The rise of the nostalgia trend
Light leaks. Grain. Rich colors. Little red date in the bottom left or right corner. Purple and green shadows. Sounds (looks) familiar?
Disposable camera aesthetic, as well as analog aesthetic in general is making a big comeback in photography and social media. Some users have their whole Instagram feeds full of photographs taken with the HUJI cam. Others edit their photos to add grain, light leaks and film-like borders, while reducing the quality. Why is this the case? Why do users purposely want to make their photographs look like they’ve been taken with an old film camera or a disposable camera? Especially when we have an outstanding camera right in our pockets — on our smartphones?
It’s because of the feeling. The feeling of nostalgia. We all remember the times when taking a photograph was a special moment. We used to have photo albums and actually look at the photographs. And now? Our camera rolls are filled with irrelevant, unintentional photographs that we do not even look at. I mean sure, we post some of them on Instagram or some other social media platform, but that’s about it. Most of them end in our camera rolls forever.
With the rise of nostalgia trend online, especially on social media, it has motivated some users to learn about film photography and the whole process which has a different core concept compared to digital photography we are all used to: you take the photograph, you don’t know how it came out and you can see it a few days or weeks later, depending on when it is developed (and scanned).
Now, does that mean you have to go dig in your grandma’s basement to try to find an old film camera and shoot some film? Of course not. Well, you can if you want to. But you don’t have to. There are plenty of analog emulation software and film camera applications on the app stores that will give you the similar look and experience (to some extent). It is not the goal that it looks exactly like film, the emotion is what matters. That nostalgia feeling that we all love so much, the feeling of home.
Embracing the imperfections
The analog photography style brings with itself something very interesting and very strange for social media world: imperfections. Whether it is in the form of light leaks, exposed borders, dust, or just an imperfect composition or blurriness, the fact that that is the single photograph that we took makes it special. The analog photography style requires you to embrace the imperfections. This is exactly what the social media world needs.
No editing
One of the things that differentiates film photography from digital photography is the fact it does not have to be edited. No filter has to be added because the film stock that is being used is acting like a filter. This trend has transferred to social media as well. Photographs taken with the HUJI cam or some other retro camera application have specific colors and do not have to be edited. This has motivated and inspired users to take the photographs and post them as they are. This is a small step in a good direction when it comes to accepting imperfections.
Living in the moment
The social media and digital world in general have brought some problems with them: users have a different life on social media and tend to show only the happy moments. Some of them even forget to live in real world and only live to show off on social media. The nostalgia trend has brought another positive thing: people are living in the moment again. Instead of worrying how the photograph will turn out, they can finally enjoy in the moment.
Film community on social media
With companies like Kodak bringing some of their iconic film stocks back and the rise of social media, it is no surprise that the film community is growing. More and more users have the opportunity to see film photographs on social media and connect with film photographers. Also, the modern technology has allowed the photographers to share their analog work online, which couldn’t be possible before.
Retro everything
Retro style is not coming back only in the form of photographs, we can also see it in the design of user interface, graphic design, fonts, colors, and concepts that are being used in digital marketing and creative campaigns in general.
When it comes down to it, the nostalgia trend is not just about the aesthetics. It also brings much needed good values and feelings to the social media world. We can only hope it will continue to go in that direction and that there might be another trend like this soon. So, let’s go shoot some (digital) film?
