What Is VSCO and How To Use It

At times, it can feel as though we are bombarded with each new social media app. This is especially true in our current age of influencers and social media experts. Keeping up with the changing connective tactics can feel overwhelming. Perhaps the most confusing can be VSCO, which is basically a more chill version of Instagram. Please read on to learn everything you need to know!

What is VSCO?

VSCO is a photography photo app previously called VSCO Cam. It was created by Joel Flory and Greg Lutze. It can be used on almost any type of mobile device.

One of its main attractions is the multiple options it possesses when it comes to editing your photos. You have choices that include brightness, colors, visual sharpness, and more! It far exceeds the editing capabilities of Instagram, which is partially why it’s so popular.

Differences from Instagram

As I said before, VSCO already has the lore of being a highly complex editing platform that is easy to use and download for other social media apps. However, another grab is its ‘low-stakes’ atmosphere that makes its largest group of users, teenagers, feel less pressure about what they post.

What makes it largely different from Instagram is its lack of interactions between users. While you can still follow your friends, it does not allow likes or comments. This may seem like an important aspect to leave out, but in some ways, it’s highly brilliant and helpful to mental health.

Instagram and other social media platforms are certainly fun ways to connect with people around the world. However, a lot of these apps have been infiltrated by toxicity and the mounting pressure to be ‘popular.’ VSCO eliminated a lot of the stress around relevancy and leaves the app to have a very simple purpose. Try out some fun editing techniques, or maybe even trial run a few captions!

How To Use It

While all of the reasons listed above are certainly positive, VSCOcan certainly seems overwhelming to a first-time user. It can feel like there are too many options, and along the way of editing, it can feel as though you have become lost. Fear not! Here are some tips for using VSCO as a photo-editing platform.

1. Import Photos

When you first open the VSCO app, you are going to want to immediately press the ‘+’ sign in the middle of the lower bar. This allows you access to your camera roll. From there, you simply pick the photos you would like to place within the app.

2. Open editor

Once the photos have been imported, you can now move on to the editing. Pick a single photo you’d like to edit (a colored bar will appear around it), From there, look for the icon of two ‘sliders’ at the bottom of the screen.

3. Select Filter

Once you have the editor open, you will see a10 filters VSCO offers to use on your photo. While you can edit the picture from scratch on your own, it may be easier for a novice photographer to use some pre-created techniques that already look fairly nice. Once you have a basis for what you want the photo to look like, you can add your own edits.

4. Adjust to preference

Once you have a starting off point for the photo, it’s extremely easy to add certain touches that put your own flair on the project. Along the bottom bar, you will see the two slider icon again. This allows you to make adjustments to exposure, contrast, clarity, saturation, and more!

With this type of app, there really are no wrong answers. So open your mind to creativity and get going!

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