Lately we’ve come across two compelling photographers whose images boldly portray an essential message about Instagram and other social media: the pretty picture you see is not the WHOLE picture. They show the unpleasantly real context from which the pretty photo was plucked, to become an aspirational ideal that messes with our heads. Take Chompoo Baritone‘s image, above. A sleek woman doing an effortless yoga head stand is designed to make us think we should be able to do that (and we’re less-than because we can’t), not knowing that she is being styled by the plumpish(?) woman holding her up.

We especially like Baritone’s riff on Kinfolk magazine, where life always looks impossibly tidy and in control.

…and the cool Apple laptop on a bed where, we imagine, some stylish person was doing something really cool and creative…

“Broken India” by Lmt-lss goes a bit darker by applying the Instagram cropping to gritty Indian landscapes, to reveal the poverty or wreckage around them.

…

Of course, this editing out of the messy doesn’t just apply to Instagram. It is prevalent on every just about every faintly-professional visual site out there, most notably shelter, food and fanzines.

Every time we start thinking someone has it easy and together, we’re gong to try to remember that no one is exempt from messiness, suffering, difficulty, tragedy….LIFE…

…and that: