In this lesson we were given a photo and asked to apply an Instagram-like filter to the image using Photoshop. This is the "before" image.
This is my "after" image. I opened the squirrel photo in CameraRAW and adjusted the temperature and exposure. I also increased the contrast, clarity, and vibrance then opened the photo in Photoshop. I decided to go with the 1977 Instagram filter. I like the old school look. I opened the Levels adjustment and edited the Red channel and the Blue channel as the tutorial said. I also adjusted the brightness and contrast, which took a little time because I experimented with what I liked. I also spent some time experimenting with the color balance by increasing the amounts of Red, Green, and Blue. Finally, I used the Levels adjustment to emphasize the shadows in the image as mentioned in the tutorial. I added my edited squirrel photo onto a plain white background to create the Instagram border. I added a picture of myself and gave it a layer mask so it would be contained to a tiny little circle. I added text for my pretend Instagram name, amount of time, likes, and a description. I used the shape tool to add the heart and speech bubble, and I used the pen tool to draw the curved arrow. I used the brush tool to add the 3 dots. I tried to get this to look very similar to an Instagram photo!
