If one of your New Year’s resolutions is to break up with Instagram, you’re not alone. Like any relationship coming to an end, you’re likely conflicted about what to do because you’ve had a good run with Instagram and are feeling a little bit nostalgic. This is perfectly normal and a great time to figure out how to preserve your instagram memories.
For the record, I don’t intend to break up with Instagram but I feel that the innocence of what was once billed as a “fun, quirky way to share your photos” is over for good. The TOS kerfluffle was a bit of a wake up call to many. I’ve always had a presence on other platforms, and this coming year I’m focusing on EyeEm, and committing to build a presence on Flickr, and 500 Pix.
I recently tested out a few services that do cool things with your instagram photos. I’ve long been a user and fan of Sincerely’s Postagram App and think it is a nice analog touch and allows you to share your travel photos with old school postcard charm. Postagrams are particularly well suited for children too young to follow your social media streams (I send them to my god children) and older generations who are not too tech savvy (I send them to my mother, who doesn’t use a computer).
Printsagram is a service that makes beautiful high-quality prints and other cool items like calendars and stickers from your instagram photos. I’m a big fan of their squares and mini-squares which are super high quality. I’ve started giving them as gifts to friends as sort of limited mini-fine art series. I particularly like using them as bookmarks for travel books. It’s nice to see your images printed and well worth $12 price for a set of 48 2.5’ by 2.5’ mini-squares or 24 square 4×4 prints.
Printsagram tip: these images need to remain in your instagram feed a few days before being printed, so don’t wait until right before you delete your account (if that is what you intend to do). Start the process now.
Printsagram squares of my trip to the Resort at Paws Up in Montana
Printsagram is a service that makes beautiful high-quality prints and other cool items like calendars and stickers from your instagram photos. I’m a big fan of their squares and mini-squares which are super high quality. I’ve started giving them as gifts to friends as sort of limited mini-fine art series. I particularly like using them as bookmarks for travel books. It’s nice to see your images printed and well worth $12 price for a set of 48 2.5’ by 2.5’ mini-squares or 24 square 4 x4 prints.
Here are some mini-squares I had printed from Printsagram
I hadn’t heard of the Mosaic app until a friend brought it to my attention, and I’m glad he did. Of all the print-it-from your iPhone options I’ve checked out, Mosaic wins for quality, presentation and ease of use. Mosaic photo books cost $20, but their superior packaging and layout easily trump the other services I tested.
Mosaic easily wins on the presentation and packaging front
For my test run, I made a Mosaic photobook after my recent trip to French Polynesia and loved the results. The one con: for now, you have very little control over the way the images in the eponymous mosaic get laid out. The results are nice, but control freaks will find this feature a bit annoying. I suspect there will be more control available in future updates.
The paper quality and binding in my Mosaic photobook are all top-notch
My biggest complaint about Mosaic: the “mosaic” cover doesn’t allow much control over what images are used or how they are laid out
While I would have laid these images out differently on the cover if I had the control, Mosaic’s random generator didn’t totally suck.
Keepsy makes nice little pocket book photo albums (along with other items) from your instagram photos starting at $17.25. The interface is simple to use and you have options over things like the color of the paper and captions. I made test books using my summer photos and one dedicated to my trip to The Resort at Paws Up. I was happy with the results, although I found the binding to be a bit visually unappealing and not as high quality as I would like. But these cute little photo albums are nice ways to remember a trip or an event.
Keepsy Pocket photobook I made from my trip to Paws Up
Keepsy photo books have paper with a nice finish, but the binding is a bit too tight and unattractive.
Casetagram, also now in available as an app
If you’re a mobile photography purist, then the one place you really want your mobile photography images is on right on your phone. Casetegram allows to turn your instagram and Facebook photos into a one-of-a-kind case to swag out your iPhone for $34.95. You can choose layouts and designs from others, too. The interface allows quite a bit of control over the design. While I like my casetagram, I find it’s two-piece construction awkward and difficult to take on and off (which is necessary if you use add-ons like an Ollo-Clip.) If you rarely take your iPhone out of it’s case, casetagram might be the option for you.
Mobile Photography Tip: Freethephotos allows you to migrate your Instagram images to your Flickr account in a just a few clicks. I’m trying it out today.