The Origins of VSCO
Ten years ago VSCO was one of the most influential names in photography. Its film-inspired presets helped define the look of a generation of digital images, while VSCO Cam became a favourite among photographers seeking a more deliberate approach to editing. As Super Alpine marks a decade on the platform, we look back at VSCO's evolution from preset maker to creator ecosystem.
VSCO, originally short for Visual Supply Company, was founded in 2011 by Joel Flory and Greg Lutze in California. The company began as a small collective of photographers and designers focused on creating tools that brought digital photography closer to the look and discipline of analogue film.
Its earliest products were desktop presets and plugins for Adobe Lightroom and Apple Aperture. These plugins were notable for their film-inspired colour science, subtle contrast curves, and restrained saturation, drawing on careful analysis of classic film stocks rather than heavy-handed effects. We used the Aperture plugins until Apple discontinued Aperture in 2014.
VSCO launched VSCO Cam for iOS in 2012 with ten presets, numbered 01 to 10, which remain available today. In 2016 the app was rebranded to simply VSCO, marking the beginning of the platform in its current form. In 2013 VSCO Grid was launched, a free minimalist publishing platform for showcasing the best in mobile photography.
Super Alpine on VSCO
It was in 2015 that we started posting to VSCO, with photography shot on Fujifilm cameras, transferred to the iPhone and edited in VSCO using the A / Analog presets. A6 in particular became a long-term favourite. For black and white imagery the X / BW Fade presets, with their dark tonality, strong contrast and shadow fade, became another regular choice, with B / BW Classic used for a cleaner, more iconic monochrome look.
In 2017 VSCO launched ‘VSCO X’, a paid subscription account, moving from one-off in-app purchases of presets to a recurring membership model with access to an expanding library of presets, advanced tools and creative features. This marked the company’s formal pivot towards monetising the app through paid accounts and recurring revenue rather than standalone purchases.
In June 2021 VSCO hired Eric Wittman as President, bringing in an external executive to oversee operations, product, design and growth. In 2023 Wittman was appointed CEO of VSCO, succeeding co-founder Joel Flory, marking the most significant management change and signalling a shift as the company aimed to adapt to the creator economy.
VSCO Timeline
| Year | Milestone |
|---|---|
| 2011 | VSCO® is founded by Joel Flory and Greg Lutze in California. |
| 2012 | VSCO Cam® launches on iOS with the original 01–10 presets. |
| 2013 | VSCO Grid™ launches - a free minimalist publishing platform. |
| 2015 | Super Alpine publishes its first photograph on VSCO. |
| 2016 | VSCO Cam® is rebranded as VSCO, marking the beginning of the modern platform. |
| 2017 | VSCO X launches, introducing a subscription model with an expanding preset library and advanced editing tools. |
| 2021 | Eric Wittman joins VSCO as President. |
| 2023 | Eric Wittman becomes CEO and VSCO launches Studio. |
| 2024 | VSCO expands its ecosystem with Workspace, Capture, Canvas and AI Lab. |
| 2025 | Super Alpine celebrates ten years on VSCO. |
| 2026 | VSCO launched VSCO ONE, all tools in one subscription. |
In 2023 VSCO launched Studio, a desktop and web extension of VSCO’s editing tools that looked like a potential replacement for the long-lost Aperture. Two years later, Studio lacks feature parity with the mobile app, while file management and cloud integration remain limited.
Since then VSCO has embarked on a scattergun series of launches aimed at bringing in professional photographers including Workspace, a CRM and business-workflow software, Galleries for showing clients their photos, Canvas for photoshoot plans and Sites, a simple website creator. Alongside these, AI Lab, Spaces, Capture and Hub are all available.
Over the years we have continued to post work on the platform, although without the reach and engagement of the platform's early years and for some years the Journal feature was deprecated, only to be relaunched as a simpler Blog under the VSCO Pro account.
Ten Years Later
Ten years on, VSCO feels less like a platform and more like a collection of tools, some ambitious, some unfinished. The sense of discovery that once defined the platform has faded, and engagement is no longer straightforward. Yet the core of what made VSCO matter remains intact. Its presets continue to reward, its editing tools still encourage a deliberate approach, and for photographers who value tone over trend, it remains a familiar part of the workflow. The golden days may have passed, but the visual language VSCO helped shape continues to endure.
In 2026 VSCO consolidated many of its products under VSCO One, a subscription that brings together the company's photography, editing and professional workflow tools. A dedicated MacOS app for the new Studio Pro, is slated to arrive in Q4 of 2026.
