I tried upping my Instagram game with this TikTok iPhone camera hack and I looked like a BBQ potato chip

Thanks to the pandemic, many people have turned to video sharing platform TikTok to fight their lockdown blues. This app is becoming more popular than it ever was before, and I myself am guilty of spending a little too much time scrolling video after video.

Apart from learning how to dance the Renegade and watching people try bizarre trends, one can also pick up a lifehack or two when surfing the platform. From instant noodle to beauty hacks, the AsiaOne folks have personally tried their hand at a few viral trends to see if these actually worked.

And now, there is a new hack — a photo editing one that promises a sunkissed complexion and golden hour vibes.

[embed]https://www.tiktok.com/@anaugazz/video/6957048238507625734?sender_device=pc&sender_web_id=6893154856438351362&is_from_webapp=v1&[/embed]

Sadly, this trick is only for iPhone users as it utilises the iOS editing feature — sorry Android users, you'll have to sit out on this one.

In the video, TikTok user anaugazz (@anapaulaugaz) plays around with components like saturation, colour and brightness to get an editing formula which gives the illusion of having your photo taken during the golden hour.

Admittedly, the edit doesn't look highly promising at the start but you just have to trust the process.

After some adjustments, everything comes together and the result is a sun-kissed effect that looks truly Instagram-worthy.

Curious to see if this really works, I decided to try it with my own selfie.

Here's the formula for those who couldn't catch all the steps in the video:

• Exposure and brilliance to 100

• Highlights to -32

• Shadows to -26

• Lower the contrast to -30

• Brightness to -15

• Black point to 10

• Saturation to 10

• Vibrance to 8

• Warmth to 10

• Push the tint up to 29

• Up the sharpness to 14

• Definition feature to 23

• Slide the exposure back down to 0

• Tada

I initially took a selfie indoors because I was too lazy to leave my seat and the results weren't really up to expectations.

While I did look a little more golden than I initially did, I felt like I was leaning more towards looking like a barbecue-flavoured potato chip instead. Not a good look.

My colleague then told me that I should try the hack using natural lighting instead, just like they did in the video. So, I headed outside for a quick photo against our office's peeling wall.

She was right — the formula did look a lot better with photos that were taken under natural lighting.

However, I did feel like the edit wasn't too flattering on some features such as my nose bridge and eyes, making them look a little less defined. Additionally, I felt like it accentuated a few of my pimple scars, making them look more red and angry.

I was curious to see how the filter would work on a full-body photo, so I pulled out an old photo from my pre-Covid Japan trip to see how that would play out.

I much prefer how the edit worked on this photo and felt like the orange glow here was more subtle and complementing than my previous two selfies.

The deer in the photo had a nice, slight glow in the picture too. So I decided to try out the edit on a photo of my cat for comparison sake.

This turned out pretty decent as well – my cat looked like she was basking in the warm rays of the sun.

Apart from living things, I wanted to see how the effect would look like on inanimate objects like food. So, I found an old photo I took of some ice cream and gave it a shot.

To be honest, I had little expectations for this photo as I assumed the edit was more suited for living things. However, the result was better than expected and I'm surprised how it gave my ice cream shot some tropical vibes.

Overall, I would say that this hack is worth a try. I do feel like at the end of the day, it boils down to personal preference as different people have varying photo editing styles. However, if you like warm tones, this will definitely be up your alley.

Additionally, I feel like the edit may not work for all photos and it depends on the lighting and subject in the photo. My little experiment did show that photos taken with natural lighting turned out better than photos taken indoors so you may want to keep that in mind when playing around with the edit.

melissateo@asiaone.com