Social media have the power to help people find their groups and niches, but did you know that filters do this too?
A recent study revealed that 90% of women use a filter on their photos before posting them online. Looking at these stats, it’s clear that social media filters play a massive part of how we interact online.
With just a few taps of the screen, it’s possible to completely change your look—whether this means giving yourself whiter teeth, smoother skin, more dramatic make-up, a whole new outfit, or dog ears and a nose. Digital transformation is as easy as choosing and using a filter.
How Do Filters Work in Social Media?
Digital filters are incredible. They can give you an entirely new face in real time. What’s more, as you move about, the filter tracks your face and keeps the look exactly where it should be.
The key to this is augmented reality and facial recognition technology.
The first player on the market to do this was Snapchat back in 2015. We all used those cute animals and cartoon-style faces for our videos!
The first step is facial recognition. The social media platform’s camera portion of the app needs to be able to clearly recognize a face in the image. This is nothing particularly new. Camera and smartphone manufacturers have been using facial recognition for tracking focus and changing exposure for years.
The next part of filter technology is augmented reality (AR). This is where the app gets really clever. In real-time, it lays the filter over the image that it’s seeing through the camera. This combines a virtual world with the real world that it’s seeing.
The two technologies combine to map out your face and layout where your features are in relation to each other. It then overlays the filter, augmenting your face, on those points. The really clever part is that facial recognition isn’t static. Instead, it tracks your movements so that the filter stays over your face. It also works in 3D so that you can turn your head from side to side and up and down.
5 Major Benefits Of Using Filters To Work Out Your Style
Now that we know a bit about how filters work, let’s see how you can use them to your advantage.
Filters are great for giving you a little pep for a video or picture on social media. You don’t have to worry about putting on makeup before you hit the record. The crazier filters can also add a whole new dimension to your social posts if you want to create a character.
There’s one other great way to use filters to your advantage, though—working out what your personal style is.
You can overlay filters of different makeup looks and hairstyles, and see what you like and what you don’t. Then, you can head out and make it happen in real life.
Here are some benefits of using filters in this way:
1. You Don’t Have To Commit To Changes
Usually, if you want to try out a new look, you have to go out and pay for it to happen. This can just mean purchasing new makeup that you try once and never use again. On the other end of the scale, it could mean a completely different haircut and color, only to find that it just isn’t you.
Instead, try out the look using a social media filter and see if it suits you. Record the video or take the pictures and look at them on your computer screen, or send them to friends for their thoughts on it.
2. There Are Millions Of Options At Your Fingertips
There are literally millions of filters across various social media platforms. TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat, and Facebook all have filter options.
You can try everything from Hollywood glamor looks through to full-on goth and emo looks. You can try out makeup looks only, new hairstyles, or entirely new looks. It’s even possible to see if a nose piercing or tattoo will look good on you.
3. It’s Incredibly Quick To Try Out The Choices
Social media filters apply almost instantly, so you can see immediately how it changes your appearance. Combine that with the millions of filter options and you can spend the whole day trying out new looks without any delay or commitment required.
4. You Don’t Have To Pay A Professional Stylist
Yes, you absolutely should pay a professional stylist if you want to make major changes to your look because they’ll do it better than you can. However, you don’t need to go to a stylist for their opinion or for them to build a new look for you.
You’ll save money because you can try out the different styles at home, for free. All you need is a social media account on a platform like Instagram or TikTok. When you’re ready to make the changes, you can head to a stylist.
5. You Can Get Great Reference Images For When You’re Ready To Make It Happen
Speaking of implementing the look, you’ll have some amazing reference images and videos when the time comes. You don’t have to go to a stylist with pictures of other people that you’ve found on the internet as inspiration. You can show them exactly how you want them to look.
The best part is, that you’ll have full 3D references. Once you’ve found the look you like the best, take photos or screen grabs of yourself from all angles with the filter on. This will give your stylist plenty to work with to get the look just right.
If it’s just a makeup look you want to try, you can take your reference images to a beauty counter or makeup store and ask the experts for product recommendations. They can look at the images and tell you how best to achieve the look in real life.
Even Professional Stylists Are Using Filters
Filters on social media are there to be used. Putting them to work to find your personal style is one of the best ways to use them. Even professional stylists are using filters and artificial intelligence (AI) to help their clients find a style that they love. It’s a quick, simple and cost-effective way to figure out your style with no risk.
* Written by Megan Hudson
Editor’s Note: The opinions expressed here by Fashinnovation’s columnists are their own, not those of Fashinnovation.
