In a recent reveal, Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex, shared that her son, Archie, has developed a fascination for photography, taking cues from the esteemed photographer, Misan Harriman. This revelation came to light during a Q&A session held post a special screening of Netflix’s short film ‘The After’ on November 15 in Montecito, California.

Archie’s Photographic Pursuit

Archie, aged four and a half, has manifested a keen interest in photography, notable given his father, Prince Harry’s well-known aversion to cameras, rooted in the distressing experiences of his late mother, Princess Diana. The young royal’s enthusiasm even led him to request a Leica camera, a high-end, handcrafted piece of equipment for Christmas. This request, however, was met with polite refusal from his mother due to the expensive nature of the camera.

A Family Affair

The interest in photography seems to be a family trait, with both Meghan and Harry spending time behind the lens. This shared interest is a reflection of the close-knit bond the Sussex family shares. In an amusing anecdote, Markle mentioned how Queen Elizabeth II once gifted Archie a waffle maker for Christmas, a present that has since become a cherished item for the young prince.

No Royal Christmas

Despite the joyous Christmas experiences the Sussex family has had, they will not be celebrating Christmas with the royal family in the UK this year. Instead, they will focus on reconciliation following a year of tension that was further exacerbated by the release of Prince Harry’s memoir ‘Spare’ and the Dutch version of Omid Scobie’s book ‘Endgame’. These publications contained candid stories about royal family members and stirred controversy by suggesting that some royals had made racist remarks about Archie’s skin color prior to his birth.

Photo apps have come a long way since the launch of Instagram in 2010, but the platform still reigns supreme for content sharing, editing, and community. Whether that’s because it’s free and easy to use or because it offers insights into the lives of hundreds of celebrities and influencers, I couldn’t say. But as a photographer, I’ve lost my love for the ‘gram big time. And I’m not the only one.

Instagram is used by millions worldwide, but it’s falling out of favor with plenty of stills photographers. Ask them why (and I have), and they’ll say that saturation is up, discoverability is down, and there’s little room for artistry. It’s no secret that the Meta-owned company has prioritized video reels over images to compete with rival network TikTok for user attention. Or that its algorithmic feed shows popular rather than chronological content first, making it harder for photographers to get their work seen.

I’ve been looking for an Instagram alternative for a while, and I think I’ve found it in the photo editing and sharing app VSCO. Short for Visual Supply Company (very hipster), VSCO launched in 2012, just a few years after Instagram. It’s one of the best photo editing apps for mobile that I’ve used, and now that I’m a few weeks into a paid plan, I wish I’d discovered it sooner.

I recently downloaded VSCO from the App Store, and it’s completely elevated photo editing on my iPhone 15 Pro. Although I’ve got Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop Express, I prefer VSCO’s minimalist interface and pro-grade filters, and I can’t wait to start sharing my edits with a whole new community and creative space.

There’s a palpable sense of quality over quantity among VSCO users, and I’ve loved trying out the app’s filters and collages. Are there any groundbreaking features on offer? Not really. Like Instagram, VSCO is one part community and one part photo editor, but the whole package is slicker, and there’s a coolness factor that I just haven’t seen replicated elsewhere.

Plus or Pro are the way to go

VSCO is free on iOS and Android, but that only gets you a measly 15 presets and basic exposure adjustments. I found this plan too limiting and quickly signed up for a 7-day trial of the Plus plan. For $7.99 a month or $29.99 annually, that unlocks over 200 presets, a video editor (plus GIF editor), and the types of editing tools you find in Lightroom Mobile – think Dodge & Burn, HSL, and Clarity. You also get unlimited “recipes”, which are the equivalent of saving your own presets, so that you can apply the same visual looks to images again later.

The Pro membership is only available on iOS, and for $12.99 a month ($59.99 yearly) it gives you everything in Plus, as well as VSCO’s web editor, Pro presets, and a Pro Membership badge on your profile. When you consider that Snapseed is a totally free mobile photo editor, VSCO starts to look very pricey. Especially when some of its previously free features have been put behind a paywall. 

It’s a good thing the film emulations reproduce the look of analog photos so well, then. VSCO is still sure to appeal to the demographic of people who love the best instant cameras, people like me daft enough to pay for a trendy aesthetic, and photographers who want to get the most from their best camera phone without ever having to use full-fledged desktop photo editors.

All about the Presets

The VSCO interface is tidy, and it’s easy to navigate thanks to the five main sections at the bottom of the screen – Home, Discover, Studio (the editing bit), your Member Profile, and Spaces. Discover is where you’ll find inspirational feeds from the VSCO community (curated by VSCO staff), broken into sections like “Geometric” and “Style”. So far this is the area I’ve used least, and it’s a little like delving into the hipster galleries of a college photography department. Still, I find the content much more realistic than the perfection of Instagram’s Search & Explore function – which now gives me more cat videos and comedians than creative imagery (blame it on my browsing, perhaps).

It takes moments to add photos to Studio from your camera roll or phone folders, and I imported a batch recently shot on the Leica M11-P so that I could test out the presets on some pro-grade files. Once your images are there, it’s a neat touch to be able to sort through them with options like Edited, Unedited, or Not Saved.

Studio is where I’ve spent the most time tapping so far, and where photographers will find the most value – even if they never use the app’s other functions. Most photo editors are either too basic (Instagram) or too advanced, with so many sliders you can barely fit them on a small phone screen. What I love about VSCO is that once you tap on an image and hit edit, you’re given a huge range of presets – some recommended for the photo – that you know will be a great starting point. 

Getting advanced

If you think the presets make things too easy, then VSCO’s editing tools provide a whole suite of ways to tweak and enhance the tonal levels, color, contrast, clarity, and more using incredibly responsive sliders. The effect of an edit is instant, but if you don’t like what’s changed then you can go back with a tap of the Undo icon. The FX tab is my guilty pleasure; another step in the Studio editor that lets you add frames and textures to images to make them look like aged film snaps. My digital photos are nothing of the sort, of course, but there’s an inescapable level of nostalgia from adding noise and light leaks to photos. Crucially, VSCO does so in a way that looks genuine rather than artificial and gimmicky.

The whole editing process is like using Lightroom, and I imagine anyone who’s ever touched an image editor will be able to find their way around VSCO without hassle.  Once you’ve finished fiddling, VSCO gives you the option to post to the platform, save it to your camera roll, or a whole host of other sharing options depending on your device – on my iPhone, WhatsApp and an AirDrop to my iMac are the most helpful. You could quite easily rely on VSCO as a high-end image editor, share your shots elsewhere, and never touch the community element. Or you could use VSCO’s camera to add funky effects like double exposures and prism effects. 

I’ve been exploring ways to make use of the app’s collage and montage features to create professional-looking graphics that I can email out to potential clients without ever having to boot up my computer. VSCO has made me feel more creative and yet more consistent, and the Recipes function has been a game-changer in making my portfolio look cohesive.

Artsy without an algorithm

I said that VSCO was an Instagram alternative, and in many ways that’s true. It’s given me in-app editing, sharing, and connectivity in one good-looking ecosystem. But without comments or likes, it’s for photography purists who aren’t worried about building a comprehensive social network. Maybe it’s what Instagram could have been for creatives, had its owners not been focused on building an ad and algorithm-heavy behemoth.

I know many creators who have joined supportive communities (UK shooters being a great example) built entirely around Instagram, and it’s undoubtedly fantastic for location inspiration and interacting with others. Maybe it’s because I’ve never put in the time or effort to build up my Instagram following, but I love the minimalist social component of VSCO and how the low-pressure environment leaves you free to experiment. No one sees a photo I’ve shared? Then it’s no biggie and there’s no embarrassment.

The longer I spend in the world of tech and cameras, the more I’m looking to curate my gear, my tools, and my experiences. While Instagram will always be the most versatile way to share images with the biggest audience, VSCO lets me explore untapped niches. Pegged as a space for creators, by creators, it makes light work of heavy edits so that I can get professional-looking photos on the go.

Though he’s only 4 years old, Prince Archie is already, uh, developing a taste for royally expensive photography equipment. 

Meghan Markle revealed that her and Prince Harry‘s son became interested in taking pictures after spending time with their longtime friend and director Misan Harriman.

“His inspiration runs deep,” Meghan reflected during the Nov. 15 Q&A she moderated after a screening of Netflix’s The After. “Misan was showing him how to do photography the last time he was with us. I bought Archie a camera and he said, ‘But it’s not a Leica like Misan.'” 

“I said,” the 42-year-old explained, ‘’You are not getting a Leica! Not even for Christmas!'” After all, the cameras, which are handcrafted in Germany, cost thousands of dollars.

But Archie and sister Princess Lilibet, 2, can still expect a magical Christmas. Meghan and Harry, 39, also noted that their family of four have been evolving their yuletide traditions each year.

LEGO Ideas is the best thing that happened for the community of enthusiastic LEGO builders who can’t curtail their imagination when it comes to creating jaw-dropping builds. Now, yet another LEGO set brings back the nostalgia of photography just in time for the holiday season. Thanks to YouTuber Marc (Minibrick Productions YouTube channel) who shares his interesting ideas on Google’s invincible video-sharing platform.

Remember the Polaroid SX-70 fold-flat instant camera that rocked the early 1970s? Now this iconic shooter has got the LEGO treatment in the form of a 516-brick set. The creation is a result of Minibrick Productions’ submission of the idea that earlier debuted as a concept. It’s partially functional, so you can’t click real-time photographs with this camera. The LEGO Polaroid OneStep SX-70 is for yours to grab as it can be pre-ordered right away at a price tag of $80 with release slated for January 1, 2024. Certainly, that’s way cheaper than getting the original one that’s a prized collector’s item now.

Designer: LEGO Ideas

It’s a disappointment that this piece of retro-futurism cannot click actual photographs, still to keep the enthusiasts in the feels, there’s a Polaroid Time-Zero Land Film pack with three storable slides. Just slide one of these slides into the camera’s body and press the shutter button to eject the illustrated photograph. One of these photographic slides is that of Edwin H. Land, who invented the Polaroid camera.

To keep things authentic, the LEGO camera has the signature Color Spectrum of the Polaroid and the exposure compensation dial to a new 8×10 tile. As I said, it’s partially functional, so there working viewfinder and shutter button. To induce a bit of quirkiness, there’s the “photography-led” marketing that comes with the “NOT SHOT ON LEGO Polaroid Camera” sticker on the photos.

Piecing together this LEGO Polaroid camera is going to be a fun activity over the weekend and it’s going to induce the interest of onlookers who might mistake it for the real thing at first glance.

The top 50 wedding photographs taken in 2023, according to Junebug Weddings, have been unveiled.

Junebug Weddings have been hosting photography contests for the last fourteen years and the images below are from this year’s Best of the Best Wedding Photo Contest which saw nearly 10,000 image submissions from photographers around the world.

Henry Tieu, Mic Panic, and Brittany Boote were among the “world-renowned” photographers assisting the Junebug team to comprise the collection.

For more, head to the Junebug Wedding’s website.