The Instagram Effect

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When digital point and shoot cameras first came on the market for mass consumption the world of photography was irrevocably changed. For this blog post I wanted to look at the more contemporaneous impact that technology has had, and presumably will only continue to have, on photography. The development of higher quality cameras in mobile devices had continued that change even further. People then began to have the ability to carry a camera around in their pocket to snap photos at their discretion and if they so chose send those photos via text or email to friends and family.

Then the phenomenon of the development of mobile photo-sharing applications like Hipstamatic, launched in 2009 and Instagram,launched in 2010, has had an impact on the world of photography. With the development of these ‘insta-share’ applications for mobile phones now people who seldom took pictures (ever) suddenly are documenting their daily life encounters, and continue to photograph the world around them on a daily basis, which may then lead to increasing and discovering a love for photography. “The sharing and communication functions of Instagram recall the telegram (as registered in the name) and the available filters cite familiar aesthetic modes of film-based photography. Instagram photographs are visually distinctive”  (Champion, 2012).   

 

Instagram has the ability to help photographers connect with an audience organically and offers different options for sharing such as creating parallel narratives with larger projects, sharing behind-the-scenes experiences, opening a dialogue with our audience, and cross-platform geo-tagging and mapping integration. The primary function of photography, in it’s original form of negatives developed on to paper, was to facilitate reminiscence; a theory can be seen across all different styles of photography from daguerreotypes and memento mori photographs. And Instagram perpetuates these ideas of nostalgia by making photos snapped on an iPhone camera look like a 1970s Polaroid, with one click to create that filter effect.  

                          

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It appears that in the opinion of some professional photographers and photojournalists, technology has taken the specialness out of photography and reduced it to a medium where it has become, paradoxically, a private memento shared in a public forum. Instagram and similar applications mark a shift in the relationship between the terms previously assumed to mediate between the personal, the private and the public (Champion 2012). Many photographers wonder if Instagram will continue to “feed the devaluation of photography as a craft and continue to contribute to the destruction of this field as a viable way to make a living” (Laurent, 2012). Meanwhile countless others have lauded and embraced Instagram as a platform that has allowed photographers to create a deeper connection with the public because it brings direct access to an audience..

In addition to how Instagram has changed the role of photography in society it is also changing the rules of photography as an art. Instagram has effectively created a new visual language in photography (Guttenfelder, 2014).  Many visual artists have problems with the Instagram phenomenon because it allows just about anyone (with a smartphone) to upload photos onto the app, add an effect, filter, and/or frame and call themselves a photographer. This kind of photo-snapping is considered an antithesis to photography which requires time and skill. Some photojournalists say that Instagram and similar applications are ruining photography- because it is destroying the integrity of quality images. Such as one art critic, Michael Glover wrote, "Photography has become so thoroughly prostituted as a means of visual exchange, available to all or none for every purpose under the sun (or none worthy of the name), that it is easy to forget that until recently one of the most important consequences of fearless photographic practice was to tell the truth about power" (Glover, 2012).

However, some institutions, such as the National Geographic have embraced Instagram and other photographers created accounts on Instagram because the app provided them with “opportunities to make photographs virtually at any moment and share them with the world” and then other users have the ability to get a glimpse of ‘behind the scenes’ of a photographers process in a slightly more accessible medium than say a blog post. (Laurent, 2012). The multitude of ways that content can be digitally displayed and distributed are critical for photographers in reaching broader audiences and finding more creative ways to engage their audience and in inviting them to participate in their process.

Works cited

 

Glover, Michael. “Photography: Lives through the lens.” The Independent. September 17, 2012, Accessed March 30, 2014. http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/art/features/photography-lives-through-the-lens-8142845.html

 

Laurent, Olivier. “The New Economics of Photojournalism: The Rise of Instagram.” The British Journal of Photography. September 3, 2012. Accessed March 30, 2014. http://www.bjp-online.com/2012/09/the-new-economics-of-photojournalism-the-rise-of-instagram/

 

Laurent, Olivier. “Shift in Power: David Guttenfelder on the impact and importance of smartphone

photography.” Fltr. February 4, 2014. Accessed March 31, 2014. http://www.fltrlive.com/2014/02/shift-in-power-david-guttenfelder-on-the-impact-and-importance-of-smartphone-photography/

 

Today’s Technology Leaving It’s Mark on Society. “Has Instagram Changed the World of Photography as We Know It?” January 30, 2013. Accessed March 31, 2014. http://sstaffor03.wordpress.com/2013/01/30/has-instagram-changed-the-world-of-photography-as-we-know-it/

 

Prives, Guy. “Instagram and it’s Impact on the World of Photography.” Digital Photography School. Accessed March 31, 2014. http://digital-photography-school.com/instagram-and-its-impact-on-the-world-of-photography

Champion, Charlotte. “Instagram: je-suis-la?” Philosophy of Photography. Volume 1 No. 3. 2012. Accessed March 31, 2014. http://cenestpas.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/Charlotte-Champion-Instagram-je-sui-la.pdf