“Instagram is used in hundreds of different ways by its hundreds of millions of users…This single platform medium is remarkable development in the history of modern media.”Ā (Manovich, L 2016, pp.11)
How did you author the photo you uploaded to Instagram?
To keep my blogs diverse, I had decided that my first two pieces of media, that I would create for Assignment 3, would be authored entirely through Instagram. I used the rear-facing camera on my iPhone XR and used the tool provided by Instagram to capture the photo.
I will admit, it was a bit of a struggle to get the shot. The Netflix logo doesn’t appear on the tv for very long so I had a very short amount of time to get the photo right. Due to Instagram only providing a square format, it was difficult to firstly get the entire remote in the shot and then secondly to keep the focus on the remote rather than the background. Once you’ve taken the photo, the software immediately takes you to the editing process but if you decide that you’re not happy with that particular photo you can go back to the camera but you will lose the previous photo. Instagram automatically saves all photos taken through its platform to the camera roll in your phone so you can get the photo back but you would need to switch over to the Library tab – it is important to note that although the photos are taken in square format through the platform, they are saved into your camera roll as a full length rectangular photo. As I mentioned above, I wanted to create this weeks media entirely through the app so I didn’t use this to my advantage which meant that itĀ took me about five attempts before I had taken the photo I wanted.
I had taken the photo without the flash on so the photo was already quite dark but I wanted to give it more of a cosy vibe so I chose to add the Gingham filter as it softened the background features. I then altered the contrast toĀ make the dark areas darker and the bright areas of the photo brighter, however I still didn’t have the desired affect so I then decreased the brightness until I felt I had achieved the result I wanted.
How did you publish the photo you uploaded to Instagram?
I took the photo the same day that I uploaded it, in fact, the whole process took me about 10 minutes. I had a clear idea of what I wanted to create and publish so choosing and editing the photo was a breeze.
I have used this remote plenty of times and not once did I think about how easy it was to get to access Netflix but as Donald Norman states, āgood design is hard to noticeā (Norman 1998, p.1). So,Ā I chose to caption the photo with a hallelujah emoji and a simple sentence; ‘Netflix is only a click away’. I did this in reference to the required topic of good and bad design. I also added relevant tags: #gooddesign, #netflix, #remote, #smarttv and #cosyhome.
How did you distribute the photo you published on Instagram to other social media services?
As mentioned above, I used multiple tags to distribute this photo further across the network, this means that anyone across the platform who searches these particular tags will have access to this photo. Ā I used the same principle when I Ā geo-tagged Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Instagram offers users the ability to share posts across other platforms when the content is initially being posted and also after it’s been posted. I chose to share this photo when I was posting it and I shared it to my Twitter and to my Tumblr accounts.
References:
Manovich, L. 2016, āIntroduction: āInstagram Platform as a Mediumā, Instagram and the Contemporary Image, University of San Diego, USA., pp. 9-18.
Norman. D, 1998, āThe Design of Everyday Thingsā, Basic Book, New York, pp.vii-xv; 1-13; 81-87; 177-186.