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About a decade ago I used to have a Flickr account, and the fact that Flickr was a website originally built for desktop screens gave every photo its right space

About a decade ago I used to have a Flickr account, and the fact that Flickr was a website originally built for desktop screens gave every photo its right space and size, embedded in a relaxing UI, without erratic scrolling and liking (Flick's "like" functionality was never as addictive as Instagram's). I also used to have a Lomo film camera which I would take everywhere. I really liked the film developing process, having to wait for the photos (digital cameras we already prevalent of course), then uploading them to Flickr, always also printing the photos, knowing that they would remain somewhere even if the website would be taken down some day. The Flickr account is still active, and from time to time I like to visit it, and each time I'm surprised that the website still exists and that their interface is still pleasent and relaxing to use, despite recent redesigns. People dismissing these memories as nostalgia ignore the fact that smartphones had a profound impact on the way everything behaves. Instagram is not simply a "mobile Flickr", it's something profoundly different.

barrenko 5y ago
I have spent months 15 years ago browsing Flickr tags. Beautiful.
zabatuvajdka 5y ago
Instagram could be use as a “snapshot” of the real thing. If I were a photographer I would use it to hook folks into browsing the full version on my website (and buy prints if they’d like). The fact is, with huge DPI densities of photos the best way to view something is a very high quality print at scale. Real life > Flickr > Instagram (in terms of visual quality). The limitations of canvas form factor is a huge damper on visual arts. A square canvas is VERY different than a rectangular one, or a hexagonal one. But the humble square is perfect for instant grammification.
- user_named 5y ago
  Photography isn't about image quality.
  - Hoasi 5y ago
    Photography is more than just about image quality, but image quality matters a lot. In fact there are entire subfields in photography devoted to it.
- prawn 5y ago
  I'm a photographer on the side and I doubt many people end up on my site from Instagram: the funnel is just too awkward. I mostly found selling prints to be a bit of a waste of time - high touch, low return. Instead, I focus almost entirely on government entities or reasonably sized operators who will commission projects. I've had more commissioned projects than I've ever sold prints, and the former pay x0 times as much and are far more fun and interesting. But where your first point works is that in that mode, you don't need a lot of people visiting your site and getting in touch, you just need the few, right people. Met a photographer the other day who said he sold about three prints a week, with a margin per print of $150 (after framing, shipping, etc). A day rate for a commissioned job is likely to be $1-2k. Flickr and their ilk is where you meet other photographers. Instagram is where you get in front of people with photography budgets, IMO. I don't think many are putting squares on Instagram - it's almost all 4x5 in the main feed or 9x16 in Stories. Whatever fills more of the screen, at least in my industry. However, I shoot a lot of panoramas^ and resent that Instagram is such a terrible place to show them! ^ https://serio.com.au/show/panoramas/ https://serio.com.au/show/panoramas/
  - yesenadam 5y ago
    Hey, so many beautiful pics on your site! Really nice work. ..then I clicked on your name here.. you have 9 websites/businesses?! Arggh! How do you manage that?
    - prawn 5y ago
      Thanks! Not very well. For a long time, I struggled to focus on one thing, and eventually gave in to just do everything I wanted to do. There are definitely pros and cons, and I certainly neglect many of my projects. But it's making for an interesting life.
      - yesenadam 5y ago
        That sounds awesome! Best wishes. I hope to read your blog/book about that one day. Or see the documentary. p.s. Hi from Sydney.
  - 5y ago
- ghaff 5y ago
  >A square canvas is VERY different than a rectangular one I agree and I'm very much used to a ~35mm aspect ratio. That said, medium format film (120/220) was usually approximately square so it's not an objectively "bad" aspect ratio.
- seoulmetro 5y ago
  Instagram has stopped using square dimensions for a long time. In fact if you want to lose followers, you should maintain your photography dimensions and scale. If you don't post in "iPhone portrait" mode, you will soon disappear from the algorithm.
dreamcompiler 5y ago
I take most of my photos with a real camera. I'd love to share them on Instagram but Instagram has no UI whereby you can upload photos on the web; you have to transfer the photos to your phone first. Which is asinine. Or at least that's the way it was a few years ago when I looked into IG and gave up on it. Maybe it's changed, but it clearly doesn't cater to people with real cameras.
- throwoutway 5y ago
  FYI you can upload via the web now. Not that I’m encouraging you to use IG. I’m trying to use it less
  - Kihashi 5y ago
    How? The only method I'm aware of is using the browser's developer tools to spoof being a mobile device.
    - licyeus 5y ago
      It's a new feature (few months old). Look for the + icon in top nav. https://twitter.com/MattNavarra/status/1408068652495097862/photo/1 https://twitter.com/MattNavarra/status/1408068652495097862/p...
- masswerk 5y ago
  Not an Instagram user myself, but a trick I've picked up regarding Instagram on the desktop: Go to the developer tools of your browser and select a mobile view (in the responsive view options) – and there you are, on the mobile skin, including upload.
  - t0bia_s 5y ago
    IG was never made for photography, they never presented it as it should be.
  - seoulmetro 5y ago

barrenko 5y ago

I have spent months 15 years ago browsing Flickr tags. Beautiful.

zabatuvajdka 5y ago

Instagram could be use as a “snapshot” of the real thing. If I were a photographer I would use it to hook folks into browsing the full version on my website (and buy prints if they’d like). The fact is, with huge DPI densities of photos the best way to view something is a very high quality print at scale. Real life > Flickr > Instagram (in terms of visual quality). The limitations of canvas form factor is a huge damper on visual arts. A square canvas is VERY different than a rectangular one, or a hexagonal one. But the humble square is perfect for instant grammification.

user_named 5y ago
Photography isn't about image quality.
- Hoasi 5y ago
  Photography is more than just about image quality, but image quality matters a lot. In fact there are entire subfields in photography devoted to it.
prawn 5y ago
I'm a photographer on the side and I doubt many people end up on my site from Instagram: the funnel is just too awkward. I mostly found selling prints to be a bit of a waste of time - high touch, low return. Instead, I focus almost entirely on government entities or reasonably sized operators who will commission projects. I've had more commissioned projects than I've ever sold prints, and the former pay x0 times as much and are far more fun and interesting. But where your first point works is that in that mode, you don't need a lot of people visiting your site and getting in touch, you just need the few, right people. Met a photographer the other day who said he sold about three prints a week, with a margin per print of $150 (after framing, shipping, etc). A day rate for a commissioned job is likely to be $1-2k. Flickr and their ilk is where you meet other photographers. Instagram is where you get in front of people with photography budgets, IMO. I don't think many are putting squares on Instagram - it's almost all 4x5 in the main feed or 9x16 in Stories. Whatever fills more of the screen, at least in my industry. However, I shoot a lot of panoramas^ and resent that Instagram is such a terrible place to show them! ^ https://serio.com.au/show/panoramas/ https://serio.com.au/show/panoramas/
- yesenadam 5y ago
  Hey, so many beautiful pics on your site! Really nice work. ..then I clicked on your name here.. you have 9 websites/businesses?! Arggh! How do you manage that?
  - prawn 5y ago
    Thanks! Not very well. For a long time, I struggled to focus on one thing, and eventually gave in to just do everything I wanted to do. There are definitely pros and cons, and I certainly neglect many of my projects. But it's making for an interesting life.
    - yesenadam 5y ago
      That sounds awesome! Best wishes. I hope to read your blog/book about that one day. Or see the documentary. p.s. Hi from Sydney.
- 5y ago
ghaff 5y ago
>A square canvas is VERY different than a rectangular one I agree and I'm very much used to a ~35mm aspect ratio. That said, medium format film (120/220) was usually approximately square so it's not an objectively "bad" aspect ratio.
seoulmetro 5y ago
Instagram has stopped using square dimensions for a long time. In fact if you want to lose followers, you should maintain your photography dimensions and scale. If you don't post in "iPhone portrait" mode, you will soon disappear from the algorithm.

dreamcompiler 5y ago

I take most of my photos with a real camera. I'd love to share them on Instagram but Instagram has no UI whereby you can upload photos on the web; you have to transfer the photos to your phone first. Which is asinine. Or at least that's the way it was a few years ago when I looked into IG and gave up on it. Maybe it's changed, but it clearly doesn't cater to people with real cameras.

throwoutway 5y ago
FYI you can upload via the web now. Not that I’m encouraging you to use IG. I’m trying to use it less
- Kihashi 5y ago
  How? The only method I'm aware of is using the browser's developer tools to spoof being a mobile device.
  - licyeus 5y ago
    It's a new feature (few months old). Look for the + icon in top nav. https://twitter.com/MattNavarra/status/1408068652495097862/photo/1 https://twitter.com/MattNavarra/status/1408068652495097862/p...
masswerk 5y ago
Not an Instagram user myself, but a trick I've picked up regarding Instagram on the desktop: Go to the developer tools of your browser and select a mobile view (in the responsive view options) – and there you are, on the mobile skin, including upload.
- t0bia_s 5y ago
  IG was never made for photography, they never presented it as it should be.
- seoulmetro 5y ago