https://www.instagram.com/p/ByKpaWEJ8Gs/

1. How did you author (the photo) you recorded for upload to Instagram?

Similar to my last photo upload, the constraints of Instagram’s square camera format influenced the way I recorded the image, as this forced me to consider framing within the shot. To capture the image, I moved closer to the doorway to carefully position the doorway within the frame. I authored this photo using no flash, and the rear-facing camera in Instagram on my iPhone 6s plus. The original image was extremely dark due to the low light in the laneway, so I used Instagram’s image adjustment tools to alter the brightness, lower the highlights, and lessen the shadows to reveal more of the image. I considered also applying a colour filter within the app, however I felt the original colours suited the image quite well. Therefore, it required a lot of experimentation to decide on a final image to upload. I think I have also gotten used to authoring images using this method as the process was a lot faster this time around than the first few times uploading images on the platform.

2. How did you publish (the photo) you recorded for upload to Instagram?

After finishing my image adjustments, I took a break before uploading the image and saved it as a draft within the application. When I was ready to publish, I opened the image, added a caption and relevant hashtags, and included the location the image was taken (Hardware Lane). As the image was also taken in the same location as a previous photo post, I added “1/2” to the caption to show that it was part of a photo set in the same row. I feel that the layout of my posts overall has turned out the way I intended, as each row includes 2 photo posts with a video post in the centre. I think posting in this way makes this post stand out a little as it mirrors the accompanying photo post on the right side of the page.

3. How did you distribute (the photo) you published on Instagram to other social media services?

For this post I distributed my photo to my other social media accounts, Twitter and Tumblr, posting in a similar manner by sharing simultaneously to Twitter and uploading a linked post manually to my Tumblr blog. I’ve found that while posting on this account I was able to increase the amount of likes, followers and comments I received by using the linked accounts feature and hashtags on the site. This is definitely something I want to explore in my own media practice in the future, as I feel it will help me to expand my audience when creating content.

https://www.instagram.com/p/ByKnjgdgZt-/

1. How did you author (the video) you recorded for upload to Instagram?

 To author my video this week I decided to experiment with using the ‘start-stop’ touch feature to record multiple shots, using the Instagram video tool on my iPhone 6s plus. Similar to other video uploads, the doors I filmed were fairly well lit so I didn’t need to use flash to record. Using the rear-facing camera I pressed and held down to record each static shot. This took a few retries as I had some shaky recordings, but the multi-clip record allowed me to delete and rerecord these. Additionally, I found that the looping feature of Instagram worked to help these videos flow together well, as the framing and colours of each shot were similar. While authoring I also decided to keep the original audio of each video. To frame each door within the square camera interface, I moved so that they fit within the frame. I also chose a ‘cover’ frame as the preview picture for my video, which was one of the graffitied doors. I was able to achieve the look I wanted by adjusting the Gingham filter slider, and I didn’t alter much else before publishing. I found that one of the advantages of recording within the Instagram interface is that it allows you to easily string together several clips, which is something I would usually do in an external mobile app like Premiere Rush or iMovie when creating video Instagram content which saved me some time.

2. How did you publish (the video) you recorded for upload to Instagram?

I published the video to my Instagram after applying a filter, selecting a cover frame and preparing my caption. As the video depicted fire doors, I included a short caption that reflected on their purpose and how I came to record them. I also added the same group of hashtags used on my previous uploads to the caption (#door, #video, #melbourne etc.), adding a few new descriptors like #graffiti and #emergency. I also left the video settings to play the footage immediately and on repeat.

3. How did you distribute (the video) you published on Instagram to other social media services?

 I am continuing to distribute my posts on both my Twitter and Tumblr accounts, cross-posting to Twitter with every upload and manually posting my photos and videos to Tumblr alongside tags from the original post. The use of hashtags on several of these platforms has helped me to gain an audience (however small), which demonstrates their usefulness when it comes to distributing content. This post was fairly successful as it gained quite a few likes.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bx7pn4wpSF6/

1. How did you author (the photo) you recorded for upload to Instagram?

I took the photo of this blue door using the camera tool within the Instagram app, using the rear-facing camera on my iPhone 6s plus. With this upload, the square format in the Instagram app affected the way I framed the image, as I had to consider the most important element within the frame. In order to do this I moved closer to the door to capture both the door and the stickers on the pole beside it. I used the natural daylight to light the photograph, and altered the image using Instagram’s image adjustments tools. I wanted to make the blue of the door brighter, so to achieve this I applied the Clarendon filter. I also sharpened the image to make the details of the photo stand out. The authoring process was different to how I would usually author my own photography, as the framing constraints challenged me to approach my shooting in a different way.

2. How did you publish (the photo) you recorded for upload to Instagram?

To publish the image to my Instagram account, I finished editing the photo within the Instagram editor and continued to add a caption, a quote from Rebecca Ross that reflected the hidden nature of doors. I wanted to include a description that was unique but still relevant to the nature of the post. I also added a block of hashtags similar to my previous posts, both to describe the image and distribute it further. While publishing I added the location the photograph was taken in the Location section of the post.

3. How did you distribute (the photo) you published on Instagram to other social media services?

I distributed my photo to my other social media accounts, Twitter and Tumblr, to increase the viewership of my Instagram account. The hashtags I included in my Instagram caption have also drawn in new followers to my account. I shared the post to Twitter using the Share toggle and manually uploaded a linked post as usual to my Tumblr blog. I have also gained a few followers on my Tumblr blog as a result of using the tags within the service (the same as those on the original Instagram post).

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bx7nVgsApeD/

1. How did you author (the video) you recorded for upload to Instagram?

 This week I authored my video using my iPhone 6s plus rear camera to record my footage, with no flash. I found this different to recording within the Instagram interface as I did in Week 9, as I only had to tap a button to record my footage, instead of hold it down. I used one short, continuous take to capture my surroundings. While in my Photos app, I trimmed the video to a shorter length; as I am keeping in mind that shorter videos work well with Instagram’s format as it lets them loop on repeat. I also left the original audio so as to better capture the atmosphere and establish some consistency with my last video upload. Similarly, while authoring I chose a ‘cover’ as the preview picture, this time of the numbered door to emphasise it within the frame. To edit my video, I chose to use the mobile app Infiltr to add a video filter. To keep in consistency with the earthy colours of my last couple posts, I emphasised the green of the plants by boosting the green slider and lowering the saturation of the image within Infiltr. Though the original video was filmed in landscape, I cropped the video to match Instagram’s square format. While doing this I had to consider the most important part of the frame, and make sure the door was in view. This authoring process for video is something I am used to, as I usually edit my footage on external apps before uploading them to Instagram. In my next video upload however I would like to continue recording within the app like in my last video, with a focus on start and stop recording.

2. How did you publish (the video) you recorded for upload to Instagram?

I published the video to my Instagram after selecting it within the app, choosing a cover frame and typing a caption that fit the content of the video. As it was filmed in the same location as the previous photo I uploaded, I numbered it 1/2 so that the viewer knows it is part of a set of 2 pieces of media. As usual I also included a block of hashtags that described the upload such as #door, #video and #melbourne to attract users browsing these tags within the app. I left the settings so that the video would play automatically on loop, to show the contrast between the wooden door, and the garage roller door beside it during the pan across. I have also started to include locations in my Instagram uploads, so for this post I added the location it was shot to its Location section.

3. How did you distribute (the video) you published on Instagram to other social media services?

As usual, I distributed my video to my other social media accounts (Twitter and Tumblr). I posted simultaneously to Twitter using the Share toggle of the post and manually uploaded a linked post to my Tumblr blog, with the tags from my original Instagram post. The post was also distributed within the app using the hashtags I included within my caption. I have found that hashtags are actually pretty effective in distributing my content, and I’ve received a few followers since I’ve started posting to the account- I even got a comment on the post prior to this one (lol). Following users that share similar content (other door accounts) has also increased traffic to my account somewhat.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bx7esl7JkL2/

1. How did you author (the photo) you recorded for upload to Instagram?

To author my photo, I used my iPhone 6s plus rear-facing camera without flash, and chose my upload from a few different images. I found that this layout worked better to show the full environment of the doors I wanted to capture. This means that upload to Instagram, I had to consider how the image would fit into its new rectangle format. In my future photo uploads, I would like to see how I can work within the constraints of the square layout as well. I also moved some distance away from the doors to capture the entire scene. To edit the photo, I used Instagram’s image adjustment tools. I increased the warmth, sharpened the image, and used the ‘lux’ tool (the magic wand in the upper section of the editor) to apply auto correction to the image. Using the instagram app to author my image was a familiar process, as I often use the image correction tools on personal photos that I upload to Instagram. Occasionally I turn to other mobile editing applications such as Lightroom or VSCO to achieve a desired effect, so it was interesting to notice the differences in my editing process.

2. How did you publish (the photo) you recorded for upload to Instagram?

To publish the image to my Instagram account, I followed a similar process to my earlier video post. I included a caption detailing how I came across the doors I photographed, and used similar hashtags to describe the image. Some of the tags I used stayed the same, for example #iphone6s, #door, and #melbourne. As it is an image this time, I also included tags such as #photography and #streetphotography as well as some other descriptors, like #trees, building and #sun. To publish the photo, I continued with the photo I had chosen and used the rectangle format to fit within the size constraints of Instagram alongside the caption and hashtags I provided.

3. How did you distribute (the photo) you published on Instagram to other social media services?

Like my last post, I distributed my image to both my Twitter and Tumblr accounts. To post to Twitter I simply had the option to toggle to that platform enabled. To post to Tumblr, I manually uploaded a linked post to my Instagram account on my blog, accompanied by the tags from my original Instagram post. My Instagram hashtags are also helping to distribute my post within the app, so I received a few likes after posting the image.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bx7aFY0gE4m/

1. How did you author (the video) you recorded for upload to Instagram?

Before preparing to author my video, I decided to focus on a theme that would guide how I approached the Donald Norman quote. For my creative work I will be looking at hidden doors, which gives me the opportunity to seek out doors in a creative way. I also hope to structure my feed in a cohesive and structured way, possibly by alternating photo and video posts in each row. For this reason I posted a photo from the same location before this post to even out the row of 3.

I authored my video for this week using the Instagram video tool on my iPhone 6s plus, using the rear-facing camera and no flash. It was filmed in one continuous shot, so I simply pressed and held down to record the footage. This method of recording video within Instagram is interesting, as usually I just press the button once on my iPhone camera to record. Therefore it wasn’t something I was used to, but it wasn’t necessarily difficult. My rationale for using one shot was that I wanted to pan across to contrast the two doors to show the full view of the building. In future videos I upload, I would also like to explore the ‘start-stop’ touch feature to record multiple shots. I decided to keep the audio from the original video so as to capture some of the atmosphere in the street. Instagram’s square camera made it somewhat tricky to record video, as it obstructed part of my view of the environment. While this acted as a constraint it encouraged me to be more creative in finding the best angle to frame and record my environment. As part of my authoring process I also chose a ‘cover’ frame as the preview picture for my video, which was the ‘Open’ sign of the store. I found that Instagram doesn’t afford as many adjustments to video as it does photos in terms of filters, however I was able to achieve the look I wanted by adjusting the Gingham filter slider so that it wasn’t too intense. Overall the authoring process was quite different from how I would usually record video, as I had to consider the framing and staging of my shots more carefully.

2. How did you publish (the video) you recorded for upload to Instagram?

While preparing to publish the video to my Instagram account, I typed a caption that detailed my thoughts upon coming across this location. I also included a block of hashtags to be included in the caption of my upload. For example, I included basic descriptors like #door, #graffiti, #urban that were specific to the video, as well as groups and locations like #doorstagram, #melbourne and #iphone6s that would attract viewers interested in content to do with Melbourne, doors or IPhone videography. To publish the video, I simply continued with the video I shot within the app and posted this with the caption and hashtags I provided. The video also plays automatically as the default, which I find works well as the it loops between the two doors shown.

3. How did you distribute (the video) you published on Instagram to other social media services?

To distribute my Instagram posts to two other social media services, I linked my account to both Twitter and Tumblr. I also customized these pages with a link to redirect and boost traffic to my Instagram account. I found that while I could cross-post to Twitter with every Instagram upload, I had to upload the post manually to my Tumblr blog, as the blog I’m using is a side blog. This wasn’t too difficult as I’m able to upload links through Tumblr to direct users to my Instagram account. On Tumblr, I also copied across the tags from my original Instagram post to its tags section. The hashtags in my caption on Instagram also helped to distribute my post to a larger audience, so I was surprised at how quickly I started getting likes from different accounts.

Twitter: https://twitter.com/alexanxraz

Tumblr: http://hidden-doorway.tumblr.com