Ellie Kate | Leeds Lifestyle, Food, Beauty and Fashion Blog

If you think back to summer last year, then you may remember that I wrote a blog post about my first ever Gin Festival, which took place in Leeds. It was a completely new experience for me as I had only ever been to beer festivals before - but me and Martin had a whale of a time, and since then my appreciation for gin has grown tenfold. Now, if I'm not having a beer as my alcoholic beverage, then you can bet that it is a gin I'm having! Over the last eight months or so, I've managed to try some truly exceptional gins, but I'm always curious about trying new ones. This is where the Gin Explorer Club steps in! I was asked if I'd like to review their January box*, and of course I grabbed the chance with both hands. Now, I had indeed (and mentioned in said blog post linked above) heard of the Gin Explorer Club, but didn't get to spend a lot of time at their stand at the festival as it was too busy. Therefore, I didn't know exactly what I was going to get in my exciting new box - I deliberately didn't look online in order to not spoil myself! Continue reading to find out what was in the box and my thoughts on it.






Before I delve into the contents of the box however, let's talk about the packaging. When it arrived, I didn't even know that it was the box at first, as the outer packaging was absolutely huge! I was grateful that it was well protected, but it did seem quite excessive - I'd like to see the Gin Explorer Club cut down on this in the future. However, once I wrestled my way inside, my box finally rose up to greet me. I really liked the design of the box - it was designed to mimic an old-fashioned suitcase, and put me in mind of a traveller setting off on their adventures! Now, as mentioned previous, I had no idea what to expect from this box - I didn't know whether it was going to be one full size bottle, or a few smaller ones. I was very pleased to discover that it was the latter! I know there are other gin subscription boxes that offer you the former each month; but I think the downside to that is if you don't end up liking the product, you're stuck with a big bottle and nowhere for it to go. I like the idea of being able to try a few gins each month, and by the end of it picking a favourite to potentially buy a full size bottle of - this you can do directly from the Gin Festival website. Inside each box for the month comes a pamphlet, telling you all about the products included in the box. This not only tells you what you are getting, but some interesting information about the products in question and some suggestions as to what to do with them. January's theme was "Ginuary", and celebrated making it to the end of "Dry January" and rewarding yourself with a nice glass of gin and tonic. I never participated in it, but I wasn't going to turn their advice down! It also takes you on the journey around the world, starting from Bedale, through Thornbury, Chiswick and finishing at Still Bay (a total of 6374 miles!) with the four gins that are in the box. I really liked the pamphlet, and think that it adds a nice touch to the box - I love to read everything there is to know about new products that I receive!





So, let's get into what's actually in the box, shall we? I will get to the gins in a moment, but first let me tell you what was included with them. The mixer of choice for any gin is of course a tonic, and in this box there were two new ones for me to try, both from The London Essence Co. I've never heard of this brand before, let alone tried anything from them, so I was excited to have these with my new gins. The London Essence Co aim to produce drinks that are both low in calories and naturally sweet, to provide the most authentic flavour. The variations included in January's box were the Classic and Grapefruit & Rosemary; the latter sounded particularly interesting to me, as I had never tried a flavoured tonic before. I couldn't wait to get stuck in! Next up was a packet of Spare Fruit Pear Crisps, again a product I have never heard of before. The ethos behind this product is rather brilliant; the company buys fruit that supermarkets won't accept, and that would otherwise be going to waste. From all this fruit (and there will be a lot - think how many will not look perfect, but will still taste fine?), they produce these 100% natural, air-dried crisps that have no added sugar or other flavourings. It's a simple idea, but one that I've personally never seen done before. These tasted great, really fresh and full of flavour; I would never have guessed that they were made from 'wonky' fruit! The final two products were two teas from The English Tea Shop; Organic Super Berries and Organic Calming Blend. Now, I'm sorry to admit that I don't really have anything to say about these two products, as I don't like tea - sadly even ones as lovely sounding as these! However, these have been passed on to those who will appreciate them, so they haven't gone to waste.




Finally, we're onto the gins - this is what we're all here for, right? All of these bottles were a generous 50ml each; enough for two servings from each one, giving you eight gin and tonics in total. First up is the Inverroche Gin Amber, 43%. Hailing from South Africa, Inverroche Distillery lies in the convergence between the Goukou River and the Indian Ocean, near the resort of Stillbay. The star ingredient in their gins is Fynbos, a type of vegetation that grows specifically in the Western Cape of South Africa. The Fynbos used to create the Gin Amber is selected from the coastal regions (meaning it is more aromatic and spicy), and the spirit undergoes a secondary infusion with this strain of Fynbos before bottling. This is why it has the unusual deep, amber tone that characterises this gin. I tried this gin with the classic London Essence Co. tonic and it was a surprise to me, as I had never tasted anything like it before. If I'm honest, it was a little too dry and bitter for my taste, but I noticed a pleasant warmth that I've not found in any other gin. A really unusual gin that I'm really happy to have tried!

Next is Masons Slow Distilled Sloe Gin, 42%. This is a company that I'm familiar with as they are based in Yorkshire (represent!), and I have tried their Original Yorkshire Gin before. This Sloe edition is their latest addition to the family, and is limited edition - so it will not be around forever! This gin is a bit unusual in comparison to other sloe gins, as the production process is slightly different. Instead of infusing the gin with sloes, as is traditionally so, Masons distill their sloes with Harrogate spring water and juniper - which is grown in their own garden. This is more like the traditional 'London Dry' method, and in turn produces a warming, mellow gin with a natural sweetness. This was my second favourite out of the four, and I believe that you can really taste the difference between this and other sloe gins. Sometimes the sweetness can taste artificial, but not so in this case. I tried this with a classic and an elderflower tonic, and preferred it with the latter.

Third in line is the 6 O'Clock Damson Gin, 26%. Obviously the first thing to note is its striking colour, which looked beautiful when served in a balloon glass. Using their 6 O'Clock Original Gin as a base, it is still made in the traditional way; using hand-picked British damsons and sugar to bring out the natural flavour. It doesn't taste dissimilar to the Masons Sloe Gin, but I found this to be a lot sweeter. However, it still had a rich dryness to it, which made it incredibly well balanced. This was my favourite gin out of them all, and I'm hoping that I will be able to afford to buy myself a full size bottle in the future! I've already recommended this gin to others, and very highly recommend it for any gin aficionados out there. I need to try and find their original gin now!

Last, but no means least, is Sipsmith's V.J.O.P., 57.7%. This was the strongest ABV of them all, and you could sure taste it! Standing for 'Very Junipery Over Proof', this gin, as the name suggests, contains a lot more juniper berries than their London Dry - three times more, in fact - and is distilled in three stages. The end result is an extremely aromatic gin, that worked beautifully with the Grapefruit & Rosemary tonic. Having tried their London Dry gin before, I was curious to see how this compared, and also to other London Dry gins I've had in the past. This was definitely a more heavy-going gin than the other three, but this was by no means a bad thing - the flavours really shone through, even when paired with a flavoured tonic. I found it to be extremely decadent (without being overpowering) and without losing any of the high quality that Sipsmith is known for - quite an achievement. If you're looking for a gin that will immediately impress, this is the one for you.



These four gins lasted me for the month, and I have to say that I was really happy with the products that I received. Each gin was unique - some from familiar names, and some from not - but there was no "standard" gin here, which to be honest I was a little apprehensive about receiving. These are gins that are not going to be readily available in your nearest supermarket, and that was exactly what I was looking for from this box. I really enjoyed exploring the individual flavour profiles of each gin, and it has helped me on the journey of discovering what I like and don't like to have. I'm not a picky person, and am always willing to try something once - and this box has allowed me to do that! I was pleased to discover one gin that I really, really enjoyed - enough to want to own a full size bottle - that I would have never tried elsewhere. So, in short; if you enjoy your gin and are looking to shake things up and try something new, I would highly recommend the Gin Explorer Club. It offers good value for money, and is an excellent way to begin your gin journey and open yourself up to a whole new world!

Now, we all know that you can get subscription boxes for beauty products - but did you know what you can get ones for alcohol too? Seeing as my choice of beverage is beer, I was pleasantly surprised to come across The Beer Isle on Instagram. If I remember rightly, they liked a couple of pictures on my Instagram feed, and I always make a point of checking out the profiles of people who do so. I got in touch and asked if I could review one of their boxes, and Charles, the owner, very kindly sent me one along to try. It has taken me and Martin a while to work through it (among the many other beers that we have in our stash!), but finally I can tell you all about it. Read on to find out more about The Beer Isle Subscription Club and what makes it different to the rest!





The Beer Isle is a fantastic way to discover the best of what British microbreweries have to offer, without having to leave your home. Instead of having to trail around all the different shops (although admittedly I do quite enjoy that), a box of twelve mixed beers gets delivered to your door. Every month, The Beer Isle focuses on a different region of Britain; offering a mixture of beers from different breweries within that region. For example, in June the box featured beers from North West England; Lancashire, Manchester, Merseyside and Cheshire. The box is quite sizeable, as you would expect, but the beers are well packaged and were clearly handled with care, as every bottle arrived intact. The first item to greet you is the "Drinks Menu", which is actually extremely informative and interesting to read. Inside it details the list of beers that you receive within the box; a short blurb about the brewery that makes the beer, a descriptor of the beer in question and a scoring box, which allows you to mark the beer out of ten. The Beer Isle also encourage you to take a picture of your scores and send them in online, which they then use to discover your favourite beer of the month. Also included in the box is a really neat little bottle opener, which is of course a necessity to get into all of those bottles!



Well, let's dive straight into the beers, shall we? First up is Brewsmith Anvil Ale, 4.5%. This is described as a "Brown hoppy bitter", which sounds interesting enough. Brewed with five hops in total, this certainly wasn't short on the hoppy flavour, but it was surprisingly fruity, which I wasn't expecting at all. It didn't pour anywhere near as dark as I was expecting, given the description - it was definitely more amber than brown! I gave this beer from Bury, Greater Manchester 7/10. Also from Greater Manchester, we have Ticketybrew Pale Ale, 5.5%. This surprised me in the opposite way to the Anvil Ale by being darker than the name gives it credit for, thanks to the addition of caramelised malt. This led to a slightly sweetened flavour that brought down the bitterness of the hops, and a citrus aroma. As the label suggests, there is a floral element to the nose, but I couldn't taste it at all in the beer. I gave this beer 5/10; not because it was bad, it just wasn't very exciting.



Another pale ale comes next, this time in the form of Blackjack Rabbit Hunt, 4.4%. I was previously unaware of Blackjack before having this beer, so I was keen to give it a go. This exploded everywhere when I opened the bottle, and upon first pour I was a bit disappointed. However, I added a little of the sediment from the bottom of the bottle, and this made a huge difference. It is definitely bitter and very hoppy, but light on the tongue and quite refreshing. I got a fruity note, but couldn't quite place it. The score for this beer was 6/10 - marked down one because it fought back! Another Manchester beer is from one of my favourite breweries; Cloudwater Keyworth's Early Lager, 4.8%. I had high hopes for this, and I wasn't disappointed. This is definitely a summer beer, and for a lager (which I'm not a fan of usually), this is extremely drinkable. It is also slightly malty to boot, which very much contributes to why I enjoyed it so much! This earned a very respectable score of 7/10.



Two more breweries that I was unfamiliar with before this box - the first of which is ShinDigger West Coast Pale, 4.7%. Again, hailing from Manchester, the name is a nod to the American hops used to brew this beer. This is what I would describe as a very 'clean' drink; it has a strong bitter aroma, but the taste is extremely crisp and bursting with hints of tropical fruit. I also got a taste of biscuit and toffee, along with an abundance of hops in the finish. This was one of the top beers out of the box for me, scoring 8/10. However, it was beaten quite spectacularly by First Chop ChaiPA, 4.8%. The first smell of this is Christmas; Chai tea, ginger and cinnamon make up the nose of this most unusual beer. It is definitely not for everyone, but I found it to be absolutely wonderful. It has all of these warming spices, yet isn't heavy in the slightest and is incredibly big on flavour. It's certainly unique and a bet that paid off well - this beer got the top score for this box of 9/10. It lost a point because one was quite enough; if I were to have two, it would have easily turned sickly due to its intensity.



Next up are two very different beers; starting off with Liverpool Craft Beer Co. Love Lane Pale, 4.7%. I remember trying one of their beers last year at the Beertown Malton festival, but I don't think it was this one. This is one of their original brews, and a good staple for any respectable brewing company. Interesting fact; this beer was originally brewed under a railway bridge on Liverpool's Love Lane, hence the name! Whole leaf citrus hops makes up the majority of the flavour, and on the end tags on a malted biscuit aftertaste. If I'm honest, this wasn't 'pale ale' territory for me, but it scored 6/10 and was pleasant nonetheless. Runaway Brewery American Brown Ale, 5.7% is another American style addition to the box, and one that I enjoyed immensely. This is extremely malty, with a very discernable note of caramel and a slight hint of coffee. It was unusually sharp, but it somehow seemed to work in favour of this brew. Another excellent beer, with a score of 8/10.



Another one of my favourite breweries made it into this subscription box; Mad Hatter Penny Lane Pale, 3.9%. This is the lightest ABV out of all of the beers, but it certainly didn't lack impact. As is usually prominent in pale ales, this is light, hoppy, and with a fruity aroma, but quite dry in the mouth. It's certainly a very easy to drink beer, and two or three of these could be had without any trouble at all. There's definitely no complaints from me about this one, and it scored the second highest out of the pales in this selection at 7/10. The only beer that I actually didn't taste at all is Blackjack Deer Hunter, 5.4%. This is a coffee saison and as such was never going to touch my lips, so I let Martin have this one all to himself. Isn't he lucky! This impressed him instantly with a powerful punch of espresso, and poured light in colour. He gave this one full marks on his beer app, so I would assume on that basis he would have given this one 10/10. However, this one doesn't count for my score!



Ticketybrew Blonde, 5.8% is one of the last ones I tried, and I'm sorry to say that this was an utter disappointment. I didn't actually smell it whilst pouring the beer, but as soon as I lifted it to my lips, it was distinctly unpleasant. Still, some food smells horrible but tastes good, so being a good sport I gave it a try anyway. I genuinely don't know if this was off, or whether it really tastes like vinegar, but I'm going to suggest the former. This can happen to any beer, but it was immediately apparent that something wasn't right about this one. I couldn't finish it (to be honest, I couldn't really start it!), so it gets a score of 1/10. Last but definitely not least, was the Off Beat Oddball Red, 4.2%. The creation of a female brewer, this is a ruby red ale that has a lovely spicy undertone to compliment the abundance of Columbus hops. Definitely a beer for the colder months, but still very enjoyable at this time of year. This is quite an intense beer for the percentage, but one that I could have easily had another of! This certainly gives other red ales a run for their money, scoring 8/10.



So, what did I think of my first ever beer subscription box? I love the idea behind The Beer Isle, and think they've definitely found a gap in the market that needed to be catered to. It's an excellent way of being able to try beers from parts of the country that you may never get to visit, and supporting those microbreweries that are all over Britain. My criticisms of the box are that a lot of the beers were of the same style; out of the twelve in the box, five of those were pale ales, which would start to get very repetitive if drunk over a shorter period of time than I had. In the future, I would like to see a greater selection of styles of ales, as I know that there are many, many variations to choose from. Bigger breweries like Mad Hatter and Cloudwater do such an amazing range of beers, it was a shame that the two most basic styles were chosen. I also didn't know how to feel about two beers from the same brewery being included in the box; I'd like to think that there were more breweries to choose from for this region, but perhaps there wasn't. The upside to this, was that the two beers chosen from the same brewery were very different in style, so that got a thumbs up from me there. All in all, I very much enjoyed The Beer Isle's Subscription Club, and would definitely be interested in giving it another go in the future. Even though I'm from Leeds, I'd be curious to see what a box focusing on Yorkshire beers would contain!

If you asked me what my favourite app was, without hesitation I would say Instagram. Photography is a big part of my life, and Instagram is, for me at least, the best way of sharing the photos that I'm proud of online. There is a massive community of like-minded people for every kind of niche, whether it be photos of food, New York, knitting, beer... you name it, there will be other people taking photos of it on Instagram. You also get to connect with people from around the world; just the other day I was helping someone who came from Los Angeles, and I regularly check out people's feeds who do not live in the same country as me. I've had a few questions recently from people on Instagram, asking about how I edit my photos and what apps I use to do so. My process is not as complicated or as long-winded as some people's, but if you're unfamiliar with the apps that I use, then you may well find this post helpful! So, without further ado, let me take you through how I edit my Instagram photos.



Before I start, I want to point something out: I do not have a "themed" Instagram account. I did give it a go, for a while (if you scroll back through my feed you may well be able to spot it), but I grew tired with it and moved on. I do have a few favourite filters that I use regularly and I will talk about later in the post, but generally speaking I edit each photo on a separate basis. This means that I use whichever filter and editing technique that I think looks best for that particular photo. That being said, there are some things I do that I apply to almost every picture I upload, and the apps I use are always the same - and this is what I will be talking about in this blog post. Talking of apps, let's start there. There are two apps other than Instagram that I use for editing my photos; VSCO and Snapseed. VSCO is an app that I have used for quite some time; probably around a year or so, and it continues to serve me very well. It offers a good range of editing options and filters, and once you get the hang of the app's design, it is very easy to use. Snapseed on the other hand is very new to me, within the last couple of weeks, really. It offers me even greater control than what VSCO can offer, including the use of a "dodge and burn" tool, which I have started to use to fine tune my images in precise areas. I'm still getting used to the app so I have not fully explored its potential yet, but I will show you how I've been using it in addition to VSCO.



It is worth mentioning here that pretty much every photo I upload onto my Instagram, I have taken it with my Canon G7X. This camera has WiFi uploading capabilities, allowing me to instantly grab my photos off my camera and put them straight onto my phone, which is so easy to do. My phone camera just isn't good enough quality for the majority of the pictures I would like to take, often blowing out highlights and distorting the image due to its wide angle lens. The G7X is an expensive camera, but it fits in my pocket and therefore goes with me everywhere; meaning that I rarely have the problem of not being able to capture a picture spontaneously. So, after I have transferred the images I would like to upload onto my phone, I open up VSCO and import the pictures into the app. VSCO has a library of images that you have imported, so at any point you can go back and re-edit an image again if you so wish, or share it onto other social media networks such as Facebook. This feature is particularly useful as it saves you precious time; instead of saving the image, opening the required app, finding it in your gallery and uploading it, VSCO allows you to do all of that within the app itself.




So, once I have loaded my photo in VSCO, I begin the editing process by pressing the icon on the bottom left hand corner of the screen. This takes you to the filter gallery, where just like Instagram you can choose a filter to overlay your image. I tend to go back and forth through all the filters, often a couple of times before making my selection - making sure that it is the one that will bring the photo to its best potential. I do have a few favourite filters; ACG/Nikelab, A6/Analog and KK1/Krochet Kids are used quite often on my feed. ACG leans quite purple but really brings out the full range of highlights and shadows, so it works well on images that have a lot of fine detail. A6 brings the saturation of the image down but is very contrasted - making the whites bright and the shadows deep. KK1 is very warm toned so it works well on images that feature a lot of oranges or reds, and in this instance is what I used here. If you tap the filter icon again you adjust the strength of the filter - sometimes having it on full (+12) can be a bit too intense, so I often knock it down a few notches to suit my tastes.




Once I have settled on a filter that I like, it's time to get a little more in-depth. If you tap the upwards arrow in the white box at the bottom of the screen and select the spanner icon, it brings up the editing suite, which allows you to fine tune your image. This is where you will find things such as brightness, contrast, sharpen, fade and much more. Now, what I do specifically for each image is different, but generally there are certain things that I will do for every photo, to one degree or another. I will increase the brightness, but usually not by too much - enough to bring details out, but not enough to blow out any highlights. This usually means that I have to increase the contrast, to bring the shadows back down. Increasing the saturation is usually done here, again only by a small measure. I will also straighten up the image if I need to; when taking a photo, I find it difficult to align it perfectly so this helps to correct any misjudgements. I don't crop nor sharpen the image in VSCO, as I allow Instagram to do the cropping for me, and I prefer the more precise control of Instagram's own sharpening tool rather than VSCO's incremented one. Now, sometimes, that will be nearly the end of my editing process and I will then upload the image to Instagram. An image might not necessarily need any more done to it than that, and if I am happy with the result that VSCO gives me, then I won't take it any further. However, in this case I will be taking the image into Snapseed, and correcting some problems that I have come across with the image.




If you bring up that white box with the arrow again, there is a tick symbol that you can tap that will take you back to the image library. This has saved your edits, so you should be able to see your newly edited image ready for you to use. By tapping on the image again, you can press the circular icon in the bottom right hand corner, which brings up a number of options. A useful function to keep in mind for if you do have a themed Instagram is the "Copy Edits" button, which does exactly that - it takes whatever you have done to that picture, and allows you to paste that onto another image - saving you a lot of time and effort! I rarely use it myself these days, but was extraordinarily helpful when I did have a go at theming my Instagram. However, what I'm going to do here is press "Share", and it brings up a variety of options. You can share the image straight to Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Google+ or Email, but if you scroll down a "More" option appears, and this is what I click on. Doing so brings up all of the other apps that I might want to transfer the image to - which in this case is going to be Snapseed. Once I have done that it opens up Snapseed, with my image loaded onto the screen and ready to edit. You want to start off by pressing the large, circular icon with the pencil, which will bring up the editing screen.




On the editing screen of Snapseed, there are a variety of tools you can use. I'm tending to stick to just the one at the moment, which is the brush tool. Have you ever had an image that you wish was a little bit brighter in certain areas, but turning up the brightness on the whole image ruins it? That is exactly what this tool is for - amongst other things. In this example, I'm going to be using the "dodge" tool to brighten up the right side of Zak's face, which is in shadow (left to you and me). I'm also going to try and "burn", or darken, the white area of the other side of his face, where he has caught the light. You can also use the tool to control the colour saturation, exposure and the colour temperature - the latter two I have not used yet, however. By using the arrows highlighted at the bottom of the screen, you can control the intensity of the brush. Numbers 5 and 10 are to lighten, or "dodge" the image, the eraser is to undo any mistakes, and numbers -5 and -10 are to darken, or "burn" the image. You then use the tool to paint over the areas that you want to correct. If there's a very precise area that you want to fix, you can pinch zoom the image and therefore decrease the size of the brush. To see where you have corrected in the image, tap the eye in the bottom right of the screen, and it shows you where you have used the tool. Pretty neat, huh? So, once I have corrected the areas that needed fixing, I press the tick to save that edit, and press the circular pencil icon again to load up the editing screen once more.




If you scroll down this editing screen, you will see a list of filters appear. Each of them offer something different, with almost endless options within each category, and you could spend hours going through them all and playing around! HDR-scape is excellent for landscapes and anything that has a lot of detail - I used it lightly on this image to bring out the full range of shadows and highlights. My favourite collection by far however is "Grainy film", and that is what I ended up using on this image. I won't necessarily always use more than one filter, but I like playing around with the different effects to find something that makes my image unique; sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn't. Often, I will take a look at all the filters and decide that none of them are working for me! This collection of filters are named much like VSCO (you've got to wonder which one came first), but Snapseed have a far greater range of free options. I've not used Snapseed long enough yet to have any favourites, but in this instance I decided that the B03 worked well on this image. However, it was far too intense for my liking, and I needed to bring it down so it didn't look quite so harsh. To do this, press on the image and drag your finger up or down on the screen. Doing this opens up the editing options; in this case, the strength of the grain and the strength of the filter. Once you have selected your option, let go and then press on the image again, but this time swipe it to the left or right. This changes the intensity of whatever option you selected. I always take the grain down to 0, as I'm not using the filter for this purpose, and I take the filter down from +80 to +56, which is much more to my liking. Once you're done, press the tick icon to save your changes.




At this point, you should see at the top of the screen, above your image a number in a white box. Tapping this shows you all the edits that you have made, and you can go back through them should you wish to. Say you weren't happy with the brush tools you had used? Click on the "Brush" box, and either delete that layer, or edit it again. This is not something I've used very much, but it's a very useful feature to have if you're quite indecisive! When you're ready to upload your photo to Instagram, press the three vertical dots in the top right corner of the screen, press "Share" and select Instagram from the menu. This will then load the image into Instagram, where I usually have a couple of final tweaks to do. As we all know, Instagram now offers both landscape and portrait formats as well as the traditional square, and I am a big fan of this change. My preferred format is portrait, as it offers the most impact, but it depends on the subject of the image to how it is best framed. In this instance I decided that it looked better in a square, but you can pinch zoom or use the arrows icon on the left to change it to whatever you prefer. I find the "rule of thirds" grid to be quite helpful sometimes, as it helps establish a focusing point to your image. Here, I want Zak's left eye to be the focus, so I set it to be towards the top left of the image. Ideally, the eye should be at the exact point where the lines intersect for maximum impact, but it threw the image off to the left too much for my liking, so this was the compromise I settled on. Press the arrow on the top right, and it brings you to the the familiar Instagram editing screen.




One of my favourite tools to use is the sun icon, which seems to be some magic tool that instantly makes your image look better. I'm not sure exactly what it does, but if I could hazard a guess I would say it increases the brightness and contrast in one go, but it nearly always looks fantastic. On this image however, I decide not to use it and fine tune the details myself. This is where I will finally use the "sharpen" tool, as it shows the most accurately on Instagram out of all the apps I have tried, and you can be very precise. I also decide here that I would like to increase the brightness and contrast a little, and this is after I have viewed the image on a white background. To do this, you need to press the arrow in the top right corner as if you have finished the image, then press the little thumbnail of the image next to where you write your caption. I often find that my image looks a little dark once I see it on white, compared to the grey (which is how it will be seen on Instagram), so I can go back and adjust the brightness and contrast. After that, it is ready to upload and the image is complete!



If you've made it this far through the post (well done you!), and are thinking "All of that must take AGES to do!" - well, it depends on how you look at it. If you take photography (and Instagram) seriously like I do, then spending ten minutes to edit an image is really no time at all. Obviously, sometimes an image is nearly perfect straight out of the camera and only takes me a couple of minutes to do, and sometimes, like with this image, there are elements that need fixing before I am happy with it. As I whole, I absolutely love using Instagram and am very happy with my feed. Themed it is not, but that doesn't matter to me - I love having somewhere that I can document my life, and show off the images that I'm proud of. You may use Instagram like how I do or you may not, but I hope that this post was helpful to you, and it gave you some idea of how you can edit an image to its best potential. If you have any questions, about how to use the apps I've talked about or editing my images, leave them in the comments section below, send me a tweet or leave me a comment on my Instagram!