Yes, the Kardashians and Hadids have genetics on their side, but if you think their selfies are of the #nofilter persuasion, you're sorely mistaken. In fact, they've got the sneakiest of tricks up their sleeve. It's good old-fashioned color theory and comes courtesy of celebrity makeup artist Patrick Ta who works with the Kardashian-Jenners, Gigi Hadid, Bella Hadid, Chrissy Teigen, Shay Mitchell, and Jessica Alba just to name a few...
It's clear from thumbing through Instagram that he's imparted this wisdom to his clientele and now it's ours for the taking. Brace yourself, because this is practically Studio Art 101.
The Red Theory
Every time Ta uploads a photo of one of his clients, he heads to the color editing section of Instagram, chooses the red color, and adds a subtle vermilion tint to the image. What does this do exactly? It enhances the overall warmth AKA increases the bronze-y glow, color intensity, and overall💥. In other words, it's a MAGIC HOUR LIGHTING hack.
Unabashedly intrigued, I decided to give the technique a try on one of my older selfies. And suffice it to say, I now have uploader's regret for the original. This is a game-changer. Albeit a sly, nearly undetectable one.
For the "After" photo above, I took the original image and increased the redness by 20. It's not a *major* difference, one that you can only really appreciate in a side-by-side, but I like it that way. Because what good is a selfie if it's 100 percent obvious you edited it, right? Riiiiiight, John Mayer (opens in new tab)?
View more of Ta's gorgeous face-beat-and-filter work below:
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