Spring
Hello, it’s been a while. I’ve been busy doing a little bit of everything and a lot of nothing (more of the latter to be honest). I wanted to write a few words about a shoot I did in April before Spring ends, and I also want to share some of my thoughts on the current state of Instagram and how it’s going to impact the way I post.
Before I begin talking about the shoot, I’d like to give a shoutout to the awesome team involved. This couldn’t have happened without the talented Julia @juliabaker13, the make up skills of Hannah @hannahcoyoc, and the wardrobe provided by @bazacouture. Julia and I actually planned this shoot for a few months; I approached her with the idea of working together and she pitched in a few ideas of themes she wanted to shoot. We threw ideas around and recruited the rest of the team. The day of the actual shoot was perfect, the weather was great, the vibes were great, and Julia was such a pleasure to work with. I had a lot of fun. The end result was amazing. There is something so fulfilling and inspiring about planning and executing something one envisions (I’ll share the photos below).
This led me to think about the fact that is only the second project I’ve worked on all year, but my vision and inspiration were as fresh as ever. And it got me thinking…… I used to do projects with models, brands, etc. almost every month; I had also set a goal to go out and shoot at least once every week. I’m beginning to realize I was getting burned out and running my inspiration to the ground. Yes practice makes perfect, but what’s the point of practicing often if you don’t have a vision?
This year, I have used my medium format film camera only two times, and my 35mm camera a handful of times, and I feel okay about it. I’ve had a lot of fun the few times I’ve gone out to shoot. I also have not been posting as much on Instagram lately either, but honestly, fuck Instagram, haha. Sure it gave me a platform to share my work and art, but it has evolved into a pure content/influencer driven platform; and you have to adapt with the algorithm, otherwise you can say goodbye to reaching new audiences. It’s all about reels and interactions nowadays. I’ve seen a few photographers really take advantage and thrive with reels, and I’ve done a few reels myself; but I don’t want that to be my focus, I want to focus on photography only.
Sometimes I ask myself if I would’ve been a photographer if Instagram was not around; and the truth is, probably not. But through Instagram I found something I love and am passionate about; photography has become more personal to me than it is public to ya’ll. So I don’t really care too much about growing an audience anymore. I don’t plan on becoming a famous photographer, and I honestly don’t care about making a career about it. I have good job outside of photography that has provided me with stability and great skills. Photography is just my escape from the world when I need a break. So I’m simply gonna go out and shoot when I want to and need to. And I’m going to post when I feel like it, not when a damn Instagram algorithm says I need to post to grow an audience. Ya’ll welcomed to join the ride with me.
