The Best Instagram Filter Is Only Available on Stories
At the risk of annoying Jamila Jamil, I prefer a good filter. Most Instagram filters, however, are crap and either wash you out completely or make you look extremely, well, filtered. A good filter softens the image slightly and possibly brightens the image a little. As a good concealer, it doesn’t do much; It’s enough.
I am not here to discuss whether the use of filters is feminist, and I am definitely not here to talk to men about how they prefer the “natural” look. (Everyone has the right to control how their image is presented to the world.) I’m here to tell you where you can find the best filter that is n’t a “regular” part of Instagram. (Warning: if you hate photos with my face, leave now because there will be four soon.)
I’m talking about Paris, a filter that you can only access from the Stories section of the Instagram app. As you can see from the above side by side, Paris is smoothed and brightened without any of the harsher effects you see with many other filters (looking at you, Toaster). No weird highlights, no aggressive blur due to overexposure, no bullshit colors. It just erases the lines and strikes, your boyfriend claims he “doesn’t even see,” but leaves smile lines, cosmetic marks and more visible pimples. When you present before and after, you can obviously tell which photo Paris was applied to, but in the wilds of social media, next to photos processed with Clarendon and Gingham, Paris is barely visible. It’s like digital makeup (natural makeup without makeup).
To access Paris, open (or take) your photo in the Stories section of the Instagram app, then swipe left to apply the Paris filter. Save it by clicking the upload icon (it looks like a downward pointing arrow in a line), crop and repost to your “regular” Instagram feed, Twitter or any other platforms you want to share photos on. Or just look at her lovingly. This is your image, do whatever you want with it.