Photo Friday- It's OK to be Square!

I have a confession to make.  I love Instagram!  Those square photos and all of those filters are just so fun!  I love turning an ordinary photo I took with my phone into a little work of art.  Sometimes it's easier to be creative when you don't have a lot of space to work with.  Plus, my phone is always with me and my DSLR is not.  That means I can capture things I normally wouldn't.  In fact I've recently been taking more pictures with my phone than my 'real' camera!  That really isn't good since I just upgraded my DSLR!  I really need to change that.   

So why is me loving Instagram something I feel guilty about?  If you know me and my photography style I like to keep things simple.  I don't like to do a lot of photo editing for these reasons:

1. It can take a lot of time.  I've read through some tutorials and blogs and some people spend hours working on their photos!  I just don't have that kind of time.  I could make the time I suppose but with four little dudes to take care of I've got other things to do.
2. Sometimes I feel like people change their pictures too much with Photoshop and other photo editing software.  The end result looks awesome don't get me wrong, but it's not the picture that was taken.  I've played around with Lightroom and my photos looked awesome but I didn't feel like they were 'my' photos anymore. 
3. I just don't know how to do it.  Plain and simple.  I know how to lighten shadows, adjust color, and other simple things.  Anything more complicated than that and I'm in the dark. 

Now this doesn't mean that I don't edit my photos.  Sometimes I do, but it's usually really simple and has to do with what I mentioned in #3 above.  It doesn't take me long.  I love to turn photos black and white or give them just a hint of color.  Simple things.  I figure if I don't get it right out of the camera I need to work on my photography skills a little more.  Maybe I'm a little square by not using all these tools at my disposal.  Maybe I just like things simple.  Maybe I'm a little old school.  Maybe I should take a Photoshop class. 

And that's why I sometimes feel guilty that I love Instagram.  It doesn't follow my normal photography style.  That's OK though.  It helps me be creative in a new way.  Maybe it will change my 'real' photography and maybe it won't.  For now though I'm happy being square and I'm going to continue to enjoy my square photos.  I'm even trying out a photo a day challenge by Fat Mum Slim.  It makes me think outside the box (which is hard for me sometimes).  It's also fun to see what all the other people come up with.  We all think so differently!

Thanks for letting me get that out there.  If you want to see my photo a day progress you can click the Instagram link on the left sidebar of my blog (it's the blue square camera).  If you are a fellow Instagram user follow me and I challenge you to give the photo a day challenge a try.  It really is fun!

I'll leave you with a few of my favorite Instagram photos so far from January.  Thanks for stopping and I hope you have a very square day!   

Something beginning with 'T'

Two things

Cotton candy sky (not from the photo a day challenge)

Water

Street