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Cool Instagram filter look in Photoshop
The world is crazy about instant photography and while photo sharing sites like Instagram appeal to the masses, they can be genuinely effective outlets for the creative photographer. Instagram has a range of filters that can either be applied in isolation in a single tap of the screen, or can be customised and tailored by the user. Actually I’ve always found it a little irritating that I can easily spend hours in Photoshop trying to achieve a look, when one of my friends instantly posts a photo online with a cool quality I’m unsure how to replicate! However, while we can be content to experiment with images on our phones, images created in this way arguably have limited use, often being of lower resolution that we’d like and not files we’d want in our ‘mainstream’ portfolio. Therefore it’s useful to know how to create similar effects in Photoshop that we can apply to any of our shots made with our ‘proper’ camera gear. Of course there are loads of different effects in Instagram and similar apps, but I thought we’d focus on one for this tutorial.
The Look
This is a ‘look’ that is very popular right now and is used everywhere from friends’ snapshots, to advertising features. It is a variation on the split-toned look and is defined by a blue cast in the shadow areas, in this case contrasting with the warmer midtones in the sand.
Content matters
This type of processing works best on images with a simple composition, but a very clear subject. With too many details to look at the effect can seem like an after-thought and without an obvious point of interest it can seem like the effect is itself the subject – something we should always avoid when processing a photo, for risk of creating an image with no depth or narrative.
The process
The first step is to apply a cool cast to the shadows – easily done using a Colour Balance layer (Layer > Colour Balance). For this image I chose ‘Shadows’ from the Tones drop-down and dragged the Blue/Yellow slider to +31. I also added a slight touch of Magenta (-2) and a little Cyan (-6). To push the slight cross-processed appearance I dialled some Magenta into the Highlights too (-4).
Next we need to bring back some detail in the dark areas as the colour tweaks have deepened the shadows. To do this I duplicated the background layer (ctrl [Mac cmd] =+ J) and used the Shadows/Highlights command to lift them (Image > Adjustments > Shadows/Highlights). I pulled the Tonal Width right down to target the effect to just the deepest shadows. I then used a Photo Filter Layer set to the Cooling Filter (LBB) at 25% density to give the image an overall cool cast.
The effect is taking shape nicely now with a nice mix of cool and warm tones. We could probably call the split-toning complete but since we want to give this the Instagram filter look we need to go a little crazy on the special effects. The first thing I’ll do at this point is crop the image – technically we would need to go square to be loyal to the Instagram feel but in this case I’m using a little artistic licence and opting for a large-format aspect, in this case 5x4.
Then we’re going to add a vignette. Merge all your layers (Shift + ctrl [Mac:cmd} + alt + E) and duplicate this merged layer. Then change the blend mode of the top layer to Multiply and add a layer mask. Then use a large soft brush set to black and click once in the centre of the image. You might also want to lower the opacity of the darkened layer to around 50%. Now the photo is darker around the edges, which draws your eye into the picture.
Lastly to finish off the look we’ll throw in a tilt/shift effect (what Instagram post would be complete without that!) Go Filter > Blur > Tilt/Shift to open the blur dialogue and customise the setting to get the density you want and click OK.
And there you have it - a split-toned Instagram effect. This process doesn’t directly replicate an Instagram filter, but that’s what makes it unique – people will identify with it without thinking “oh he/she used that same filter everyone is using right now.”
Before
After
Have any other Instagram filters you like to see broken down in Photoshop? Leave a comment here or at fenechimages.com and we’ll cover that in a future article!
Happy clicking :)
Peter