Photography on Instagram

With digital illustration covered last week, I’ll be using today’s blog post to explore photography’s presence on Instagram. With photography, the individual photos themselves can be considered works of art depending on the artists’ intentions. Additionally, photography can also be utilized to capture and share other art forms.

With Instagram, most posts are unsurprisingly made up of photos captured by its users. However, only a selection of said posts is actually composed of photography that is being used as an art form. Though it can be argued that all forms of photography are art in their own ways, I am more so referring to instances in which the medium is deliberately used to frame subjects with artistic intentions in mind. For example, when looking at the two images below, it is fairly clear that the right was likely taken to share a moment in time that was spontaneously captured by the poster. On the other hand, the left photo was clearly framed with careful attention to the subjects placement, environment, and lighting.

by @carlosrojasfotographis

by @ang_k0

In addition to capturing human subjects and natural/everyday environments, photography is also a useful tool that allows artists to capture and share the works they created using alternate media. Some of the most common examples I’ve come across are illustrations that were captured after being produced with physical tools. The manner in which these artworks are presented can vary quite drastically, as the additional element of photography allows artists’ to frame their creations in limitless ways. Some may choose to flatly present their work in a similar fashion to digital illustrations, while others might capture it in a dynamic angle that shows off more of the work’s surroundings. A common trend on Instagram is to also include the tools that the artist used to produce the art.

by @oak.lettering.

by @ guardadosemguardanapos

Of course, the art captured by photography goes beyond the covered topics. Additional art categories that commonly receive representation through photography on Instagram include street art, body art, fashion, sculpting, architecture, and decor.