Photography Beyond Tends
As we strive to gain more likes and 5-star reviews, we follow the ever-rising bar of excellence, a Darwinian natural selection of photography is taking place, the outliers of creativity fall into extinction, and we travel along an evolutionary path fuelled by the polarisation of social media to the eventual state when there can be only one style of photography left. What happened to self-expression and art? Will we reduce our work to its lowest but very excellent common denominator? It's time to act before it's too late.
Reaching Out
I don't consider myself a great photographer. I could argue that there will never be any great photographers in the traditional sense of the word ever again. Most of us carry a phone around with a good camera built-in, and if you are in the right place at the right time you can make a great photograph. Of course, there are good photographers. Technically brilliant photographers who follow all of the rules. Couple that with the beautiful world that we live in - you get Instagram.
I have nothing against Instagram or any social media platform. I use them myself. Without a doubt, they have value. I believe that studying the photography of others can help you by feeding you with more knowledge and skills. But...
It is well known that social media has the power to polarise masses of people, creating stronger divides in politics, fashion and just about everything else. Is it ironic that in a world claiming to be moving towards greater inclusivity, we seem to be dividing, subdividing and grouping people? In ever-narrowing categories, it seems we are not creating inclusivity but producing more subsets of the same thing.
But how does this relate to photography?
What you like on social media today determines what you will be offered tomorrow, eventually, everything served in your feed is the same as what went before. You curate your own master to follow formed from billions of images.
It wasn’t always this way, the sources of inspiration were fewer and more diverse. Media consisted of books, magazines, galleries and the camera club. They still exist but are viewed less than social media.
For your photography to grow it needs cultivating, this is one of the basic principles of all life; you reap what you sow. There will be no harvest without planting the crop, without nourishment, the yield will be poor. You were born with all the seeds of creativity you will ever need in your lifetime. All you need to do is provide the nourishment so you can be rewarded with the harvest. Out in the field, street and studio or sat at your workstation you have a choice to copy what has gone before you or engage deeper with your surroundings and subjects. Asking the deeper questions, asking why are you making these photographs, why did you stop at this point, what can you hear, smell, and how do you feel. Get out and cultivate your creativityy in this way will bring a dimension to your photography that is uniquely yours. Try it next time you are out. Become a Student of the art not a slave to those who came before.