The thing about 'Instagram' that has kept me distant up until a few weeks ago is the simplicity of editing and altering existing photographs. I use an app called 'Hipstamatic,' this program is still designed to work like a regular camera-- you are required to choose a type of lens/flash and couple this with a type of film. That being said, you need to know what film used with a particular lens will give you the desired effect. In 'Instagram,' this all happens on the back-end (in post-processing) and thus requires less thought and planning to create an interesting feeling or effect. This, of course has opened the world to a base version of mobile 'photoshoping' and has created a world of altered images that has become standard across the web. Now, Im not saying this is a problem-- it's just another tool to create 'inspiring' imagery. However, it does take us one step farther away from 'tinkering' with film-stock. Different cameras and even using plastic lenses or houses with known light-leaks, expired film and cross-processing has been lost over time-- stolen from us by quick-filters and frames, the classic way of shooting has taken a back-seat.
An example of this change has become evident in family photography. A few decades ago, a photographer was required to have the talent and technical know-how to capture a crisp, correctly exposed image, process this and be able to print-- all within a range of quality expected from someone calling themselves 'professional.' Today, however, the 'professionals' shooting, slapping filters and cheep lens-flairs on their images are the ones receiving the work. The concept of real 'quality' in technical imagery is being overlooked and becoming overshadowed by bad exposures, poor lighting and cheesy filter-effects. I won't deny, there are many 'Instagram' and app-base images that I enjoy and consider to be inspiring. Somewhere along the line I hope we can find a balance between delivering entire wedding portfolios over filter apps and producing work that is inspired by concept, quality and the desire to truly create the perfect image 'in-camera' and not 'fix' or alter the hell out of it later.
Below, I have included three images that were photographed using a digital SLR and then altered using various apps like 'Mextures,' 'PS Express' and 'Instagram.' The idea here, was to make them look as if they had been photographed with a film camera like a 'Hasselblad' and processed in a standard chemical darkroom.
left: Rehoboth Beach, Delaware (2005)
middle: Oklahoma (2007)
right: Monument Valley, Utah (2011)
Personally, I have enjoyed using 'Instagram' and playing with some of the filters. To really make these images 'pop,' other photo apps can be used to layer effects, adjust colors, contrast etc. To get the most out of each image, one program isn't enough (not for me)-- each one offers a little something else and the base filters in 'Instagram' do a good enough job of 'altering' the image look but lacks other things I miss about classical film photography-- think light-leaks, dust, scratches, emulsion and so forth...
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