Lu Amaral Studio
Fall is here! 🧡🧡
Today is the beginning of the season and the best opportunity to post something cute on social media celebrating the special day.
Here’s a few designs I’ve created, and don’t forget to check out here a few beautiful autumn wallpapers I’ve posted a few days ago too.
Happy fall, everybody! 🍂🍁
Beijos,
Lu
Hey monamours!
Today I’ll talk a little bit about the so popular 90s photo filter, that emulate the style of the pictures of that decade. Yes, they were on paper, and yes, they were not great. I remember vividly (who else???) going to the photo shop with my 24 or 32 pics movie roll to get them printed, praying that at least one would’ve come out okayish. The struggle! hahahaha 😅💖😅💖
⟡ New on the shop: ⟡
However, like everything in this life that has to do with aesthetics, the nostalgia of this look is back, and many people, myself included, are loving 90’s style photography again, no matter how grainy, low resolution or distorted.
Here’s what I think. We get a little tired of consuming aesthetic perfection. It’s overwhelming. And retro style photos feel more real life.
For me, when I see a photo with those flaws – lack of focus, grain, not aligned or ordered, it evokes reality so much, that this connection with the emotion of the moment speaks louder. Feels like the image has more soul.
And as we have a high tendency to romanticize everything from the past, photos that imitate the 90s visuals have this feeling of purity. As if what happened in the past was so much more simple, true, easy… and COOL! Sweet illusion! hehe
I know that there are a million apps that make 90s style photos, some paid, some free. And unfortunately it’s hard to find the time to follow all the apps that come up and test everything. I want to keep updated but it’s a huge challenge.
That being said, here’s 3 options I use and recommend: Polarr, Huji and, of course, my fav of all time: Meitu 💜😍
Polarr has a paid version that allows you to travel in the filter possibilities, with many options with this 90s analog photo footprint. But the free version has good enough features in my opinion. You can add glitch, grain, blur, and more. I do it like this:
On Meitu, there’s two main ways I do 90s effect:
1:
2:
But there are several Meitu filters with a 90s feel. Go ahead and give them a try, and see which one works best for each pic 🌺
I’m very into the blur effect 90’s filter lately, and Meitu has a few options like that!
There’s even an option with a date in the corner! Look at this beautiful example below:
I used the filter VM4 (movie) which is what makes it blurry, and adds the date. Then I used the VF4 to add the effect of the burnt stripe
Huji app is also big in the 90’s filter app scene.The super stylish date in the corner became the app’s trademark. The downside of Huji is that it only works for photos taken by the app itself. You can’t use Huji to edit photos saved on the camera roll.
A bonus to give an even more vintage look to everything is to add polaroid frames. I made a whole post here about it!
You can also work with grain, or noise or whatever you call it on your aesthetic edits. There’s also a post about it here on the blog as well, in fact it’s our third most read blog post of all time. If you’re curious to know which are the first ones, I’ll tell you! This one about selfies, and this one about photo editing apps 😉 [update feb. 2020: this post with Instagram Bios tip took over and is the champion right now!]
Rather edit your pics with Photoshop? Here’s a .psd date file, for you to download and use at will: Download the photoshop pack with the open file and the font 🧚🏽♀️✨
And here is the png, if you want to use that date (my beautiful birthday haha). It looks weird seeing it like this, but overlaying it on photo it fits and it works.
Looks like this:
That’s all my babies.
I miss the nineties 😫😫
See you tomo!
Beijos,
Lu
Hey guys! I have many readers who either are graphic designers or do it sporadically for fun or work. So for a while I’ve been planning to post here on the blog and on my Insta a few mistakes I’ve been seen way to often and that could easily be avoided.
Now, you always have to remember that design is not and never will be an exact science. So there are situations where these mistakes I mention do not apply, and actually the opposite is true. Knowing when exactly you should consider these types of rules and when you should ignore them is a big challenge that designers learn with experience and lots of trial and error. So… good luck! 😬
But don’t worry about that now! Let’s focus on these super avoidable mistakes and, for now, do our best not to make them anymore!
⟡ New on the shop: ⟡
This is a constant struggle in pretty much every graphic design job in the world ever haha! And in the end, we have to get used to sacrificing the art part of the design a bit in order to make sure the message you’re trying to deliver (and most importantly, the product you’re trying to sell) is understandable immediately by the audience. Yes, that’s priority, it will always be.
So go ahead and place some boxes behind the text if necessary, or rethink the design in a way that the written parts are not getting lost and mixed with the photo below it. You’ll find a solution, you’re a great designer. And great designer knows that the message comes first, and the art comes second.
I’m guilty of this sin myself, I know. Even here on the blog and on my social media, I’ve used unlicensed images and graphics when I knew damn well I shouldn’t, even if just to illustrate my blog posts. But I don’t anymore, and no one should.
It might be tempting to use those beautiful photos and art pieces we find on Pinterest and even Instagram but it’s wrong, and it’s damaging someone who created it. Also, in most cases, those images are poor in quality, because you can’t download a high resolution version of them.
There are countless image and illustration banks available online, many of them with stunningly beautiful items for free, and some very affordable options with everything a designer might need. So let’s all get used to doing the right thing, period. Are you guys with me? 😊
Last but not least, let’s talk about cohesive style. This is a no brainer, but at the same time, a mistake that happens very often on social media marketing strategies. Everybody wants to keep their aesthetic consistent, but it’s easier said (and dreamt of) than done, right?
I’ve been jumping from style to style for a while now, and I’m supposed to be the one who knows about this and stuff haha! But considering all the challenges I’ve had myself at not being able to find the exact style I want for my brand, this is the advice I can give: try not to commit to a style or elements that are too specific. It will limit you, block your content flow and your whole aesthetic might end up looking a bit cold (not natural) or boring.
Some design inspo to wrap up the post:
I hope these tips are useful! I’d love to know what you guys think about these and other common design mistakes we all make at some point. Let me know! 🌷
Beijos,
Lu
Heyy guys!
This is the official selection of wallpapers I’ve created for the blog. I used to have them in separate posts, you might have noticed the change. I chose to concentrate all my wallpapers here, so it’s easier for you to find them whenever you need.
There’s collage wallpapers, aesthetic, retro style, cool illustrations, images, cute designs and so much more 💗✨
To save the image on your phone, just tap and hold for a second, then select the option to save. I hope you guys enjoy these!
Images from Freepic edited by me
Images from Unsplash and Pexels, edited by me
Images from Unsplash and Pexels, edited by me
Original from The MET Museum, digitally enhanced by Rawpixel, edited by me
Looking for something you didn’t find? Let me know! 💖💖💖
Beijos,
Lu
Hey! I’m back haha!
So I’ve just posted a selection of photo ideas for Fall, and thought it’d be only fair to make a similar post with Spring pics. After all, half the world gets Autumn in September, but the other half celebrates the beginning of Spring at the same time, correct? So this one goes for the Southern hemisphere… 🌻🌻🌻
So here you go, guys! Springtime inspo:
Happy happy happy spring 💐✨
Beijos,
Lu
Heyyy all! 🍂🧡
September is here, and fall is just around the corner. On social media we’ve already started seeing beautiful orange tone images with dry leaves, hot cocoa and cozy sweaters to let us know we’re collectively ready and in the mood for the season to begin!
I’ve selected some images from free image banks like Pexels and Unsplash to inspire our Autumn themed photography. You can use the images below if you want to, they’re all royalty free 🙂
Here you go! Click the photos to enlarge:
Happy fall, yall!
Beijos,
Lu
Girls,
Some of you have asked me how exactly are you going to be able to make your insta feeds look like the themes you’ve purchased in our design shop. I know there’s a few questions especially from those who are not used to the graphic design universe yet 😌💖
To make it easy to explain, I am creating this very straight forward educational post. I will clarify point by point how the repagination of your feed will happen, using the products you purchase at the store.
So let’s get to it!
The VSCO filter will be described in an image (like the one above), with the exact configuration that you should do on VSCO to give all your images the same aesthetic as the purchased theme.
How to use it : Download the VSCO app (it’s free!) and follow the instructions on the image. After you make these edits to the first photo, just click on it, go to the bottom right button on VSCO, and hit ‘copy’. Next, select all the other photos that you want to apply that same filter to, and hit “paste edits”.
Can I change it? Yes. If you want to make any changes to the filter (for example: the filter is more bluish than you would like, it’s kind of dark for your taste, etc.) just make your own adjustments and, in the same way as I mentioned above, copy the filter and paste into the other photos.
I also recommend reading my posts on organizing and revamping your feed. To fully understand the importance of editing your photos in a very harmonic way before posting.
In the same product, there’s an image kit with 70 generic (and beautiful) high-resolution photos ready to post.
How to use it: All you need to do is send the photos from your computer to your phone and post each one when you feel like it. You can plan your feed using an app like Unum or Preview, or if you prefer to use Photoshop, you can get this feed planner template from the store the store that is suitable for that.
Tip: Combine the pics from the themes with your own. Since you’ll use the VSCO filter you’ve purchased, your images will have the same coloring as the images from the pack.
With the above product (filter + images), you already have everything you need to have the feed of your dreams. Just use the filter correctly and plan your posts nicely 🙂
Other cool products to complement your feed:
Breathers are posts containing phrases or illustrations to use from time to time on your feed. They make your feed look beautiful and harmonious, and help to reinforce your aesthetic.
How to use them: Just like the 70 image pack, the breathers only need to be downloaded and opened on your computer, and then sent to your phone. You can post them when you prefer.
The collage kit comes with 100 items including illustrations, short quotes, cut out photos, “tapes” among other cute little things.
How to use it: Create your collages using Canva (free app, but on the computer is much better), Photoshop or your favorite image editing program. In the video above you can see how easy it is!
If you have purchased the first product I mentioned in this post (filter + images), you can apply the filter to any image of yours, and include it on the collage, so that all elements have the same color 😉
In addition to collages, you can also create minimalist posts with this product. Use a solid background color, or a pretty texture, and position an image form the kit centered 🙂
Puzzle feeds are feeds in mosaic style, with the images of the posts connecting with each other forming a complete design.
How to use it: Puzzle feed templates can only be edited with Photoshop on the computer. So you need to have some basic knowledge of how to use the program to edit it. If you have this familiarity with ps, it’s a piece of cake: just download your product, open it, and insert your images in the sections corresponding to each post using clipping masks, just like in the video above 🙂
I think that’s it, guys 🌻🌻
Let me know if you have any questions! You can write here on the comments so that they can help others as well. Instagram DMs may not be answered because it’s hard to keep up with all the messages there. Safer to write to me here, ok?
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Beijos,
Lu
yep, the weekend is over.
No reason to worry though. There’s a brand new one coming soon, so now it’s time to focus on making this week a great one.
Let’s enjoy each and every day properly, taking care of ourselves, dedicating time to work and to rest, catching up with friends and family and learning as much as we can, every step of the way. Sounds cheesy, I know, but I don’t care. It’s the truth! 🤙🏽😌
Here’s a gallery of monday morning quotes I created to kick off the week with the best energy possible. Some of these can also be used as cute phone wallpapers 🙂
⟡ Instagram quotes on the shop: ⟡
Hope you like these, guys!
And happy monday 🙂
Beijos,
Lu
Hey guys! Today’s post goes for all the fashionistas out there. I know you’re so excited to be able to finally go out again and rock your awesome outfit of the day for the whole world to see 💃🏽💖✨
But first, a cute pic for the gram, of course!
Here’s a gallery with 70+ ideas to inspire your poses so guys, there are NO excuses to take boring photos anymore, alright? Alright then! 😂
ps. if you’re looking for more photo inspiration, take a look at this post with poses for couples, family, tumblr style pics, Christmas and photos to take at the beach 💎💗
Beijos,
Lu
