Why are square photos popular again?
Asked 12/2/2015
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2 answers
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I’m seeing a lot more square photos online and in social apps. Cameras have long used rectangular image formats, so why does the square format seem popular again? Is it mainly because of phones and social media, or are there older photographic reasons people like square images?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
10y ago
2 Answers
43
Square photos are not new, but given our mobile world, they have a unique benefit: they look the same whether viewed in landscape or portrait. Given that smartphones are normally used in portrait orientation, its no surprise that most photos are taken this way as well. However, this leads to odd viewing on landscape-first devices, like TV and PCs.
By taking square photos, they look natural no matter the device being used to view. It could almost be considered the universal photo ratio.
Whether most people contemplate this, or find that 'square just looks better' is hard to say. I suspect most like it because its what the cool folks do: Instagram, Hipstamatic etc.
Originally by user4880. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user4880
10y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
Square photos aren’t new at all. The format has a long history in photography, especially in medium format film such as 6×6 cm, and square or near-square compositions have been used professionally for a very long time.
What feels “new” is the recent resurgence of square images online. A big reason is mobile and social sharing: square photos display consistently in both portrait and landscape viewing, so they’re easy to view on phones, tablets, computers, and TVs without feeling strongly tied to one orientation. Social platforms—especially Instagram in its earlier years—also made the square format highly visible and fashionable, which helped popularize it again.
So the popularity is likely a mix of both:
- an old, established photographic format
- practical display benefits on modern devices
- social-media influence and trends
Some people may also simply prefer the look of square compositions, but from the answers here, mobile viewing and Instagram-style sharing seem to be the main reasons for its recent visibility.
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