How did you author the photo you recorded for upload to Instagram?
For this weeks photo, I wanted to capture a photograph of good design. I mentioned to Elaine earlier in the week that I think headphones are so innovative and feel that, as users, we have taken this design for granted when interacting with the [object] (Norman 2008, para 6). I find the shape of headphones to be quite strange. They fit perfectly around the human head and the ear muffs hug our ears simultaneously. Gravity is also a major contributor for the success of headphones.
I asked my boyfriend to model for me in this image. I took this photo with his iPhone 11, because I think the quality is so much better than my iPhone 7. I used ‘portrait’ mode to capture this image because it focuses on one main part and blurs the remainder of the image. I tried to remain as still as possible when taking this image and pressed focus on the side of the headphone. I took roughly 15 images.
I want to experiment with different Instagram tools for each making media post. Therefore, I decided to upload two images in this post, using the multiple image upload option.
I chose one image of Ryan wearing the headphones from behind, and one from the side. To keep in theme with my two previous posts, I put the Lux up to 10 on both images. Additionally, I applied the Aden filter to both. Important to note that image 1 required the Aden filter to be put on 50 instead of the usual 30, as it didn’t take to the image well. Manovich describes Instagram cohesion as being part of the “aesthetic society” (Manovich 2016, p.1) and I want to embody this within my posts.
Instagram’s multi-select image mode and editing tools
Applying the Aden filter to the images
How did you publish the photo you recorded for upload to Instagram?
I posted this image to my Instagram account on the 24th of February. I used the caption ‘Beats by Affordance’. Thankfully, the resolution of my image was not compromised, in comparison to my last making media video.
This week’s post has made me realise that the Instagram editing tools are extremely unpopular in the eyes of their users. I forgot the name of a certain tool and tried to look it up on google under ‘Instagram editing tools’, and hundreds of third party editing apps came up instead. It appears that most people edit photos in third-party apps such as VSCO in addition to the basic Instagram app (Manovich 2016 p.4), which isn’t necessarily a bad thing considering the subpar editing tools that Instagram offers.
How did you distribute the photo you recorded for upload to Instagram?
I distributed the photo again through Facebook and Twitter through the in-app distribution options, which make it a lot quicker to post. I added the hashtags #beats #iPhone11 and #gravity because I know that Beats by Dre and the iPhone 11 are trending at the moment and could potentially garner more likes on my post. Moreover, I could see that iPhone11 hashtag was more popular than the generic iPhone hashtag, so I also took this into consideration.
Due to the continual technical difficulties on my Twitter account, the phone was not uploaded correctly and I had to manually upload it myself. This constraint is not too time consuming though – but I am obviously used to having things done instantly as a tech-savvy millennial.
My photo before it was published to Instagram, including ease of cross-platform distribution:
My Instagram photo distributed on Twitter:
My Instagram photo distributed on Facebook:
References:
Manovich, L 2016, ‘Instagram and the Contemporary Image’, University of San Diego, USA, pp. 1-4,24-113, viewed 20th February 2020 <http://manovich.net/index.php/projects/designing-and-living-instagram-photography>
Norman, D 2008, ‘Affordance, conventions and design (Part 2)’, Nielsen Norman Group, viewed 24th February 2020, <http://www.jnd.org/dn.mss/affordance_conv.html>