Sunday, August 7, 2011

http://instagr.am/

Urban Dictionary's definition of the Instagram app for iphone:


1.Instagram

Every hipster's favorite way to make it look like they take really classy pictures when really they are still using their phones. Yeah, you might look really cute/old school/vintage/retro, but it's still a cell phone picture.
Photographer: Hey man, look at this picture I took with my Canon 5D Mark II camera and edited in photoshop!
Hipster: No way man, look at this picture that I took on my phone with instagram! It's even better!
Photgrapher: *FACEPALM*
Let's face it.  Whoever invented the Instagram is probably very rich.  It capitalizes on nostalgia, and with over 4 million users, apparently we have A LOT of it (and hipsters).  I haven't been up close and personal with the program too much, but the instant results are often phenomenal.  From what I see around town, it can make an otherwise horrible picture not so bad, and it can make a great picture amazing.

There are also similar programs on other operating systems, but it seems like the name Instagram rolls off of the tongue in the same vein as the Kleenex, or the Xerox machine  (let me know if you think of any others).  If you want to take a snazzy picture with your phone, no matter the program, I bet you'll call it an Instagram.  Call it a PicPlz and you might get a funny look.  Call it an instagram, and we'll all understand.  I have a feeling that as long as there are camera phones, this will be the case.

Unfortunately, my downfall is that I don't have Instagram!  I don't even have a smart phone.  And the sad truth is that I DO KNOW WHAT I AM MISSING.  I am missing out on an opportunity of instant camera gratification magnified past that of the digital camera.  With Instagram, photos "instantly" look like they came out of a time capsule, or your grandmother's photo album.  This is something that not having the app inhibits me from doing, but nonetheless, I still strive to recreate the look in Photoshop.

So I give you, in no particular order, my version of Instagram photography- a picture taken from a digital camera and manipulated in Photoshop. We don't want to make anymore poor photographers facepalm, do we?









I think the hardest part about trying to replicate an Instagram in Photoshop is trying to make to photo borders.  If anyone has a good technique on how to do this, I would love to know!  I was just sort of testing different things out, as you may be able to see in the pictures.

These pictures came about when I was helping my cousin in law move a couple of weekends ago.  I plan on doing more cool picture posts of all of the crazy things I do around Los Angeles on the weekend.  So much fun!




9 comments:

  1. I actually am not a fan of "fake" polaroid/vintage photos! You can always tell when they aren't actually taken with an old-school film camera. Wish I could afford a polaroid camera!

    x Michelle | thefeatherden.net

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  2. I never grew up with a polaroid camera so I guess I don't really know what it's like. I DID however, grow up looking at TONS of pictures from the late 70s and early 80s (baby pictures of my sister and I). To tell you the truth I agree with you in that you can never recreate the look completely. You'll probably always be able to tell if its not an actual vintage photo. Unfortunately the film camera and film processing is a dying art.

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  3. band-aid, bubble wrap, chapstick, dumpster, jello, ping pong, styrofoam. oh, and heroin.

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  4. Chapstick is a good one. Heroin? I don't think that's been trademarked...yet.

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  5. I <3 the picture of the red car. It reminds me of old school 1950s drive-in movies.

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  6. I'm a big film photography person, I rarely use digital but I don't overly have something against instagram, it's a cute way to get more people to take photos. x hivenn

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  7. I love instagram too!

    Easy retro photos at the click of a smart phone.


    Lots of love from Sydney,

    x Kel

    onto animated musings

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  8. hi Dee, i'm a huge fan of the instagram but woah, your recreations are amazing!!! well done lades, i wouldn't be able to tell the diff except that i actually dig yours better. nice one, way to make it work out. the laughing shot is EPIC! thanks a bunch for visiting me - happy weekend. ♥

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  9. Dee, I love Instagram (kinda obsessed really with it)- and even used my iPod touch to take photographs for my blog. Why? You could instantly edit the photographs! But to be honest, after a while you really cannot get the amazing results that you can with an SLR and Photoshop... so it is nwo left for twitter and capturing instant moments ;)

    PvdH

    www.ThePvdHJournal.com

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