Are you using social media as a marketing channel? Do you enjoy taking photos and sharing them with your friends and followers? Of course, before you upload a picture, you need to edit it in a photo editor. But how do you make it look stylish and modern? Today we’re going to talk to you about the hottest photo editing trends for 2023. So, if you are still looking for the best free photo editing app for PC, don’t hesitate and check out the article on the Skylum developer website.
Some of the following trends are brand new, while others have made a groundbreaking comeback in the past decade. On the other hand, some photo editing tips have been relevant to professionals for years and will be just as essential in 2023. So, if you’re looking for inspiration, you’re short on photo editing ideas, or you just want to learn about new trends, check out our article.
A Natural and Imperfect Picture
Every social media user has his or her interpretation of what a snapshot should look like, but there is one thing that most of these photos have in common: the pursuit of perfection. This included everything from the angle from which the image was taken to the composition and editing.
Eventually, the overly polished, sometimes staged images became boring and fake. Users stopped believing them. Naturalness in photography was replaced by idealism. But what does it mean? Let’s take a closer look:
● A natural image can be interpreted in different ways. Some users may find them uncomfortable, but they still get a lot of likes compared to perfect photos.
● This year’s trending social media photos are about unconventional angles, personal aesthetics, and a daring approach to creating an account that promotes your taste.
You can achieve a similar effect with the best free photo editing app for PC, such as GIMP, Pixlr, PhotoScape X, and others.
Close-ups Without Retouching
The idea of photography has always been to share what our eyes see. Today, we can also share how we feel and create a series of images that tell a story. Telling real stories will be a big trend in photo editing this year. You can convey a story in a single shot, but now the storytelling aspect gives you the ability to do it in a series. This requires a different way of thinking and content with your images in the feed.
You can already see photographers and brands choosing to tell stories by posting close-ups of wrinkles, scars, under-eye circles, freckles, plumpness, stretch marks, and other natural flaws. These images simply tell the story of people’s real and attractive beauty, and in this case, you can do without retouching at all; just use a preset or minimal color correction.
Portrait Orientation Only
As we are now shopping, messaging, and reading more and more content from our mobile devices, vertical images are becoming the main format of photography and a kind of necessity for all social media users. We need to think about the appeal of images and adapt them to the format of mobile phones.
For photographers using social media as a marketing channel to find clients or just to be on trend, the popularity of vertical photos and videos is an opportunity to experiment with content orientation, angles, and even equipment. Just get out of the standard horizontal template. Of course, it’s best to experiment with post-production in software you’re familiar with. But how do you find the best option? Instead of typing in a search query like best photo editing app for PC free download, just explore all the available options on Skylum’s blog (just follow the link at the top of the article).
Neon and the Cyberpunk Style
The game Cyberpunk 2077 has already led to a wave of creativity in various industries. Surprisingly, the trend is still relevant this year. Designers and illustrators are using cyberpunk stylistics in their projects, using neon colors and transforming existing objects into dystopian ones. But designers and illustrators aren’t the only creatives influenced by the cyberpunk aesthetic this year. Photographers are already using neon signs and futuristic skyscrapers in their work. Using photo editing tools, you can easily turn a shot of a city at night into a cool futuristic image, and it’s awesome!
Film Photography
The desire to spend more time with family and friends and to do what you like without having to rush anywhere will also translate into images and projects. The slang term for this is JOMO (the joy of missing out). But how do you translate that into post-processed photos? There are a few great ways:
● You can digitize your film photos and post them to social media.
● You can easily apply retro presets to your images. There are plenty of photo editors that can turn any shot into a spectacular film photo.
This kind of post-processing has been around for a long time but under different names. But how do you choose the right preset? Professional photographers build many filters, presets, and actions, both for paid and free software. Choose those that create a film effect. If you want to download the best free photo editing app for Windows 10 PC, we can also recommend Fotor, BeFunky, or Darktable.
Conclusion
We have listed the main trends in photo retouching and post-processing that will be relevant in 2023. Of course, many photographers try to choose free image editing software, but some ideas can be realized only with the help of professional tools.
If you don’t have much time to spend with an editor but still want to get a spectacular photo, try Luminar Neo. It’s modern, AI-powered software that lets you achieve great results in just a few clicks. Luminar Neo is available by subscription, or you can purchase a lifetime license.
