What is unusual is that before Instagram, many of these well-followed photographers had done little to no street style photography in their portfolios.
“I started using Instagram about two weeks after it launched in the App Store and just fiddled around with pictures of my family and friends,” says Anthony Danielle, who publishes images (right) of stylish New Yorkers to some 18,000 followers under the pseudonym takinyerphoto. “I’d see other people doing street work and thought, ‘I could do that,’ and I just started taking pictures of people on the street.”
The app, coupled with the iPhone’s portability and capable camera, has encouraged Danielle to take up a hobby he had never before considered. Even the darkest and least remarkable photos are transformed into art with Instagram’s and Camera+‘s filters, he says.
Similarly, Thomas Kakareko (thomas_k) of Berlin “had nothing to do with photography” before he downloaded the app earlier this year, he says. He began exchanging photos with friends before realizing that street photography was his calling. He now publishes a stream of high-contrast, black-and-white images (left) that could be mistaken for vintage film noir stills, which he posts exclusively to his 13,000+ followers on Instagram.
Although both Danielle and Kakareko are fans of Instagram’s filters, both cite Instagram’s community as the key to their success — and their addiction.
Instagram’s community is “unlike any other I’ve ever encountered … [because] mostly everyone is willing to help and share construc tive opinions about your...
