Photography sits at the intersection of technology and art, and as such, it is susceptible to twice as many trends than otherwise, many of which are annoying or even damaging. Here are five trends one photographer is sick of seeing.
Coming to you from First Man Photography, this great video discusses five trends he is sick of in the photography industry. I particularly agree with social media. I have gradually neglected my social accounts more and more in the past few years, and now, I almost never post to them. While social media can absolutely be a valid business tool, I find the entire thing very artificial and often toxic. Beyond that, trends are always the order of the day, and those who are most successful on social media are often in that position because they know how to chase those trends, not because they are using their individual creative voice, and it is a shame when your unique self-expression is lost. I have been a lot happier off of it, and I have found myself returning to the sort of individual creative exploration and experimentation that made me fall in love with photography in the first place. Check out the video above for more.
I'm sick of actual trends.
I'm sick of blogs posting videos instead of articles!
Amen, Brother!
And the people who post them probably consider themselves to be journalists.
Although I don't write them, (I did one once, just for the experience) I find them really useful here, as they collate all the good videos in one place and that saves me time hunting through all the dross on YouTube. That, I guess, is why they are so hugely popular; lots of people visit them.
If you don't want to see them, then it is possible on the Fstoppers homepage to click on Originals link, and you will find written articles that are not discussions on the videos. I hope that helps.
A YouTube video is the slowest way of communicating information ever devised by the mind of man.
I get that this site is in large part a video aggregator, that's useful to many, but I suggest that text summaries would be wildly popular.
I disagree. My stepson had a coil pack in his 325 BMW go bad. I have all the tools needed but never did that particular job. One trip to You Tube, about 10 minutes of my time viewing the video and we got his car running like new. If I had to read each step, it would have taken 5 times longer AND the mechanic on You Tube gave little hints along the way that you would NEVER find in a manual.
Sure, I use DIY videos too. But it's hard to find the good ones. So many are terrible! The key to video is: GET TO THE POINT.
Yea....the 'get to the point' is a good point. :-) Some videos do droll on.
You obviously never had to learn Morse code for a ham radio exam.
Ha.. I had a ham license as a kid in 1966. Only 5wpm, but I got better later. WN9SGZ.
AC8BV, though I need to renew. 73s!
You would take away the "Influencers" revenue stream? This post is sponsored by...
Water droplet macro -- just kidding, Adam has a sweet series of those and is probably something most everyone with a decent macro has attempted...is much harder than it appears for sure!
Am sick of every photographer having some kind of 'Master-Class' or LR preset bundle available only for a limited time at a discounted price....ugh, I get it, is an income stream and I appreciate the hustling, but dang, is too much. 'Stay tuned to end of the video get my special secret offer'--no thanks. Bro, I am as broke as everyone else because I've bought so many master classes and LR bundles (haha)
I'm sick of articles that pronounce "is _____ the ______ killer? " or similar clickbaity titles or teasers. Actually, those articles are probably a waste of time so I'll skip them. I'd say the other trend that nauseates me are advertisements that blogs call stories. Please be a journalist, Alex and tell me before I click that this story is written by _______, an ambassador or explorer with an independent or sponsored review.
Don't forget "________ every photographer must have/learn". "The lens every landscape photographer must have". "The five techniques every street photographer must learn".
Anything involving drones.
Right on! Great commercial applications but worthy of inclusion on a photography site? I don't think so.
Psssst....photographers work on commercial assignments also, which could involve getting shots they otherwise could have gotten. So, yeah, drones are worthy of inclusion on a photography site.
My son uses a drone for his photography business. Why wouldn't drone PHOTOGRAPHY be a good fit on a PHOTOGRAPHY site?
lol
I hate people who stereotype people who use a particular brand of camera.
Bokeh
Anything labeled as a trend... especially when it's not!
I hate the trend with photographers/youtubers that makes videos like:
10 things you should stop doing as a photographer. 8 mistakes I see amateurs doing in landscape photography. The MISTAKE I see ALL BEGINNERS Make with Their Landscape Photos! The last one is actually real believe or not! Please stop being arrogant and let photographers do what they like! Please!
I actually had those in mind ;)
I'm sick of supposed grown-ups acting like cry babies over videos. :P
I’m sick of this site and it’s lack of actual articles. I can search YouTube all day long. I’m done with fstoppers, this site has been dead for a couple of years now. Been a good run, but I’m out
Bookmark this:
https://fstoppers.com/originals
Amen!