“Being consciously aware of how dramatically photography has shifted with the immediacy of being able to make photographs from your phone I have become fascinated with how images have become digitally stored, transferred & forgotten,” says Cooper, whose own work and curatorial practice has included exhibitions that invite responses from photographers from around the world. “I am passionate about the tangibility of a print and I wanted to create an easy way for anyone to print frame and ship their photos directly from their phone to encourage the shared experience of a moment in a very accessible way.”
With the app, users can quickly upload a photo to Instantly Framed from their Facebook, Instagram, or iPhone camera roll and get it printed into a 12”x12” physical frame. The final package arrives in a couple of days.
The app has a clean interface that allows you to crop your image, choose from three different sizes and gives you a visual image of what your finished piece will look like.
“We have spent the last year refining our offering,” says Cooper, “from designing a custom easel back so that your frame will lie flush on the wall made of recycled materials or sit on a shelf, to creating a package made of a single piece of corrugated cardboard to also act as a gift box.” All artwork, logo, icons, & design are compliments of Cooper’s husband Tyler Bloomquist.
Despite the app’s ability to provide relatively instant gratification, Instantly Framed is conscious of not becoming part of our throwaway society. “Our frames are hand made and crafted in the USA the molding we have selected is FSC farmed from a sustainable walnut resource,” says Cooper. “Our photographs are made with archival inks and printed on a photo luster paper.”
In keeping with her past curatorial work, Cooper says Instantly Framed will go beyond your smartphone. “We want to provide a platform for others to tell their stories. Our blog will be highlighting (“Instantly Framing”) someone or something that inspires us weekly. We will be providing tips and tricks on how to improve making your photographs. We will be reviewing other photo apps and provide reviews on photography exhibitions and photographers.”
In January they will be revealing their 12×12 project, in which they will be representing 12 photographers a year. And earlier this month they agreed to become sponsors of our Facebook feature 15Grams: we will feature a Utah Instagrammer every week and every quarter Instantly Framed will provide a free framing service to the Instagrammer selected by our readers.

UTAH’S ART MAGAZINE SINCE 2001, 15 Bytes is published by Artists of Utah, a 501 (c) 3 non-profit organization headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Categories: Visual Arts