‘Autotelic’ means:

To do something by yourself, to be self-driven for a purpose you believe in.

Ever since I deleted my Instagram, I have felt free. Because to be honest, a lot of us subconsciously get suckered by social media and photography:

Rather than focusing on making photos for yourself, we get suckered into trying to strive for more ‘likes’ on social media.

The more I philosophize about photography, the more I realize this truth:

You must be an independent photographer; an individual photographer, a self-focused photographer — making photos to please yourself.

Consider– if you strive to impress others with your photographs, the danger is that you end up making generic photos which please the masses (IKEA-esque photos). Truly great artwork generally spurns to please others (Nietzsche); great artists strive to impress themselves.

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Would you still be motivated to make photos, even if you couldn’t share it with others?

For myself, this is the ultimate test to know whether you are self-driven with your photography or not:

Would you still make photos if nobody else would see them?

Furthermore,

Would you still make photos, if you didn’t even have the opportunity to try to impress others with your photos? 

Also,

Would you be happy as a photographer, if you made photos that pleased you, but others hated or felt indifferent towards?

How to be self-driven in your photography

Practical tips:

1. Honestly, if you want to thrive as a photographer for the long-term, I encourage you to delete your Instagram and start your own photography blog. This way, you will own your platform. By owning your own platform, you have more control on how to share and publish your photos. Furthermore, you build equity in yourself by building your own platform!
2. Look at your old photos, and be brutally honest with yourself: “Which of my photos puts a smile on my face?”
3. Shoot everyday: You drink coffee everyday, watch entertainment (YouTube and Netflix) everyday; why not make photos everyday? If photography is fun for you, why don’t you shoot everyday?

SHOOT ON!

ERIC