The effect of filter usage and its reference

　　filter effect, originally used simply to How can we avoid falling into the effects of several monotone filters when the occasionally funny-tuned products are now seriously abused?

　　The filters evolved from the physical filters of professional SLR cameras, followed by professional post-processing (such as PhotoShop) on the computer, to a variety of dummy one-button processing tools (such as the beauty Mito filters are mainly used to achieve the various special effects of the image) And when the wave of mobile smart devices hit the mobile phone.

Filter functionality in mobile applications is believed to be widespread among most smartphone users. It is also known to be popular because of the Instagram, after which almost all of the camera applications, and then almost all of the LBS applications, and finally to almost all of the photos, pictures of the application (such as social networking clients, etc.) are built into the class Instagram filter function.

Borrow mobile application Hot even QQ screenshots have a variety of filters ...

Filter Features Benefits:

The first is to facilitate the user. In the digital age, the filter function to some extent played the role of the film era "Darkroom", the user directly select the filter function can easily achieve a variety of high standard color screen, the filter will be everyone into a photography master. The second undeniable is that the filter effect in the appropriate scene can enhance the photo effect, and even to some extent to cover up the shortcomings of the photo itself.

Filter features Disadvantage:

1. Filters damage the data integrity of the photo

Because such as Instagram on the filter is actually already existing classic parameter settings, users need to simply select a filter to achieve a good photo effect, eliminating the user's camera parameter settings and photo environment adjustment problems, reducing the threshold of ordinary people to take photos. Because such a simple filter effect can make the original a very ordinary picture becomes artistic, at the same time can cover up the shortcomings of the photo itself, so many people will filter effect as a "magic weapon" to use, but the filter is not omnipotent, the first is the filter function is actually the original image data subtraction, It is to some extent damaged the integrity of the data, so "filtered photos" In fact, there is no user-imagined "so good", many of the outstanding photos in the Instagram and so on are almost all by the professional top camera photography and post-processing of the works.

"I am your Forever listener" Via 500px

As in the previous Geek Park Instagram Complete Guide There was a picture of a Instagram filter effect (pictured above), but it was not, it came from Russian photographer Vladimir Zotov. Instagram filters do not achieve this level of effectiveness even if they are several times better.

2. Misuse of filters leads to the authenticity of information

Secondly, the quality of the photos taken by most users is not satisfactory, on the mobile phone is more so, in the shooting is not ideal on the basis of matching filters although may be in a fierce look at the feeling good, but more often it will because of distortion, color leads to difficult to distinguish the authenticity of information, or even recognize the real person, such as in the "Love Apartment 3" 15th episode of the Social network bright blind Sekiya and Zeng two pairs of titanium alloy dog Eye "Beauty" Yaoyao ... It also explains why many people who use the iPhone have a hard time seeing normal reality.

3. Photo Homogenization leads to aesthetic fatigue

In addition to the above two, more serious is because of the use of filter effect, a large number of photo homogenization phenomenon increased significantly. Users who used filters before uploading and sharing to social networks before using a third party photo are now able to use the filter function directly with the social network, so the proportion of photos with the filter effect has increased dramatically.

This filter effect photo in the current domestic is still in the outbreak phase, if this situation continues, I believe that after a year or two, as the smartphone continues to be fully popularized, you will see the photos every day is nothing more than these filters effect ... This is not alarmist, because most of the domestic mobile phone lens is not too good, it means that users take photos after the use of filter function to make the photos look slightly "like" point of the proportion of the larger.

Originally more suitable for industry, ruins, CG and other filters so that the life of the picture become depressed grim

Filters are occasionally fun to use, but all photos are violent with a powerful filter it is a kind of "abnormal", and if most people will share it to the aesthetic fatigue of the user time line is a naked "visual rape"! Especially when the screen is a lot of the bathroom mirror or from the face of the next 60 degrees to take a portrait of the time! Again full screen colorful "master-level screen" can not conceal the content of mediocrity, empty or even vulgar.

Also because of this situation, in the recent Wired Rip off the filters–we Need a naked Instagram article introduced "Filter fatigue" (filter fatigue) and called on users to stop abusing the filter function, and want to appear a supplemental no filter (#nofilter) application to recreate an ecosystem with no filter effect. Although his view is not to prohibit the filter function, but in the comments below there is a lot of support to stop using the filter function of the sound.

How should I reflect on the filter function?

In fact, not only in mobile applications, even the source of the filter in the photography industry has also appeared similar. In the face of the tide of the wave of filters, some professional photographers also can not help but follow the trend, such as Olympus E-P3 on the impressive 20-odd scene selection and 10 art filters, because of its style of heavy taste and its fool friends ridicule as "shameless filter." The primary task of the filter is to correct chromatic aberration, and then to beautify and create special effects. But now the filter has become the only choice. Therefore, the filter function is called "The Regression of Photography": "Photography is no longer the aperture precedent and the shutter precedent, but the filter precedent, by the art creation degenerate into the art mode of the big flat sell." “

In the Domestic mobile application field, the filter function is still in the direction of many and the whole development. No, it's not. Hurry up, there are some continue to be happy to increase the number of old photos, Chinese wind, copper engraving, Japanese sweet (and then a German master poison taste ☺) ... Even the most exaggerated and heavy-tasting filters don't matter. Tencent friends, such as the client in a breath on the introduction of 17 filters, in addition to the general filter before also added a number of exaggerated, serious distortion of the filter. Although mobile phone photos will be more entertaining, fun, but not too non-mainstream, kill Matt.

How do you choose a filter as a product person?

1. Learn to do subtraction

Zhou in the 15th Geek Park event, "Don't forget what your product is supposed to do, learn to subtract from the product and go back to the core functionality of the original Beta version." "Here you have to learn to subtract filter functions, and if necessary, refine the number of filters."

2. Filter Smart Recommendation

The ability to make filter smart recommendations for the user's scene, rather than allowing users to use filters indiscriminately.

3. Research for higher-quality filters

Although many filters now seem to be good enough, but with the real good computer post-processing a comparison will find that it is not enough, the filter function there are many space to improve.

How do I use filters as a user?

The fatigue mentioned above refers to a mobile smart device that is already owned by a medium or heavy user, at home, users who have not used or have not even seen the filter function believe that the majority of the total, for the initial curious fun of them, the filter is definitely the more the better, Therefore, in the present hope to hope that the limitations of the product designers is not very likely, so to avoid filter abuse depends largely on the self-discipline of the old users, learn to use the appropriate filter in the scene, do not have this function must be used to lead to abuse, learn to choose to give up.

Although we are now in the smart Camera feature mobile phone era, although Nokia has the inverse of the day of the 41 million pixel Lumia 808, but as we have said in simple and not simple cell phone photography, the phone may never completely replace the status of professional cameras, But the mobile phone's portable use of life to record and share has been enough, and occasionally use a filter to decorate life is very necessary, but the most important thing in life is still through the reality of the lens screen to find the world more beautiful truth.

"The illiterate of the future society is not a person who cannot write," said Benjamin in the art works of the Age of mechanical reproduction. But people who do not know photography ", because in the modern information society, the form of communication between people has changed from the Industrial Revolution before the" narrative "into the" information ", and the corresponding photography, The importance of films and so on will be more and more great with previous narrative writings. So I hope it should be a variety of colorful visual information feast into several monotonous filter effect exhibition.