Ignore the backlash — HUJI is still good
This is You Won't Regret It, a new weekly column featuring recommendations, tips, and unsolicited advice from the Mashable culture team.
The trendiest app of the summer, arguably, was HUJI: the photo editing tool that makes your photos look like they were taken with a late '90s disposable camera.
Now that autumn is upon us, though, HUJI backlash is in full swing. Like KiraKira and the Snapchat dog filter before it, HUJI is now derided as basic, mostly because the locals figured out it exists.
But this doesn't mean you should give up the app. Used judiciously, HUJI makes photos look amazing, even if they were taken in less-than-ideal lighting conditions. Vivid colors, delicate blurring, a nice splash of rainbow where the light catches -- it's a pleasant, vintage-y aesthetic.
Bonus: You don't have to pay for a disposable camera, then pay to develop the disposable camera, then wait for the photos, then pick up the photos, then eventually lose the photos somewhere in your closet. It's all on your phone, and it's all free unless you pay for camera roll access (which you absolutely do not need to do).
The app is also famously great for selfies. Because of its lo-fi style, it's likely to blur facial imperfections, and makes vivid lipstick and clothing look even more striking. Best of all, you won't have to edit the pic on Instagram or VSCO afterward, making HUJI a counterintuitively low-maintenance photo experience.
Some users take issue with HUJI's most idiosyncratic feature, that little orange timestamp in the corner of each image. Is it corny? Yes. Is all of Instagram corny anyway? Also yes. If you really don't like the timestamp, you can disable the function or simply crop it out of the final image.
And the most common complaint about the app -- that people are sick of seeing it in their feeds all the time -- shouldn't even cross your mind. It's your Instagram, so screw it. You know what I'm sick of seeing online? Pictures of men holding fish. And those aren't going away anytime soon.
Now that I'm thinking about it, though, a fish would probably look really cool on HUJI.
Want more clever culture writing beamed directly to your inbox? Sign up here for the twice-weekly Click Click Click newsletter. It's fun – we promise.
Topics Instagram Social Media
Chloe was the shopping editor at Mashable. She was also previously a culture reporter. You can follow her on Twitter at @chloebryan.
