How are apps that imitate analog photography conquering the networks?

When we type ‘how to edit analog style photos’ in the search engine TikTok, the application gives us hundreds of tutorials that promise to teach the step by step to achieve this finish. In fact, one of the most popular videos It has more than 2 million views and close to 355,000 ‘Likes’.

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And it is that the fever for achieve that old effect, “of roll”, in digital photos, has become more and more popular among especially young audiences. Apps like Dazzcam, OldRoll and the mobile version of Lightroom are some of the popular tools that users use to give that retro touch to their photos. But how did this hobby for the use of applications that imitate analog photography arise?

The key factor behind the use of these apps: achieving the ‘aesthetic’

This phenomenon comes from a current called ‘aesthetic’ and it is closely associated with fashion and nostalgia, according to Juan Carlos Beltrán, an amateur photographer and part of the IgersPerú team, the largest Instagramer community in the country.

Translated into Spanish as ‘aesthetic’the Cambridge Dictionary defines the word as “relating to the enjoyment or study of beauty.” That is to say, what is pleasing in the eyes of peoplelike art.

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“This awakening of this vintage fashion has a lot to do with it, with all the vision that there is now, this discovery of young people who are out there. colors and textures that evoke something from the past which are basically those touches of analog colors”, Beltrán comments to El Comercio.

Thus, in search of the ‘aesthetic’, many resorted to the use of Applications which are cheaper and easier to use to get the same analog result.

OldRoll’s interface mimics the appearance of analog cameras. (Photo: screenshot, OldRoll)

“What these applications have done is collect those effects that were previously typical of a roll brand”, says Ricardo Choy-Kifox, photographer and professor at the Peruvian University of Applied Sciences (UPC). brand rolls Kodak or Fujifilm are now immersed in these apps. “You can find filters that give your photos half magenta, half greenish, which give it a ruined photo color at the time of the film”add.

And it is that they have not only imitated the warm colors of Kodak or the greenish tones of Fujifilm, but also some use the old defects of the roll and the paper to adapt it as a filter. That is to say, what was previously considered an error in analog photographs, has now come to be seen as aesthetic.

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OldRoll is one of them and has more than 5 million downloads in the Google Play store offering 50 cameras between free and paid. Using it is a simple task: just select the camera, capture the photo and the filter will be applied automatically.

There are others, such as the mobile version of Lightroom, in which it will be necessary for the person to have basic knowledge in editing to achieve the desired result. This has managed to achieve More than 100 million downloads in the Google Play store.

This is what a photograph captured with the OldRoll app looks like. (Photo: OldRoll)

Roll photography is not far behind

Although digital photography is advancing by leaps and bounds, the roll has found a way to resurface.

Through a Tweetthe brand Kodak revealed that it was hiring because the demand for rolls had “exploded” in recent years. In statements to the website specialized in photography Petapixel, the head of the brand’s photography division, Nagraj Bokinkere, pointed out that during the last 18 months they hired “to more than 300 people in the area of ​​chemical products and films”.

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There is one key factor that will never compete with the use of these apps: the experience of capturing photos with an original roll camera. Placing the roll, hearing the sound it makes when turning and taking the first shot are moments that make this practice special. “Analogue photography combines many things: feeling, technique, expertise, inspiration and artistic touches”adds Beltran.

The expert points out that before it was necessary to think carefully about the composition of the photograph and “clean” the shot, because the number of shots was limited. Now, on the other hand, it is enough to edit the photos in a program in case there is an error.

On the replacement of analog photography

For Juan Carlos Beltrán, these applications they would not be replacing the experience of capturing photos with an analog camera, but opening a window for those who are interested in this practice. “If you have access to being able to go back in time and enjoy an analog camera, well then welcome”points out.

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Choy-Kifox, for his part, believes that the applications imitate this finish and that in reality it has been digital photography that has replaced “90%” to roll photography”.

For the teacher, the problem goes in another direction: “Almost no one necessarily cares about taking a good photo anymore.” And it is that on certain occasions somethey just take pictures” that not many times end up being good and only stand out because they look good. “You stay looking at the photo for a long time and you realize that it is not a good one, that is, the original photo, and that you are only admiring the effect, that is, the result”add.

Source: Elcomercio