A critically methodological approach
Reading closely the Instagram profile of a photojournalist
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 12919657 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Sini Kaipainen (0000-0003-2950-7238, Aalto University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2022 |
| Volume | 15 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 441-460 |
| Publication date | 2022-09-02 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Photographies (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1754-0763 • E-ISSN: 1754-0771 |
| Publisher | Taylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/17540763.2022.2096678 |
| OpenAlex | W4296260713 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 3 |
| References cited | 23 |
The present study addresses one possible template for exploring the meanings of photojournalistic self-presentation on Instagram. I employ automedial close reading for the data collected from one Instagram user and his profile in the cases of two professional photojournalists: Ed Kashi and Sebastian Rich. I test and develop the process of close reading in the context of Instagram and professional photojournalism. I am founding this practice on an active, sensitive interpretation process, not code identification, by combining qualitative research and autoethnographic personal narrative. The approach implies a theoretical, conceptual, and contextual reflection with and against the texts and subjects of study. This study frames the automedial production on Instagram as readable texts. Instagram-based research into photojournalism as a profession and practice needs theory-based qualitative approaches, such as close reading, based on small datasets. Whilst its focus is on the methodological approach, the paper opens up perspectives on studying the self-presentational identity work of an Instagram author, showing the value of automedial close reading
Aesthetics · Art · Context (archaeology · Identity (music · Interpretation (philosophy · Linguistics · Literature · Narrative · Photography · Photojournalism · Presentation (obstetrics · Presentational and representational acting · Qualitative research · Reading (process · Social science · Sociology · Visual arts · Computer Science · Discourse Analysis in Language Studies · Media Studies and Communication · Rhetoric and Communication Studies
Identity Technologies
A Networked Self
Social Media
Seeing Ourselves Through Technology
What is Critical Digital Social Research? Five Reflections on the Study of Digital Society
Reading the Self in Selfies
Understanding Photojournalism
Digital Life on Instagram
Persona studies
Genre as social action
Self-Branding, Hotness, and Girlhood in the Video Blogs of Jenna Marbles
Life Writing Versus Automedia
On the Impossibility of Close Reading
| Unique citing works | 3 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 3 |
| Citation span | 2025 - 2026 (2) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 3 |