Social media rewards predictable photography. Popular trends get likes, shares, and engagement, but they don’t necessarily make you better. If you want to improve, you need to stop repeating the same shots that flood Instagram and start thinking more critically about what you create.
Coming to you from Jason Row Photography, this insightful video breaks down common photographic tropes that have overstayed their welcome. One of the biggest offenders is the supermoon shot. Supermoons used to be a rare event, but social media has turned every full moon into one. The result? An endless stream of nearly identical images, all relying on long lenses and planning apps instead of creativity. Another overused trend is the over-processed aurora borealis shot. While the northern lights are undeniably stunning, lower-latitude auroras often appear as little more than a green smudge. Yet, with a high ISO and aggressive saturation in post, these images become neon explosions that have little to do with reality.
Puddle reflection shots are another example. The idea is simple—place your camera low, capture a reflection, and create a mirror effect. It can look striking, but it’s been done to death. More importantly, it’s often a substitute for strong composition. A similar problem exists with lensball photography. The novelty of flipping a scene upside down in a glass sphere fades quickly. If the only way to make a location interesting is through a gimmick, the composition was never strong to begin with.
Selfie-driven travel photography is another issue. True travel photography captures a place, its people, and its culture. But Instagram has turned it into a collection of influencers posing in front of landmarks. Flying in, grabbing a few staged shots, and leaving without engaging with the location isn’t travel—it’s content creation. Drone photography follows a similar pattern. Instead of using drones to access unique angles and compositions, many photographers rely on maximum altitude shots that offer little more than a new perspective. High doesn’t mean good.
Trendy shots aren’t useless. They can teach you technical skills—how to expose properly, how to use long lenses, how to edit. But they don’t push creativity forward. If you want to improve, you need critique, not likes. Chasing social media validation leads to stagnation. Honest feedback, even when harsh, is what makes you better. Check out the video above for the full rundown from Row.
Alex, your assessment of social media’s impact on photography is spot on. While platforms like Instagram can offer exposure, they often incentivize repetition over innovation. As a fashion and editorial photographer, I see similar patterns—certain lighting setups, color grades, or compositions become trendy, and suddenly, everyone is doing the same thing. It creates a cycle where creativity takes a backseat to what’s popular.
Your point about critique versus likes really resonates. In fashion photography, genuine growth comes from working with editors, art directors, and peers who challenge you to refine your vision, not from chasing engagement metrics. Social media is a necessary evil for visibility, but it should not be the only place photographers share their work. Galleries, print publications, and direct collaborations often provide deeper engagement and more meaningful feedback.
Paul Tocatlian
Kisau Photography
www.kisau.com
I disagree with the title of this article. Why? Because it uses the word "your".
A published article is, by default, aimed at each and every person who will read it. So when a title or a statement within the article is not true for one of the readers, then there is a breakdown in the relevance of the article on a reader-by-reader basis.
Social media has not made my photography worse. It has actually led to massive improvements in my photography, because of the way it can be used as a resource to aid in working out the logistics of photo trips.
It is very inaccurate thinking to assume that people who use social media see all of the photos there that are getting gazillions of "likes", and then try to emulate them. That is not how most creative people's brains work. Most of us would not give so much as a rat's turd for another 10,000 likes. And most of us, when we see something we love, do not think, "I want to do the same thing". Again, that is not the way the human brain operates for those who pursue creative endeavors like photography.
Most of us are using Instagram and Facebook for networking purposes - to help build connections with those who can help us in our photographic endeavors. We are also using these social media sites as logistical research for upcoming photo trips and projects. We are not going to these sites to see other people's photography with the idea of making similar images ourselves. That is just not how we are wired.
The entire article, and video, is based on a premise that simply is not true. A typical "straw man" scenario. Humans are not as shallow and pathetic as some writers assume them to be.
It's the impersonal you. It's a rhetorical device.