Make Zines Not Posts
It said I was going to stop posting as much on Instagram, then I didn't. So now I promise I have committed to making zines.
A while ago I said I was done posting on Instagram. I meant it when I said it, but every time I stopped, I’d eventually end up posting again a few weeks later. Part of that was habit, while also being stuck in this belief, thinking its where the photos belong. But most of it came from not knowing where else the photos were supposed to go. You document a show, photos go on IG, they are scrolled past and then forgotten.
At the same time, I was getting more and more frustrated with what posting photos online had started to feel like. The actual process of taking photos is still something I care deeply about, but the process after that has become exhausting. Editing specifically for Instagram, thinking about what works as a carousel, what gets attention, what gets buried, how often to post, whether people will even see it. It stops feeling connected to the reason I took the photos in the first place.
Everything online also moves too fast now. You can spend days shooting and editing something properly, upload it, and within 24 hours it’s already gone. Not literally gone, but buried under the next thing. Hardcore shows, community spaces, local bands and all the smaller details around them end up treated the same as every other disposable piece of content online. That disconnect has been bothering me for a long time.
Recently I bought a printer with the intention of finally making more zines myself instead of always talking about doing it. The ability to do it at home and made to order is a bonus. I opted for one that can print A3, to be able to make folded A4 and A5 zines. I also thought of making some Xerox-style photo prints and posters. Slap them around town and hide them for fun.
Since researching zine-making, of course, I have been directed to more articles on here and other social platforms. I have put together a few single A4 8 page mini zines, which is fun. This post from FILM RICK was cool to stumble upon. He has made an awesome tool for quickly making them, so you can start your own.
Making a zine forces you to think about photos differently. Instead of selecting images individually, you start thinking about how a whole sequence feels together. Some images work because of the page beside them. Some need space around them. Some print darker than expected and suddenly look better because of it. The physical limitations become part of the final look instead of something to avoid. It makes everythiing a little more intentional, thus providing a deeper connection when sharing.
I’ve also realised that physical media changes the way people interact with photos. When someone flips through a zine, they spend actual time with it. They notice details differently. They pass it around. They leave it on tables and bathrooms for you to browse while doing your buisness. It becomes something attached to a memory instead of another post people scroll past while half paying attention. Especially within hardcore and local music scenes, that physical side of documentation has always mattered. Flyers, demo tapes, photocopied interviews, tour books and homemade zines all become part of the history of a scene in a way social media posts never really do.
A lot of the shows I photograph already feel temporary by nature. Small venues disappear, bands break up, lineups change constantly and entire eras of local scenes can vanish quickly. I think that’s another reason I’ve become more interested in printing work physically. A zine feels more permanent. Even if only fifty copies exist, those copies end up somewhere real. Someone keeps it in a pile with old flyers. Someone finds it years later. Someone lends it to a friend. It exists outside whatever platform currently decides what people see.
I don’t think I’ll completely disappear from Instagram because, realistically it’s still how most people find my work, but I don’t want it to be the main destination anymore. Small photo collections from shows, scene documentation, venue-focused projects, interviews, and random local stories all disappear online after a day. I’d rather spend my energy making things people can actually hold onto. IG can become the place to share some main photos while directing to here and my website.
The more I work on zines, the more I’ve started enjoying photography again in a way I hadn’t for a while. Not because it feels nostalgic or romantic, but because the process feels connected from start to finish. Taking the photos, editing them, designing pages, printing them, folding and stapling them yourself, then handing them directly to people at shows feels far more satisfying than uploading another post into a feed that everyone forgets about immediately.
So this is me trying to commit to that properly. I have shared something similar to this before and failed miserably. I want this to hold me accountable the second time. So less focus on constantly feeding social media and more focus on building physical work that people can keep, trade, collect and actually spend time with.
First zine soon.
If you missed my new interview series, check out the first two here:
And my most recent gallery post:
I’m going to add all my mini zines to this drive if you want to print them out and make yourself.
MINI ZINES DRIVE
Thanks for reading once again. It means a lot if you could share.
A specific platform for sharing Zine‘s would be cool. I hate everything about Instagram.
Yes to zines!