Brandon Woelfel: Thinking Outside the Instagram “Box”
Brandon Woelfel is a photographer based in New York, and has an Instagram following of three million, and is very active on the Instagram app. Brandon has been on the platform since 2016 and has built his portfolio and his signature style on this digital media platform. If you have ever been on Instagram and seen fairy-lights or hair flips then you may have seen some of Brandon’s work. The wide reach of Instagram has helped Woelfel’s career and allowed for more growth within his account. Although Instagram is great for sharing art, it inhibits the creativity of expressing art on the app. However, Brandon Woelfel has found a way to think outside the “box” and immerse his audience in his art making process through the story feature within the Instagram app.
The format of Instagram is very two-dimensional and only allows for certain dimensions to fit within the perimeters of each post. For instance, the optimal dimensions of the platform are 1080 pixels wide by 566–1350 pixels high. This limits how a person can post, and shape how one might create content for that app. Brandon has created much of his work with theses dimensions in mind with regard to how his work will show up on Instagram. Woelfel shoots all of his posts horizontally and has created this pattern of continuation of white bars that separate each tier of three images on his page. This constraint imposed by Instagram has literally shaped art to fit in a digital space, by having photographers, like Woelfel, be consciously aware of how they conceptualize their work.
With creativity being left to fit into a digital box, one might wonder if there would be anything to help foster a sense of creativity on the app? Looking at the interface of Instagram, there are several components that help the user navigate the platform. When on the app you are brought to the feed portion, which is represented on the white bar at the bottom of the screen with the house icon. There you will notice there are several other icons, magnifying glass- to search for other accounts, plus box- to post content within the app, the heart-to track your likes and comments, and the rounded profile picture that takes you to your profile. If I were to click on Brandon Woelfel’s profile even more elements of Instagram would unravel.
Looking at Woelfel’s profile, there are several elements to help foster individuality and add personal touches to his account. These components consist of a description of who Brandon is at the top of his page, and links to other mediums he uses to display his work. However, the most important feature is the capability to post a story on Instagram. When posting a story on Instagram the dimensions have changed from the “box” to the whole screen of the smartphone. Other features are also introduced, like incorporating memes, adding text, being able to doodle with the pen tool, using music, making a boomerang, and also going live. This hidden gem within Instagram allows the user to add to their story and create memories, later producing a collection of highlights of things that are important to their account. This is where Brandon thinks outside the box and uses this tool to help showcase a digital narrative about his process and share multiple facets of his life, the gear he uses and his behind the scenes of his photography. This is something, if used in a creative way, can elevate the experience the audience partakes in and this is where Woelfel excels.
Woelfel does an extensive breakdown of his art making process and has specific highlights that are both interactive and insightful. It’s as though Woelfel is presenting a master class in photography, but doing so digitally through Instagram Highlights. Viewing Brandon Woelfel’s Instagram account, you can see each highlight represented in circular shapes each being titled differently, Gear I Use, BTS, Tap to Edit!, Wallpapers, Camera Settings, Location/Photo, It Me. These icons, each showcase different side of Woelfel’s work and how he shot and edited his images to be showcased on is profile. For instance, on the BTS highlight you can follow Woelfel to certain locations and see how he posed his models and the angles at which he took the photograph. Not only does Woelfel take you behind the scenes, he also shows his personal editing style by having interactive before and after, which allows audiences to edit images with the tape of their fingers! It’s the subtle details that help the audience appreciate the art being displayed, even if there is the limitation to it being presented when you post on Instagram.
There is no doubt that Instagram is constricting the art viewing process, with most of the people using the app on their smartphones it’s hard to fully capture the essence of any artwork you see in online in contrast to visualizing the same art in person. Woelfel understands this element, and where Instagram lacks in presentation he makes up for in immersion in terms of giving more detail to how he produces his work. With limitations on how Instagram shows art , its essential for artists using the app to find a way to share their artwork and process of creating such works on the platform in an innovative way, mush so like Woelfel is doing within his account.
Instagram has allowed people to view and consume more art than ever before, but how is that art being presented and is this the best format for such art? With social media growing and more and more people using the app it’s understandable for certain artists to use the app to display their work. However, there needs to be more innovation when presenting art on the platform, and Woelfel has found a way to utilize the story feature within the Instagram app to add creative displays of his work. Instagram will always be constricting, in terms of creativity and personal touches, and it’s for that reason why artists have to think outside the Instagram box. Finding ways to immerse people in their content using the other features that are hidden within the app.
