Tag: fomo

Instagram’s Double-Edged Legacy: A Photographer’s Perspective

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In October 2010, Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger unleashed Instagram upon the world. With its intuitive interface and playful filters, the app revolutionised how we share photos, ushering in a new era of mobile photography. However, over time, Instagram’s trajectory has shifted dramatically, raising questions about its impact on photography, the rise of influencers, and its changing priorities. This article delves into Instagram’s complex legacy, exploring its transformative yet increasingly problematic role in modern photography.

The Rise and Fall of Photography on Instagram

In its early days, Instagram democratised photography, empowering everyday users to become amateur photographers. The app’s filters and nostalgic aesthetic resonated with users, transforming personal snapshots into artistic expressions shared with a global audience. This initial period fostered a vibrant community of photographers who connected, shared their work, and even launched careers. However, Instagram’s algorithm, initially chronological, evolved into a complex beast driven by engagement metrics. This shift, combined with the rise of influencers and the platform’s increasing emphasis on video content, has had a detrimental impact on photography.

The Instagram Algorithm: A Photographer’s Nemesis

The algorithm, shrouded in secrecy, prioritises content that generates the most likes, comments, and shares. This has led to a homogenisation of aesthetics, favouring trends and viral content over unique artistic expression. Photographers feel pressured to conform to popular styles and create content that caters to the algorithm’s whims rather than their own creative vision. Moreover, the algorithm’s preference for short-form videos, like Reels, has further marginalised photography. Photos are often buried in favour of videos, making it increasingly difficult for photographers to gain visibility and reach a wider audience. This shift has raised concerns about the devaluation of photography as an art form and the platform’s changing priorities.

The Influencer Paradox: Celebrity Without Substance

Instagram’s influencer culture, where individuals gain fame and fortune through their follower count rather than their talent or skill, has further exacerbated the problem. Many influencers prioritise self-promotion and brand endorsements over genuine artistic expression, perpetuating a cycle of superficiality and instant gratification. This culture has also created unrealistic expectations and fuelled unhealthy comparisons among users, including photographers. The pressure to maintain a perfect online persona and constantly chase likes and followers can lead to anxiety, depression, and a loss of creative autonomy.

The Future of Instagram: A Photographer’s Dilemma

As Instagram continues to prioritise short-form video content and cater to influencer culture, photographers face a difficult choice. They can either adapt to the platform’s changing landscape by creating more videos and conforming to popular trends, or they can seek out alternative platforms that prioritise photography and genuine artistic expression. The latter option, while challenging, may be more fulfilling for photographers who value their craft and refuse to compromise their artistic integrity. By exploring alternative platforms and building communities outside of Instagram, photographers can regain control of their work and connect with audiences who appreciate their unique vision.

An Alternative?

While Instagram’s focus shifts away from photography, several alternative platforms offer havens for photographers to showcase their work, connect with like-minded individuals, and foster a supportive community. VERO, for example, boasts a chronological feed, an ad-free environment, and features tailored to visual artists. 500px provides a dedicated space for professional and amateur photographers to share high-quality images, participate in contests, and even sell their work. Glass is another emerging platform designed specifically for photographers, offering a clean interface, curated collections, and a focus on long-form visual storytelling. Ello, known for its artist-centric approach, provides a space for creative expression without the pressure of algorithms or ads. These are just a few examples of the many platforms available that prioritise photography and offer a refreshing alternative to Instagram’s increasingly commercialised environment.

Conclusion: Reclaiming Photography

Instagram’s legacy in the realm of photography is undeniably complex. While it initially empowered photographers and fostered a vibrant community, its current trajectory raises serious concerns about the future of photography on the platform. Photographers must recognise that Instagram is no longer primarily a platform for photography. It has become a commercialised space dominated by short-form videos and influencer culture. To protect their artistic integrity and find meaningful engagement, photographers need to explore alternative platforms, diversify their content, and most importantly, create work that speaks to their own unique vision rather than chasing the elusive validation of the Instagram algorithm.

Facebook went down on me!

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Hello Dear Reader, maybe you don’t know what Facebook is, or Instagram, or WhatsApp, but yesterday they went down on the entire world, but not in a sexy way. Facebook is the Face of Social Media, Instagram is the camera of Social Media, and WhatsApp is where we tell everyone what we are doing by private message.  Twitter was where we were all taking the piss out of the aforementioned Social Media outlets last night.

This is a big thing in an ultra-connected world.  At work I listen to the Jeremy Vine show on BBC Radio 2, and they spent 30 minutes talking about it.  It has featured on all the news bulletins that I have heard today.  This is a big thing!  So many of us have mobile phones, and I’m not talking about the indestructible Nokia phones, whose batteries are still working.   I’m talking about “smartphones” that are so smart that they have degrees in smartness from Smarty-pants University.  They are capable of so much more than the computers that sent men to the moon, and they fit into your pocket! 

Some people with depression and social anxiety called in to say how they depend on Social Media to have a manageable contact with the outside world, others who use it to advertise their small businesses to those of us scrolling through, and others of us who are addicted and can’t put our phones down, because of the dreaded FOMO, or fear of missing out.

Whilst at work, my mind can wander, and something that comes back regularly is the desire to go back to my prep-school and tell them what the world is like in 2021, or forty years from now.  Some of my masters were WW2 veterans, others were baby boomers, and some of them weren’t actually that mad, despite appearances.  I remember one Maths lesson where the teacher told us to find arithmetic patterns in our times tables.  I got three and had to find the pattern.  My first algorithm.  Now these algorithms are omnipresent and artificial intelligence is using them and running the world, especially on these platforms.  Think back to Brexit, or the 2016 American elections. 

Smug people came onto the programme saying how we had lost the power of conversation, or how come people just don’t pick up the phone.  Some talked about the wake-up call.  Others were talking about Gen Z, who have lost the power of communication.  However, there is nuance everywhere, which is something these platforms like us to forget.  I see people like my daughter, who is always on her phone, but she is conversing and communicating non-stop with her friends at school or a version of her tribe.  My son does the same thing.  They communicate differently.  I often wonder what my First Form Master, Fr Gerald, would make of it all.  Now we use emoticons to reply to some of our messages.  Have we gone back to using hieroglyphs?  Is that a problem?  They say a picture can be worth a thousand words. 

How did I manage?  Not too badly.  To begin with, I was worried that my Internet might not be working. But I soon found out what was happening.  It wasn’t much of a hinderance.  I still had my music on Amazon Music, and I was scanning negatives for my son.  They were from 2016, and he shocked to see how he looked just 5 years ago.  I think he used the word cringe.  I missed putting them on Facebook to share them with the rest of my French family.  Maybe Facebook has its uses after all, and shouldn’t the rule be able about moderation?  Use it by all means, but don’t let it become your master.  I’m still glad that they’re online again…

Beauty of the Mundane

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Every now and again you come across an article in a newspaper or a video on YouTube that makes you think in a way that a cute cat video won’t. Sometimes it might be a new newspaper with just a different look or feel to it. Or a new book from an author that you don’t know. As a child I discovered the Independent newspaper being delivered all of a sudden and falling in love with the photography inside it. Looking at these images and being touched by them. Not just the subjects, but the pure beauty of the images. At that time journalism in the newspaper industry meant black and white images taken by people in the field, film cannisters being sent back to the newspaper, people editing the photos in the darkroom, and then either being scanned on drum scanners or plates being made which were then incorporated into the different page layouts and then printed on the presses.

Wow, that just took me back to having breakfast with my father every day as a child before school in the sun room gazing at the newspaper and the garden. The smell of coffee on my father’s breath, and him looking so dapper in pyjamas and his dressing gown. Amazing how one can time travel in one’s mind in a split second. Radio three on the radio which gave such a calmness to the whole situation.

But onwards and upwards! Recently you discover a YouTube channel that makes you think… I have a few that I watch on a regular basis, mostly about photography but I suppose that’s not a huge surprise to you! If I’m not mistaken, then this is the video that made me think a little further. I’ll just let you watch it first and then we can continue.

Seeing is so important in photography as it is in any visual art. I’m not going to pretend to be some wonderful artist. I will have a go at being a visual documenter, and I think I may have already touched on this in a previous article, but I’m going to do it again. Couldn’t find the article so it must have been a discussion on a comments section from a Facebook post. Anyway….

To me, Photography is an art of observation. It’s about finding something interesting in an ordinary place… I’ve found this has little to with the things you see and everything to do with the way you see them

Elliot Erwitt

That resonnated with me. It made me want to explore the idea of photographing the ordinary, but trying to see how light treated those scenes or things, and try to capture the beauty in it. Having worked recently with artificial light, I have become a lot more aware of light in my photography and how I might use it to get the most out of an image. The brief is to try and take a few photos a day of my ordinary every day life and the objects that are in front of my eyes, and publish them on an Instagram account.

Julia Margaret Cameron: soft-focus photographer with an iron will

From her housemaid to Alfred Tennyson, the indomitable Victorian wrestled everybody into her studio, dressing them up as characters from Shakespeare and the Bible. For years, these tableaux have been out of fashion – but two new shows cast this pioneering photographer in a new light

So let’s welcome Beauty in the Mundane, the new IJM account! This is a side project and will have it’s own little feeling to it. There is a new profile pic, or auto portrait for those who like think of themselves as better than the rest of us. One kind follower pointed out, “Hello ton autoportrait est flou🤔,” to which I replied, “Je sais. Mais ce n’est pas le fin du monde…. ça donne une impression de l’irréel or ce compte est que du réel. Mais merci de m’avoir prévenu.” O Irony! I then pointed him to an article from the Guardian, and started talking about the need to embrace imperfection.

So there is this new project to try and see this ordinary and try and see its inherent beauty, be that by form, shape, light, the was the light creates form as it falls on an object. Don’t expect huge landscape vistas, or portraits. It’s not that kind of thing. It might be utter bunkum and look like three shades of crap, but then again, it might not. There will certainly be an evolution as there should be be always. I don’t don’t where it will lead, or if it will be nothing more than just a personal photographic exercise. It might provide some high art. I don’t know yet,

I’ve just started. But if you don’t follow then you won’t know. Don’t want you missing out on anything do we….