Shooting the same iconic locations as everyone else is a trap most fall into without realizing it. This video makes a compelling case that the most memorable images aren't the ones that show everything perfectly; they're the ones that leave questions unanswered.
Coming to you from e6 Vlogs, this thought-provoking video sees Craig Roberts challenge the reflex to chase honeypot locations and perfectly composed, technically flawless shots. Roberts asks whether a stunning landscape, one that's beautifully lit, sharp, dramatic, actually moves anyone beyond surface-level appreciation. His argument is that images which withhold answers, which make a viewer stop and wonder what's happening outside the frame or why something was included at all, tend to be the more interesting results. He's not talking about technically flawed work or deliberate obscurity for its own sake. He's talking about intention: choosing subjects others walk past, keeping in elements others would crop out, and asking yourself why you're making those choices.
Roberts points to emotion as the practical entry point into this way of working. Rather than waiting for golden light at a famous viewpoint, he suggests heading out when you're feeling frustrated, melancholy, or restless — those states, he argues, naturally push you toward less obvious subjects and less predictable compositions. The emotions you feel while shooting may not even be fully clear to you in the moment. The image might only reveal its meaning later, once you're back home looking at what you captured. That ambiguity isn't a weakness in his framework; it's part of the point.
What Roberts is really describing is a shift in how you think about success. If your entire catalog contained zero famous landmarks, no honeypot views, no shots that mirror what thousands of others have already posted, would that feel like failure? He sits with that question rather than dismissing it, and it's worth sitting with yourself. The pull toward FOMO in photography is real, and a lot of shooting decisions get made based on what others are already doing rather than what genuinely interests you. Roberts shoots honeypot locations occasionally, but they're just one part of a much broader catalog, not the anchor of it. His goal on Instagram isn't to get a scroll-stop because a place is recognizable. He wants people to stop because they can't quite place what they're looking at or why it was photographed at all.
The video doesn't turn into a technical tutorial. There are no camera settings to copy or compositional rules to memorize. The shift Roberts is describing is harder than that; it's a change in mindset that takes time to develop and has no clear endpoint. He frames it as a journey rather than a destination, which sounds simple but carries real weight when you start applying it to your own shooting. Check out the video above for the full rundown from Roberts.
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