How to get attention on your photos when everybody’s a photographer
How to get attention on your photos when everybody’s a photographer
[Note: this is written from the POV of a photographer who has been sharing photos on social media for over 15 years, and has a decent-sized audience across multiple social platforms (somewhere around 80k total - not including my newsletter or blog readers), but admittedly is not “famous” or “popular” or any of those things.]
Doesn’t it seem like everyone is a photographer these days? No matter where you go, someone is there taking photos. Sure, much of the time they are using their phones, but honestly the quality of those is good enough for most casual consumer use (and for social media, which is where most photos get seen anyways).
Thanks to the popularity of apps like Instagram, and general photo-sharing on all social media, it seems everyone got interested in taking photos.
And I love that.
I love photos, and photography, and the process of taking and editing photos. I’m glad it’s popular. I want more people to embrace photography and the photo creation process.
Art is important, and fun, and it’s a worthwhile pursuit, regardless of your goals with it.
But the massive popularity makes it hard to get any attention on your photography these days, because obviously social media is absolutely flooded with images on a daily basis. And a lot of great images, I might add.
So what is my advice?
Give up.
No, I’m kidding - but there is a little bit of truth in there.
I feel like trying to get attention on our photography is hard, and frankly it gets harder each year as the field gets more crowded with more talented photographers.
Plus, social-media-driven trends overwhelm and outperform photos that aren’t trendy, AI-generated images get more and more attention, and algorithms change on what seems like a daily basis.
And due to all of that, I think you should focus on one thing: your enjoyment of the photo creation process.
Don’t chase trends. Don’t try to become popular. Ignore all of that.
Just do what you like, enjoy the process, and share if and when you want to.
I think if your primary goal is to become popular (or viral, or famous, etc), you are doing it for the wrong reasons.
Chasing likes is a miserable way to spend your time. It’s a complete waste of time, in fact.
Sure, we all want likes - we’ve been trained that way our entire lives - but chasing them, intentionally, is different.
I truly believe that if you make art that you like, the rest of it will fall into place. That doesn’t mean you will become popular or famous or go viral, but you will be happy, and that is way more important.
Maybe the funny thing is that the best way to get attention on your photography is to stop worrying so much about getting attention on your photography.
Embrace photography because you love it. Enjoy the process. Take your time. Make art that makes you feel good. Share it only if you want to. Be yourself, authentically. Who cares what anybody thinks?
You’ll likely find more traction when you are true to the real you and find your own style than if you pretend to be something you’re not. And frankly, it will be a hell of a lot more enjoyable.
And how do you find your style? How do you find the real you? Take your time. Experiment with tools, learn, try new techniques, and see what you come up with. Eventually, you'll find the things that feel authentic to your vision.
That's one reason I like presets, too. Not because I think everyone should make their photos look the same, but because they can be a starting point for developing a look that becomes your own. I've always thought of my presets that way: as tools to experiment with, tweak, and customize to your vision.
Find and use the tools that help you develop your own voice. My presets are one place to start.
Live life, take photos, have fun. That’s the good stuff.
