The Race To The Bottom - Part II
Wow, where’s the time gone eh? It seems like only 5 minutes ago I was having a wee rant on here (well I’d like to think it was a bit more eloquent than a rant) giving a fairly wide-ranging piece on how I felt the ‘landscape’ lay in the world of landscape photography. Well, that was May 2019, much has changed since then, and I thought it would be worth jotting down a few thoughts and reflecting back on some of the things I discussed previously.
Have my views changed?? Have I changed??
Well first of all I’d seek to clarify (though to be honest I was at pains to make myself explicitly clear the first time round) - that my intention of course was never to offend or upset anyone, I was simply giving an honest appraisal of how things stood at the time, I’d say 99.9% of the feedback was very positive, the recurring theme in those comments was that I was raising issues which many photographers felt too hesitant to say in a public forum. All of the things I stated in that original blog were things that I’d already heard a thousand times from other photographers either face-to-face or privately online. As with anything, you can’t please everyone, and some took offence with what I said. Hey ho, not the end of the world.
I think the best way to do this is to address the topics raised in the original piece one by one, and see what (if anything) has changed from my perspective.
Brands promoting average work
This is an easy one, it’s got worse in my opinion. I don’t think I’m being outlandish here in saying this - camera brands and associated equipment companies SHOULD BE DOING FAR MORE to support and promote photographers and its community, a community which right now feels almost non-existent, especially since the birth of NFT’s. The photography industry across the board is largely in decline, ask any working photographer, it’s never been tougher, with the value of photography never being lower than it is now. Many photographers who don’t do this for a living are somewhat shielded from this, as landscape photography like many niche hobbies exists in something of a bubble. But believe me, I see it everyday in the attitudes of the general public while running a gallery, you can’t escape it. Do any kind of Google analysis on camera sales since 2012 and it’ll show the industry is in massive decline. Yet we continue to have this rather strange paradigm where photographers almost have to go cap in hand to brands for any kind of support, rather than brands taking a more proactive approach. My partner, who is a very talented nail artist and who works with some leading brands, as an outsider finds this sort of approach in our industry really quite odd also. It’s almost the complete reverse in what she does. What’s even more bizarre, (I can only speak regarding landscape photography in this instance) is there seems to be a real disconnect between those companies and with what’s actually going on in the genre. An example of this is a number of photographers who have a remarkable ability to go from brand to brand acquiring ‘ambassador’ status without ever producing any quality work over a sustained period, it’s really quite baffling. What’s even more bizarre is a decent proportion of those photographers have really quite limited reach and influence also, which doesn’t even tick the box of making good business sense? Now of course, we can go back to the argument of “it’s all subjective” and Stuart, “who made you the arbiter of good or bad photography?”…….. Again, it’s an opinion. I’d hope by now I’m in a reasonably well-qualified position to give an informed opinion on this subject. But going back to the bit about supporting photographers, especially those photographers who consistently produce high-quality work - companies really need to do more, A LOT more. It’s a win-win all round, nobody loses. Promote and help the photographers, they’re your market, a market that’s shrinking all the time, it makes no sense to not back them more.
YouTube / Twitter / Instagram
YouTube, this is an interesting one. Many who read my first piece will likely want me to do a massive backtrack on this given I’ve since started making content on this platform, well that isn’t going to happen I’m afraid… 🤣
Firstly, I should state that I’ve never been opposed to YouTube, I said as much in part one of this blog, and like all social media platforms it has its pro’s and con’s. My wider concerns at the time and which I still have today were regarding it’s influence specifically with beginners, if anything they’ve strengthened having now sat on the other side of the fence as a video creator. The platform, like others, has become even more entrenched in clickbait/algorithms than it was 3 years ago, leaving many creators producing more and more identikit content in the often blind hope of hitting the algorithm ‘just right’. I’m just pleased my business is not based around YouTube, as I’d imagine if you are this isn’t a particularly secure place to be. You’re one tech nerd’s click away from having your business model thrown upside down due to a slight tweak to the algorithm. This is something many creators are now experiencing with Instagram also.
Personally, a clear positive if you’re not chasing this mythical algorithm is that YouTube as an all-round platform, a place where you can reach a wide audience but also provide context to what you’re doing, is really unrivalled in my opinion. I can really see the value in this now, far more than I did previously. A huge positive for me which can be directly attributed to doing the videos is the increase in workshop bookings. I started making the videos without any specific goal other than to increase visibility to my business, which really is just common sense and something I’ll readily admit I should have embraced earlier. I’m also happy to admit that I’ve enjoyed creating the videos far more than I anticipated, certainly from the perspective of learning a new skill in video editing, and also using a drone. Broadening one’s skills base can never be a bad thing.
So what are my concerns? Well the main one and a good example of this is while running workshops over the past year many clients are really keen to talk about YouTube at length, which of course is harmless and understandable to an extent (and certainly no fault on their part) though it’s always a bit concerning that they might not be there for the learning aspect! When this crops up I’ll always challenge those clients to give me some influences outside of YouTube, which rather worryingly is often met with silence. This is perhaps understandable given how influential the platform has become over the years, and there’s some excellent photographers on there which should be acknowledged. However it shouldn’t be forgotten that it’s still a teeny-tiny fraction of all landscape photographers who actually make vlogs. To repeat the point I made in my first blog:
Most landscape photographers I’ve encountered on the whole are either shy/introverted/insular or a mix of all of them, and enjoy the solitude and peace which landscape photography often brings. All things which for the most part aren’t conducive to sticking your mug in front of a camera and talking.
That line I think is key and why there’s possibly a bit of a disconnect going on with photographers on a lot of platforms. The demand for video to supplement and sell what you’re doing on the stills front is something the vast majority probably aren’t comfortable with and maybe never will be. Understandably so, not everyone is a natural presenter or even wants to be. Maybe I’m wrong and that’s a generalisation, who knows, but what I do know is there’s an absolute ocean of photographers out there which don’t exist on YouTube, so if you’re a beginner reading this go and look at their websites, pick up a book of theirs, there’s so much out there to enjoy other than what’s condensed into a 15 minute YT video, there’s most certainly a place for both.
The way Instagram seems to have headed in trying to go head-to-head with TikTok in becoming a video-centric platform makes me wonder if there’ll be any platforms left for photographers to grow and thrive if they don’t wish to produce video content. There seems to have been a mass exodus of photographers back to Twitter due to the changes Instagram has made, unfortunately this seems to have coincided with the rise of NFT’s, further fracturing the community and leaving a lot of photographers wondering what the future holds. Facebook? It’s been dead for donkeys unless you pay for reach. Flickr? A great viewing platform for purists no doubt, but zero community. Instagram I’ve covered, which leaves Twitter. It’s a shame the NFT thing has panned out the way it has on Twitter, my hope is that the community around NFT’s organically spreads to other platforms so it seems a bit less saturated on there. I think the NFT space is negatively suffering from everything being concentrated in the one space. I get both sides of the argument and I’ve said my piece on the subject in one of my earlier newsletters (SEE HERE) however it’s a shame that what was once a thriving photography community on Twitter seems so fragmented now. There’s so many great photographers I used to follow who simply don’t post there (or anywhere) anymore. I feel there’s a degree of apathy that’s taken hold not only there but on other platforms too. I think many photographers probably feel a bit homeless and left by the wayside, especially by Instagram which grew to prominence solely off the back of photography. These platforms have become so video-focused and ad-driven that photography seems like a bit of a relic at times. As I said earlier, for many photographers the idea of video work is their worst nightmare, and understandably so, they didn’t sign up for that so the disillusionment is understandable. Now we must produce ‘reels’ or ‘stories’ on Instagram and Facebook to get any traction - but who wants to see middle aged men crouched behind tripods with some bizarre music laid over the top of it? It’s all very odd. These platforms are so heavily driven by engagement and algorithms that a lot of what I see from people often seems quite false and forced, little feels organic anymore.
I’m a proper stubborn git and from day dot I’ve never changed my approach to how I use social media (probably naively and to my detriment) and have always felt that if the work is of a good enough standard, it’ll find its audience. I still believe that, in my world integrity to what I’m doing is everything, photography or otherwise. In return the hope is my peers and any audience I have built both recognises and appreciates that. But I must admit, that approach (which is always the tougher road to travel as opposed to the endless back slapping and promotion you see many partake in) is getting harder and harder to justify, such is the never ending thirst for engagement social media now encourages and rewards.
Whenever this sort of thing crops up in discussion with clients who ask for my advice on how to ‘get their work out there’ and improve their visibility, firstly my response is usually “I’ve no idea” 🤣 but secondly I’m reminded of an interview Tiger Woods did in his pomp in 2000 when he was breaking every record under the sun. The interviewer was reeling off all these records he’d broken at the time and was asking Woods did he think about the enormity of his achievements and their relevance - his reply was characteristically blunt: “I don’t think about any of that stuff even for a second, I just keep producing, all that other stuff takes care of itself” (I’m paraphrasing but you get the gist). It’s something I try to follow and is the advice I’ll always give, keep producing good work and all the other fluff will sort itself out, you hope…….
Useful, constructive critique/discussion is virtually non-existent
This is quite easy also - it’s still non existent. I think to be honest, the ship has sailed on this one. I must give a mention here to James Burns who shortly after my first blog started a hashtag on Twitter along the lines of ‘frazzlemefriday” (hopefully that’s right) which for a short while succeeded in stimulating at least something of a discussion with some critical thought.
I must be clear here, I’m fully understanding and appreciative of the fact that social media is not the best medium for delivering critique. It’s limited, nuance and tone is often lost, people are fragile, I get that, it can be something of a blunt tool. But I think this area is a bit indicative of what we see in wider society now, where everyone and everything is deemed wonderful, special and unique, and it’s almost a given that you’ll be applauded and praised merely for putting something out there. The problem with that mentality, is if everyone’s a winner then really, no-one’s a winner (I use ‘winner’ metaphorically of course). Praise loses value and meaning, and can end up sounding a bit insincere. If I see an image I really like, I’ll happily like/share and leave a comment regardless of who it is. But I’ve got to be moved enough to do that - which isn’t all that often, and that probably won’t change. That might sound a bit elitist to some (though I hardly think so) but my hope is that when I leave a like or a comment on something, that person knows I really mean it sincerely and I’m not just throwing the compliments around like confetti. It’s not in any way suggesting my input is of any more value than the next person, I’m just trying to be sincere and honest.
As far as leaving critique goes, I just don’t do it anymore, maybe apathy has hit me too 🤣, but hey if you’d like me to give my two penn’orth on an image let me know, I’d be more than happy to for what it’s worth. And as I’ve always maintained, I’m always open to anyone offering something constructive with anything of mine. I’ve often toyed with the idea of setting up a Facebook group designed purely for this which I’m sure others have thought about doing in the past, though to be honest I’m not sure there’s much appetite for this given how many photographer’s I know who’ve given up on Facebook. If you’re interested in one maybe leave a comment here or on Twitter and I might revisit it. For now though I’m not sure if there’s much desire for this in the public arena any more, I think times and attitudes have shifted so much, especially towards anything that could be construed as criticism, despite however well explained or intended. We’re a bloody soft society these days….
Summary - I’m still a miserable sod
So to sum up, yes I’ve still got a fairly bleak outlook across those same subjects from 3 years ago, but please take that with a grain of salt, I’ll probably always be like that! What I will say is that somehow I think photography as a community needs to come together more than it is, I’ve no idea how that happens mind, just a feeling I have. As someone who would consider myself ‘on the frontline’ as a working professional running a gallery I see it everyday with the rise of the mobile phone and the move of the major platforms towards video, it’s a bit worrying if I’m honest.
I hope I’ve something more positive to write about in 3 years when I write part 3……….
Keep smiling :-)
Stu
