Generations of photographers went through life never showing their work beyond their circle of friends, family or small club, and still getting gratification from photography. That's how far removed from reality we really are.
I was thinking photoclubs are grumpy old men comparing who has the biggest telezoom, but truth is nothing will be worse than instagram & co at this point. I tried attending an event this year only to find out it's announced on facebook where I don't have an account. Will try again next year 😀
I suspect that part of the trouble is that people either let their means of showing their work to that circle lapse, or on the younger side, never had it. Instagram started 14 years ago; Flickr was founded 6 years earlier than that. My experience has been that photography is often a hobby you get into in your teens or early 20s, not young childhood. So throw another 10-15 years on that, and you're talking people in their mid-30s who came into this artform with the idea that posting your stuff online for people to follow and get in their feeds was just what you *do.* Rebuilding the cultural norms around direct sharing of work isn't impossible, but it's going to be a labor. And it's definitely going to need to *be* cultural norms, because things won't get better from a relative handful of breakout artists blazing a trail. You need a bunch of fairly normal people to think of doing it on their own. It's not like the Quickstart Guide in the camera box has a "Hey, remember to show your art to friends and loved-ones! Take your favorite pictures and send them to the group-chat!" section, you know?
The gambling analogy was on point. I absolutely hate Instagram now, it’s so disheartening to use, I post so infrequently as a result. I’ve deleted my account a few times and come back, then wonder why I bothered. There’s always that fear of missing out. Good video essay. Subbed.
I miss early 2010s Instagram where it was a haven for photographers and artists. I remember getting lots of support and having fun with the many different types of photography communities. Now everything is reels and viral content now. Thank you for this video!
Keep spreading these words, we need this. You speak truth and it matters. The numbers do not. Every digit is a person and you've already affected me in more good ways than you can imagine. Thank you, keep being you, keep speaking from the heart
Don't forget the part where Instagram only encourage users to post "reels" (short videos) and when do post only still photography, no one will see your stuff at all.......
Good advice, I've recently been feeling that I need to readjust how I use social media and what my goals are with my photography. Focusing on local, real world networking would probably be much more fulfilling than trying to deal with ever-changing algorithms and internet enshittification these days.
Over the years I changed the way my pictures look in order to get some more views on instagram. It ended up in getting really "burned out" from photography and me not touching my camera vor literally 2 years. Right now I am just tuned back in the game of photography. Great video btw.
I started working as a concert photographer but now with fucking reels I gotta buy new cameras for videos which makes me a videographer. Instagram is good, but 95% of reels are all TRASH. Each being lower than the lowest
Great video Max! Thank you for addressing the fact that it just no longer helps. I agree and minimize my time going on there versus the past. I still post but try not to get locked in dead scroll. Nowadays to be a photographer you also have to be an influencer and a videographer etc. I just want to be a photographer that takes still images without video or reels etc. Since Instagram is still free I post just as extra gallery space otherwise I’d leave it alone.
Useful advice thank you. I just started photography and never thought about pleasing the algorithm 😂, I never used Instagram before I started photography so I have very few friends however i do post on Reddit most of the time. I have my own style and as you said I am not a bif fan of Photography "trend" that people keep pushing on social media. I do get a few thousand upvotrs on some of my series on Reddit however i do not know where to go from here. I will need to start a website and increase my online presence but not sure where to start 🤔. At the moment i enjoy Photography and will see where it takes me.😅
Stopped with instagram a few weeks ago. I felt the need to open the app at first. Now less and less. I notice how I get more creative ideas. I feel less distracted. I started actuall editing photos and video footage that has been on my computer for a long time, instead of loooking for constant inspiration and ideas on how to edit. I feel more fulfilled overall.
Excellent summary on how IG influences us..directly and indirectly. I've found FB groups to be of better benefit in terms of getting feedback. I like that people can be real in their comments. Great video.
Yeah Facebook groups are actually great for posting your pictures in. It’s hard to find the right space that suits your photos but once you do it can actually work pretty well!
So funny: I just saw one of those street videos where a “random” hot girl is stopped. Then I looked at the pics and they were ugly over edited portraits. Dude had like 1.3 million followers…
God it feels sometimes like I’ve got worms in my brain from the amount of things I forget to question when I see it online and how distorted younger people’s brains will be without any outside input other than what gets seen through a “content” filter/lens.
The big problem nobody seems to share is that everyone makes the same thing mostly. Everyone is some type of photographers using the same cameras, same technics, same ecerything. Any type of artists, models, whatever. How do you expect that thousands of followers will follow you regularly when you're the same as millions and do not offer anything different 🤷♂️🤷♂️🤷♂️
Instagram is beyond washed...the fact that it's 99% reels-centric means it has left me behind. The only video I'm interested in pivoting to is longer form, conversational video. To me, reels are toilet time filler, and UA-cam videos are when you want to learn, or find a new perspective. I'd rather not be defined by my pivot to entertaining folks on the loo.
Great video, I ended up turning the like count off on my own images as often I'd judge how good my own work was based on how many likes it has, I'd always be checking to see how well it was doing and become disappointed if it didn't do well, since turning them off I've been much happier and now can focus on the things that means the most to me, which is making art.
If only there was a pure photography app, that would be great. These days I'm bombarded by reels of people telling me about Photoshop hacks. I think photography should always be done for yourself and then hope an audience likes what that is. That's where your signature style will develop (excuse the pun).
I just recently joined Instagram. I found lots of really awesome artists on there. But it's all videos. Hard to find a still photo. I'm sick and tired of watching videos of people MAKING art. I just want to see the finished thing. Too much behind-the-scenes stuff. Just show me a cool photo. Write a cool description about it if you want.
I love to hear this. I always love your straight forward and no BS takes on these things. This makes me feel better. I’ve only been making photos for 3 months now and I actually use it as a way for me to get my creative fix (as a balance to my 9-5). Luckily I’m at the point where I don’t have to care about algorithms and stuff. No one looks at my instagram and Flickr and that’s fine since my biggest satisfaction is with myself deciding a photo is worthy of being posted. My philosophy which may be wrong is just to make photos of things that are interesting to me - but I don’t think that will translate to the rest of the world - and I’m fine with that. Seeing this video did help solidify that.
Great stuff dude! There a lot of photographs out there that everyone will find ‘nice’. What’s really great is photographing in a way that you find interesting and fulfilling, and if other people follow then that’s a great bonusn
@ very well said. I’m a musician and that’s the same way I feel about music too. Didn’t really think of the parallels between the two at first but now it makes perfect sense
6:20 nailed it.. I would get more and more 'recommended' posts of these guys wearing the GoPro and asking strangers to shoot average portraits. It clearly works though, as there is a guy who started his IG this year, and has amassed 850K followers using this formula.. is the work amazing? nope, but he's found a way to get brand deals and probably client work.. and here I am trying to come up with actual concepts, and use lighting to shoot work that could be used in advertising.. Maybe I should just give up the ghost, invest in a gopro and take my 85mm out on the streets for some stranger portraits..
Sadly i still love instagram. My posts usually average roght at 100 views and 15-20 likes. Makes you feel like a loser sometimes, but overall i still prefer it to other social platforms.
I'm surprise anyone sees actual photography on Instagram now. All I see is nothing but the same memes and stupid ass reels day after day with the occasional plastic filled woman seeking validation from the internet.
I swear at 13:44 you were about to say "My other suggestion would be to build a website... WITH SQUARESPACE". Never mind Instagram, I've been brainwashed by UA-cam already 😅
I dont understand the need to post on Instagram. A like means nothing to me, I'm unsure about its relevance. When you see how people scroll on their phone and punch a like after a micro second once in a while I dont think a like has much value. I dont care about other people's opinion if i dont understand what they are looking for and who they are. I dont like social medias and feel this is really making people more stupid than they should be, no offense. I wish people were strong enough to be what they want to be instead of looking for approval from people that know nothing. I cant believe that having your photo cropped from 2x3 to 1x1 is acceptable when you are a little serious about what your doing. I know they should be good stuff somewhere but I prefer to look at prints or meeting people doing stuff. The only enrichment I could get from social medias is critics, good or bad, but I have never read anything constructive because making it is hard work and requires skills. Also, showing a few pictures on a small screen is not enough for me to fully grasp the mind's artist, if ever they tried to express something somewhat original. I need to understand the intention behind and relate to it. As you may have guess I have been doing photography before digital, so it is easy for me not to step in and continue as I always did. I like what i do and prefer to spare myself, to protect my own desire because of course not having recognition can erode your beliefs. The equation recognition = value + merit is flawed. There are countless of valuable artists that received poor recognition; but when you look at there work (long after they are gone often) I think their work is of interest. So do the things you like to do because to become famous requires more than skills. Looking for recognition is an entire different process and you really have to fight for it no matter what it takes. Study art history and you'll understand how unfair it can be to some and how the art world can destroy real talents. If I were in my twenties today I would probably feel the same as you do today. Social media might be a must do but dont rely on it for inspiration.Thanks for the video.
I do confess that i didn't watch the video yet and I already have an opinion: yes, I agree! When I started taking photos, it was bc of the simplicity of Instagram, of the people that were doing a great job with just a smartphone and I was super inspired, I wanted to do the same. Nowadays, I'm taking a break from social media (besides YT), and I think I see the world better, the objects, the people and my passion for something that keeps me grounded, doing for the pleasure of it, not for numbers and showing it. The flux of images on Instagram is really killing the art of photography.
Bloody hell! That was a slog. Whatever the merits of what you have to say, I follow your channel (and profile) for the creative Max not the "moany Max".
So is all the UA-cam ruining your photography. Too many hacks pretending to know what they're doing & expecting you to follow their 3 steps to better photos.
Put link in youtube comments! The first 500 people to use my link skl.sh/maxkent12241 will get a 1 month free trial of Skillshare!
Generations of photographers went through life never showing their work beyond their circle of friends, family or small club, and still getting gratification from photography. That's how far removed from reality we really are.
I was thinking photoclubs are grumpy old men comparing who has the biggest telezoom, but truth is nothing will be worse than instagram & co at this point. I tried attending an event this year only to find out it's announced on facebook where I don't have an account. Will try again next year 😀
I suspect that part of the trouble is that people either let their means of showing their work to that circle lapse, or on the younger side, never had it. Instagram started 14 years ago; Flickr was founded 6 years earlier than that. My experience has been that photography is often a hobby you get into in your teens or early 20s, not young childhood. So throw another 10-15 years on that, and you're talking people in their mid-30s who came into this artform with the idea that posting your stuff online for people to follow and get in their feeds was just what you *do.*
Rebuilding the cultural norms around direct sharing of work isn't impossible, but it's going to be a labor. And it's definitely going to need to *be* cultural norms, because things won't get better from a relative handful of breakout artists blazing a trail. You need a bunch of fairly normal people to think of doing it on their own. It's not like the Quickstart Guide in the camera box has a "Hey, remember to show your art to friends and loved-ones! Take your favorite pictures and send them to the group-chat!" section, you know?
The gambling analogy was on point. I absolutely hate Instagram now, it’s so disheartening to use, I post so infrequently as a result. I’ve deleted my account a few times and come back, then wonder why I bothered. There’s always that fear of missing out. Good video essay. Subbed.
🔥🔥🔥
Stop caring about likes.
simple fix: delete social media, enjoy life
I hate that Instagram is full of Reels nowadays. And I hate even more that I occasionally enjoy watching them, not just when I'm on the loo.
I wish they would have made reels a separate app like they did with threads
I miss early 2010s Instagram where it was a haven for photographers and artists. I remember getting lots of support and having fun with the many different types of photography communities. Now everything is reels and viral content now. Thank you for this video!
Glad you liked it man, early 2010s was a simpler time 🌞
Keep spreading these words, we need this. You speak truth and it matters. The numbers do not. Every digit is a person and you've already affected me in more good ways than you can imagine. Thank you, keep being you, keep speaking from the heart
🔥🔥
Don't forget the part where Instagram only encourage users to post "reels" (short videos) and when do post only still photography, no one will see your stuff at all.......
Exactly.. even still images must have music in it to turn it into a "reel"..
I've gotten rid of all social media apps. I'm over the whole thing.
More than fair
Said commenting on UA-cam which is a social
Good advice, I've recently been feeling that I need to readjust how I use social media and what my goals are with my photography. Focusing on local, real world networking would probably be much more fulfilling than trying to deal with ever-changing algorithms and internet enshittification these days.
Love your thoughts on photography, really encouraging. Also, you have a smooth and clear voice, which is great!
Thanks a lot 🔥🔥
Over the years I changed the way my pictures look in order to get some more views on instagram. It ended up in getting really "burned out" from photography and me not touching my camera vor literally 2 years. Right now I am just tuned back in the game of photography. Great video btw.
Remember what you loved about photography and do it for that reason 🔥
I started working as a concert photographer but now with fucking reels I gotta buy new cameras for videos which makes me a videographer.
Instagram is good, but 95% of reels are all TRASH. Each being lower than the lowest
Great video Max! Thank you for addressing the fact that it just no longer helps. I agree and minimize my time going on there versus the past. I still post but try not to get locked in dead scroll. Nowadays to be a photographer you also have to be an influencer and a videographer etc. I just want to be a photographer that takes still images without video or reels etc. Since Instagram is still free I post just as extra gallery space otherwise I’d leave it alone.
We are wrong to think that the algorithm adapts to us rather than us adapting to it
Truth
Useful advice thank you. I just started photography and never thought about pleasing the algorithm 😂, I never used Instagram before I started photography so I have very few friends however i do post on Reddit most of the time. I have my own style and as you said I am not a bif fan of Photography "trend" that people keep pushing on social media. I do get a few thousand upvotrs on some of my series on Reddit however i do not know where to go from here. I will need to start a website and increase my online presence but not sure where to start 🤔. At the moment i enjoy Photography and will see where it takes me.😅
Stopped with instagram a few weeks ago. I felt the need to open the app at first. Now less and less. I notice how I get more creative ideas. I feel less distracted. I started actuall editing photos and video footage that has been on my computer for a long time, instead of loooking for constant inspiration and ideas on how to edit. I feel more fulfilled overall.
Someone needed to say it and you nailed it. You now have one more subscriber. Thankyou.
Excellent summary on how IG influences us..directly and indirectly. I've found FB groups to be of better benefit in terms of getting feedback. I like that people can be real in their comments. Great video.
Yeah Facebook groups are actually great for posting your pictures in. It’s hard to find the right space that suits your photos but once you do it can actually work pretty well!
So funny: I just saw one of those street videos where a “random” hot girl is stopped. Then I looked at the pics and they were ugly over edited portraits. Dude had like 1.3 million followers…
God it feels sometimes like I’ve got worms in my brain from the amount of things I forget to question when I see it online and how distorted younger people’s brains will be without any outside input other than what gets seen through a “content” filter/lens.
Deleted my instagram earlier this year. No regrets. No more doom scrolling.
The big problem nobody seems to share is that everyone makes the same thing mostly. Everyone is some type of photographers using the same cameras, same technics, same ecerything. Any type of artists, models, whatever. How do you expect that thousands of followers will follow you regularly when you're the same as millions and do not offer anything different 🤷♂️🤷♂️🤷♂️
Insta good photography= hot girl in shot
Rl good photography = hard work, perception, conception, nuance, consideration…
Instagram is beyond washed...the fact that it's 99% reels-centric means it has left me behind. The only video I'm interested in pivoting to is longer form, conversational video. To me, reels are toilet time filler, and UA-cam videos are when you want to learn, or find a new perspective. I'd rather not be defined by my pivot to entertaining folks on the loo.
Idk, I just use it for the funnies and cute animal stuff. Sometimes, every few months, I'll post something just because.
Yeah I like that until suddenly my suggested reels turn into accidents and nasty stuff 😩
Great video, I ended up turning the like count off on my own images as often I'd judge how good my own work was based on how many likes it has, I'd always be checking to see how well it was doing and become disappointed if it didn't do well, since turning them off I've been much happier and now can focus on the things that means the most to me, which is making art.
If only there was a pure photography app, that would be great. These days I'm bombarded by reels of people telling me about Photoshop hacks. I think photography should always be done for yourself and then hope an audience likes what that is. That's where your signature style will develop (excuse the pun).
Appreciate your video man 🤜🤛
I just recently joined Instagram. I found lots of really awesome artists on there. But it's all videos. Hard to find a still photo. I'm sick and tired of watching videos of people MAKING art. I just want to see the finished thing. Too much behind-the-scenes stuff. Just show me a cool photo. Write a cool description about it if you want.
Speaking the truth here. Thank you so much - I needed this!
Cheers dude! Glad you found it helpful 🔥
Well, a return to "analog", you know meet and greet, shake a few hands, sounds good to be honest.
😮💨
Thanks for the video!
🔥
I love to hear this. I always love your straight forward and no BS takes on these things.
This makes me feel better. I’ve only been making photos for 3 months now and I actually use it as a way for me to get my creative fix (as a balance to my 9-5). Luckily I’m at the point where I don’t have to care about algorithms and stuff. No one looks at my instagram and Flickr and that’s fine since my biggest satisfaction is with myself deciding a photo is worthy of being posted. My philosophy which may be wrong is just to make photos of things that are interesting to me - but I don’t think that will translate to the rest of the world - and I’m fine with that. Seeing this video did help solidify that.
Great stuff dude!
There a lot of photographs out there that everyone will find ‘nice’. What’s really great is photographing in a way that you find interesting and fulfilling, and if other people follow then that’s a great bonusn
@ very well said. I’m a musician and that’s the same way I feel about music too. Didn’t really think of the parallels between the two at first but now it makes perfect sense
6:20 nailed it.. I would get more and more 'recommended' posts of these guys wearing the GoPro and asking strangers to shoot average portraits. It clearly works though, as there is a guy who started his IG this year, and has amassed 850K followers using this formula.. is the work amazing? nope, but he's found a way to get brand deals and probably client work.. and here I am trying to come up with actual concepts, and use lighting to shoot work that could be used in advertising.. Maybe I should just give up the ghost, invest in a gopro and take my 85mm out on the streets for some stranger portraits..
What about Vero? Has anyone tried actively? I follow some great photographers there, but I never posted anything.
THAT ICON IS A THROWBACKKK
Feeling old?
Only the real artists with real connections are going to last.
😮💨
Sadly i still love instagram. My posts usually average roght at 100 views and 15-20 likes. Makes you feel like a loser sometimes, but overall i still prefer it to other social platforms.
Great video
I'm lucky if I even get 3 likes I miss the old insta, Facebook, Myspace, UA-cam basically everything that was great that got ruined
I'm surprise anyone sees actual photography on Instagram now. All I see is nothing but the same memes and stupid ass reels day after day with the occasional plastic filled woman seeking validation from the internet.
I swear at 13:44 you were about to say "My other suggestion would be to build a website... WITH SQUARESPACE". Never mind Instagram, I've been brainwashed by UA-cam already 😅
Brother when the ‘with squarespace’ comes in then you know I’ve made it 😩
I dont understand the need to post on Instagram. A like means nothing to me, I'm unsure about its relevance. When you see how people scroll on their phone and punch a like after a micro second once in a while I dont think a like has much value. I dont care about other people's opinion if i dont understand what they are looking for and who they are. I dont like social medias and feel this is really making people more stupid than they should be, no offense. I wish people were strong enough to be what they want to be instead of looking for approval from people that know nothing. I cant believe that having your photo cropped from 2x3 to 1x1 is acceptable when you are a little serious about what your doing. I know they should be good stuff somewhere but I prefer to look at prints or meeting people doing stuff. The only enrichment I could get from social medias is critics, good or bad, but I have never read anything constructive because making it is hard work and requires skills. Also, showing a few pictures on a small screen is not enough for me to fully grasp the mind's artist, if ever they tried to express something somewhat original. I need to understand the intention behind and relate to it. As you may have guess I have been doing photography before digital, so it is easy for me not to step in and continue as I always did. I like what i do and prefer to spare myself, to protect my own desire because of course not having recognition can erode your beliefs. The equation recognition = value + merit is flawed. There are countless of valuable artists that received poor recognition; but when you look at there work (long after they are gone often) I think their work is of interest. So do the things you like to do because to become famous requires more than skills. Looking for recognition is an entire different process and you really have to fight for it no matter what it takes. Study art history and you'll understand how unfair it can be to some and how the art world can destroy real talents. If I were in my twenties today I would probably feel the same as you do today. Social media might be a must do but dont rely on it for inspiration.Thanks for the video.
Very beautiful video.
Rainydays
AI is the future. No more pictures only imagination.
🤢
2018 was the last year we could get more like than followers :( it was a great time
i don’t get more than twenty likes but i get good feedback. mostly do instagram for myself. as like a portfolio or something.
Probably the best way for most of us 🌞
I feel attacked 😢❤
Sorry my g
Make physical world great again.
Yeah man 🔥
VERO is the best
I think the algorithm is gonna like this one
A girl can dream
If instagram shows your work lees it’s because it got better at showing people what they want to see… and it’s not your work
I left when you couldn't sort by recent. *What absolute trash*
70-500?
A post popping off for me is 4 or more likes
Bear in mind I’ve got 4K followers and I’ve been posting for like 15 years 🤢
I do confess that i didn't watch the video yet and I already have an opinion: yes, I agree! When I started taking photos, it was bc of the simplicity of Instagram, of the people that were doing a great job with just a smartphone and I was super inspired, I wanted to do the same. Nowadays, I'm taking a break from social media (besides YT), and I think I see the world better, the objects, the people and my passion for something that keeps me grounded, doing for the pleasure of it, not for numbers and showing it. The flux of images on Instagram is really killing the art of photography.
Thanks dude!
😢
Excellent upload. "F#%? the algorithm coming straight from the underground, a young snapper got it bad cos I'm brown…" 🙏🏿
BEST VIDEO EVER.
Bloody hell! That was a slog. Whatever the merits of what you have to say, I follow your channel (and profile) for the creative Max not the "moany Max".
Sorry Jatsa ❤️
1st
🔥
So is all the UA-cam ruining your photography. Too many hacks pretending to know what they're doing & expecting you to follow their 3 steps to better photos.