I have to be very blunt right now: the art side of the photography world is quite sucky right now. Everywhere I look, someone is trying to be an idea of a photographer but is really just working to get the most attention on themselves that they can. In turn, the modern photographers has truly hurt themselves so much in their quest for attention that they’ve forgotten about authenticity. In a phone call with a friend the other day, I asked him about why he needs so much outside validation for his images instead of just being confident that it’s the best work that he can do. His answer is like so much of what everyone else says: he didn’t know. We can all admit that camera technology has majorly improved in that autofocus has gotten better, we can see more details in low light at faster shutter speeds, we can gather more details overall, and there are more things that can be done in-camera than was possible before. But despite this, as much as photographic tools and instruments have gotten better, photographers haven’t gotten better. They’re too busy pandering to a social media algorithm that doesn’t care about their work.
This article is inspired by perhaps one of the best photographers of the past 20 years: Zack Arias. Over a decade ago, I remember we posted an article about how he reminded us that it’s all about the photographer behind the camera. And this is true. However, I don’t think that we can totally discount the gear. Different gear helps you create and express yourself in ways that other pieces don’t allow you to do. On the side, I play the bass guitar. My Sterling Sting Ray and current Fender Bassman amp put out a completely different sound than my vintage Fender Mexican Jazz Deluxe and my Fender Bassman from the 1990s. You can’t mix the settings of either to sound exactly the same. In that way, it’s partially about the gear. And that’s the problem with photography: we can use post-production to get the exact same image with a Nikon Zf that you can with a Holga. So with that said, you have to really refine your process to get a look that can’t be had otherwise.
Despite all this, we’re in the single best time perhaps in camera technology history. AI and machine learning databases are being incorporated into cameras to make them better at recognizing subjects. Yet the bigger problem is that now photographers really need to find a way to make work that generative AI cannot duplicate. To do that, I really think that they need to ditch the post-production world for a while and just start building sets, playing with lens filters, and so much more. There are tons of great tools available to us, but we’re not using them. Photographers have forgotten how to play in sandboxes and turn literal sand into sand castles and sculptures like we did when we were kids.
More importantly, we’re not taking photography seriously as an art because we’re not creating or using the medium like an artist would. What I’m saying here is that we’re not using our imagination and instead trying to copy what we’re seeing. I don’t think anyone would disagree with me when I say that visual media is consistently copying itself. We’re going for vintage trends instead of genuinely trying to refine and create new things because we’re too busy trying to please an algorithm. We’ve forgotten that making true art takes time. It’s far less of a McDonalds Big Mac and much more of a gourmet steak. But more importantly, art isn’t coming out of chains. And photographers aren’t chain restaurants — they’re smaller outlets.
One can blame the clients for not hiring us to flex our creative muscles. But with generative AI now a thing, we really have to do so even more.
We as photographers, need to admit. The gear can mostly replace what we’re doing. We, in general, aren’t connecting with ourselves enough to create work that’s truly unique.
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