensity.
Use “Correction” tools: Tap “Adjust” and tweak Exposure, Contrast, Highlights, Shadows, Whites, Blacks, and Temperature.
Spot heal and remove blemishes: Select the Healing tool, zoom, and tap spots to remove dust, scratches, or blemishes.
Crop and rotate: Tap “Crop,” choose a ratio, drag corners, or use the straighten slider.
Save or share: Tap the share icon to save a full-resolution copy to your device or post to social media directly.

Polarr

Like Lightroom and Picsart, Polarr has a social community and tools for editing and embellishing photos. The app is available on all major app stores, including Windows.

Steps to Edit in Polarr

Download and open the app: Available on Android & iOS (free core features, subscription for advanced tools).
Import your image: Tap “Import” and choose from your gallery.
Adjust “Light”: In the right-hand panel, expand Light and tweak Brightness, Exposure, Contrast, Highlights, Shadows, and Whites.
Tweak “Color”: Expand Color to modify Temperature, Tint, Vibrance, and Saturation.
Enhance “Details”: Open Detail to sharpen and apply noise reduction for clean results.
Apply filters and LUTs: Tap “Filters,” browse built-in looks or import user-made LUTs; swipe to adjust the filter strength.
Use advanced masks (optional): Tap “Mask” to paint on areas for localized adjustments—brightness, color, or effects only where you want them.
Export your edit: Tap the export icon, choose resolution and format, and save to your device or share.

Snapchat

Key Features: Fun filters and quick touch – ups for casual selfies

Steps to Edit in Snapchat

Open Snapchat: Install on Android or iOS and log in.
Capture or import: Take a new selfie or swipe up to access memories and choose an existing photo.
Edit tools: Tap the scissors icon for Tools—use Retouch to smooth skin and Adjust for brightness and contrast.
Filters and Lenses: Swipe left or right to cycle through Snapchat’s custom filters (e.g., HDR, B&W, Vibrant) and lenses for creative effects.
Text and stickers: Tap T to add text, Sticker icon to insert emojis or Bitmoji.
Draw: Tap the pen icon to doodle or annotate with colored brushes.
Save or share: Tap the download arrow to save to your camera roll or press the send button to share with friends or add to your Story.

Final Thoughts

Editing your selfies is meant to highlight the best in your photos, not to make you different from who you are. In a few tweaks to the light, color, and contrast, any selfie you snap within a couple of minutes will go from decent to wow.

Try several apps in a range to find which one best fits your requirements by means of experimentation. Your editing technique will change with time to reflect your own perspective and personality as well as the environment.