How to Recreate Your Favorite Instagram Filters in Photoshop - CirclesTech

With its 20 filters that fit handily in an app, Instagram is undoubtedly a gamechanger for mobile photography. Unfortunately, the filters themselves aren't readily available outside of the app.

With some time and an eye for washed out aesthetics, however, you can use Photoshop to recreate some Instagram filters. We analyzed six filters and took a stab at replicating them in Photoshop, and the results were surprisingly close to the originals.

If you've ever wanted to give your crisp DSLR photos a retro feel, take these steps to mimic some of Instagram's popular filters. The advantage of doing so in Photoshop is that there is also room for creativity, so you can customize your own filters with just a few clicks.

1. Amaro

1. First, increase the brightness and contrast of your picture. Do this by going to Image > Adjustments > Brightness/Contrast.

2. To add a soft yellow light, create a new fill layer over the photo. Go to Layer > New Fill Layer > Solid Color. Play around until you find a good shade, or you could just enter the shade I used in the hex color code field: #f4eabd.

3. Click OK. While you still have the layer selected, click on the dropdown menu right above it and select "Multiply" instead of the default of "Normal." This will add a soft light over your photo as opposed to an opaque layer.

4. Next, open up the Levels menu. You can do this with Command / Ctrl + L, or you can go to Image > Adjustments > Levels. In the dropdown menu for "Channel," select "Blue." Increase the Output Levels at the bottom of the menu from 0 to 117 by dragging the left slider towards the center of the spectrum. This will add a blue tint to the photo.

5. From here, I had to make some more minor adjustments by decreasing the Contrast a bit more to give it a faded look.

6. Next, open up Color Balance with Command / Ctrl + B, or Image > Adjustments > Color Balance. Make sure the radio dial below is set to "Midtones." Play around until you have a good blend of colors, but I chose to increase my Red, Green and Yellow levels.

7. Finally, save the image as is and reopen it up in Camera Raw to add a vignette frame. You can do this by exiting out of the current window, then going to File > Open. Select the correct file, then select "Camera Raw" in the "Format" dropdown menu.

8. Once you have the file open in Camera Raw, select the Effects menu on the right-hand side of the editor. Make sure that "Highlight Priority" is selected in the "Style" dropdown menu. Move the "Amount" slider left to make a black vignette around the edges of the photo. Once you're satisfied with the vignette, move the "Highlights" slider to the right so that the vignette will not affect the highlights as much. Click "Save Image" once you're done.

2. Nashville

1. To mimic the soft purple tint of the Nashville filter, open up the Levels menu with Command / Ctrl + L or Image > Adjustments > Levels. Select "Blue" in the dropdown menu for "Channel." Increase the Output Levels at the bottom of the menu from 0 to 58 by dragging the left slider toward the center of the spectrum.

2. To soften the blue tint a bit, add a new layer of light yellow by going to Layer > New Fill Layer > Solid Color. The hex color #f6ddad adds a peachy tone to contrast the blue.

3. Next, increase by Brightness and decrease the Contrast by going to Image > Adjustments > Brightness/Contrast.

4. Change the Color Balance with Command / Ctrl + B, or Image > Adjustments > Color Balance. Increase the Cyan, Green and Blue levels.

5. If the color is still not quite right, change the hue with Command / Ctrl + U, or Image > Adjustments > Hue/Saturation. I moved the Hue slider just a bit to the right to emphasize the blue a bit more.

6. From here, I went back and adjusted the Color Balance a bit more by moving all sliders just a bit to the right for the final result.

3. Sierra

1. To replicate the faded look of Sierra, adjust the Curves of the photo with Command / Ctrl + M, or Image > Adjustments > Curves. Move the left point of the curve directly up the y-axis.

2. Adjust the levels with Command / Ctrl + L, or Image > Adjustments > Levels. Select "Red" in the "Channel" dropdown menu and increase the Output Levels to 21 by moving the left slider toward the center.

3. Increase the Contrast by going to Image > Adjustments > Brightness/Contrast.

4. Adjust the channels by going to Image > Adjustments > Channel Mixer. Select "Green" in the "Output Channel" dropdown menu and move the Green slider to the right, giving the photo less of a green tint.

5. Save the image as is and reopen it in Camera Raw to add a vignette frame. You can do this by exiting out of the current window, then going to File > Open. Select the correct file, then select "Camera Raw" in the "Format" dropdown menu.

6. Once you have the file open in Camera Raw, select the Effects menu on the right-hand side of the editor. Make sure that "Highlight Priority" is selected in the "Style" dropdown menu. Move the "Amount" slider left to make a black vignette around the edges of the photo. Click "Save Image" to save the final result.

4. 1977

1. Adjust the Red Output Levels of your photo to replicate 1977's warm tone. Do this with Command / Ctrl + L or Image > Adjustments > Levels. Select "Red" in the "Channel" dropdown menu, and then increase the Output Level by moving the left slider at the bottom of the menu toward the center of the spectrum.

2. To counter with Blue for a purple tone, select "Blue" in the "Channel" dropdown menu and move the left slider just a little bit toward the center.

3. Increase the Brightness and Contrast of your photo by going to Image > Adjustments > Brightness/Contrast.

4. Fine-tune the colors of your photo with Command / Ctrl + B or by going to Image > Adjustments > Color Balance. Make sure the radio button is set on "Midtones" at the bottom of the menu. Increase the Red, Green and Blue levels.

5. Finally, adjust the overall Levels of your photo with Command / Ctrl + L or by going to Image > Adjustments > Levels. Keep the "Channel" dropdown menu selected at "RGB" and move the middle slider slightly to the right. This will emphasize the shadows of your photo even more.

5. Brannan

1. Brannan adds a gritty, dramatic look to your photo, and to replicate this, you need to increase the Contrast of your photo. Do this by going to Image > Adjustments > Brightness/Contrast. I pushed my Contrast slider all the way to 100, but adjust your photo as you see fit.

2. To add to the dramatic effect, adjust your levels with Command / Ctrl + L or by going to Image > Adjustments > Levels. Move the middle slider slightly to the right. This will darken the shadows of your photo.

3. To add a warm yellow tint, add a new fill layer. Do this by going to Layer > New Fill Layer > Solid Color. Choose a light, warm beige color, or just use the hex color code I used: #eddd9e. Click OK.

4. While you still have the fill color layer selected, select "Multiply" in the dropdown menu right above it and decrease the Opacity from 100% to 59%.



5. Adjust the Curves of your photo to add a faded effect. Do this with Command / Ctrl + M or by going to Image > Adjustments > Curves. Move the left point along the y-axis so the output is close to 45.

6. Save the image as is and reopen it in Camera Raw to add a vignette frame. You can do this by exiting out of the current window, then going to File > Open. Select the correct file, then select "Camera Raw" in the "Format" dropdown menu.

7. Once you have the file open in Camera Raw, select the Effects menu on the right-hand side of the editor. Make sure that "Highlight Priority" is selected in the "Style" dropdown menu. Move the "Amount" slider left to make a black vignette around the edges of the photo. Click "Save Image" to save the final result.

8. If you still need to adjust your photo, reopen it up as a JPEG in Photoshop. To further emphasize the faded look of Brannan, go to Image > Adjustments > Hue/Saturation to decrease the Saturation slightly by moving the Saturation slider to the left.

9. Finally, you can increase the Brightness and Contrast of the photo by going to Image > Adjustments > Brightness/Contrast for a final touch.

6. Hudson

1. To replicate Hudson's blue-toned filter, adjust the Levels of your photo by increasing the Blue Output Levels. Do this with Command / Ctrl + L or by going to Image > Adjustments > Levels. Select "Blue" in the "Channel" dropdown menu. Increase the Output Levels by moving the bottom left slider toward the center of the spectrum. Move the left slider of the Input Levels slightly toward the center as well.

2. Increase the Brightness and Contrast of the photo by going to Image > Adjustments > Brightness/Contrast.

3. Adjust the colors with Command / Ctrl + B or by going to Image > Adjustments > Color Balance. Move the sliders to increase the Green and Blue outputs.

4. Save the image as is and reopen it in Camera Raw to add a vignette frame. You can do this by exiting out of the current window, then going to File > Open. Select the correct file, then select "Camera Raw" in the "Format" dropdown menu.

5. Once you have the file open in Camera Raw, select the Effects menu on the right-hand side of the editor. Make sure that "Highlight Priority" is selected in the "Style" dropdown menu. Move the "Amount" slider left to make a black vignette around the edges of the photo. Click "Save Image" to save the final result.

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