Abstract
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.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 441-460 |
| Number of pages | 20 |
| Journal | Photographies |
| Volume | 15 |
| Issue number | 3 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 18 Sept 2022 |
| MoE publication type | A1 Journal article-refereed |