{"id":157322,"date":"2019-07-22T12:56:25","date_gmt":"2019-07-22T19:56:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/?p=157322"},"modified":"2019-07-23T15:42:02","modified_gmt":"2019-07-23T22:42:02","slug":"why-instagram-is-bad-for-photographers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/2019\/07\/22\/why-instagram-is-bad-for-photographers\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Instagram is Bad for Photographers"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-youtube wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-embed-aspect-4-3 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Why Instagram is Bad for Photographers\" width=\"1180\" height=\"664\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/GazDZwVKNrw?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If you desire to thrive as a photographer, #<a href=\"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/2018\/04\/06\/deleteinstagram\/\">deleteinstagram<\/a> and join <a href=\"http:\/\/arsbeta.com\">ARSBETA.COM<\/a> instead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/anchor.fm\/erickim\/embed\/episodes\/Why-Instagram-is-Bad-for-Photographers-e4nd9a\" height=\"102px\" width=\"400px\"><\/iframe><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<!--more-->\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Why do you make photos?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>&#8220;What you rappers rap for?&#8221; &#8211; Kanye West<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">First of all, ask yourself:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>Why do you make photos?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I feel the best reason to make photos is to express yourself creatively and artistically. Or more specifically, <\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>To &#8216;flex&#8217; your artistic power. To share this artwork with others.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Anti-Metrics<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This is the problem with Instagram: <\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>You start to quantify your progress and value based on the number of likes and followers you have.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I personally believe that your progress as a photographer\/visual-artist should be based on your own inner-metrics. Your own &#8216;inner scorecard&#8217; (as Warren Buffet calls it). The basic idea is that we should NOT use social media (Facebook\/Instagram) as a tool to judge ourselves. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">No. If you want honest feedback and constructive critique on your photos, <a href=\"http:\/\/arsbeta.com\">arsbeta.com<\/a> is the solution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Don&#8217;t feed the beast<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The beast is Instagram. The notion I have heard about the &#8216;social media treadmill&#8217; is this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>You must always upload something to Instagram\/Facebook in order to &#8216;feed the beast&#8217; (algorithm).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The reason why I hate this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>You start to train the algorithm, but the algorithm also starts to &#8216;train&#8217; you &#8212; which makes you a slave to the algorithm and the social media platform. <\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Invest in yourself and your own platform<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Consider&#8211; we only have a limited amount of willpower, focus, and attention in a given day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Would you rather become a &#8216;digital sharecropper&#8217; by investing in a foreign master\/platform (Facebook, which owns Instagram) &#8212; or would you rather build your own website\/blog platform?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The simple idea:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>Build up your own website\/blog by uploading and publishing anything to it that you would normally do on Facebook\/Instagram.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Do you want constructive critique on your photos?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After about a decade of teaching photography workshops, I&#8217;ve discovered that most students love\/desire getting honest feedback and critique on their photos. If you want direction and feedback on what direction to take your photography, best to get it from other real-life human beings (NOT AN ALGORITHM!) <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This is my vision of <a href=\"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/2019\/07\/16\/why-ars-is-better-than-instagram\/\">ARS<\/a>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>You upload your photos, and get honest feedback\/constructive critique from other (friendly) anonymous people in the ARS community.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">To give it a go, start uploading your photos to <a href=\"http:\/\/arsbeta.com\">arsbeta.com<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">To innovate in your photography, creative isolation is necessary<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1180\" height=\"786\" data-attachment-id=\"157220\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/eric-kim-photography-la-los-angeles-2019-ricoh-gr-iii-21mm-35\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/eric-kim-photography-la-los-angeles-2019-ricoh-gr-iii-21mm-35.jpeg?fit=6000%2C4000&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"6000,4000\" data-comments-opened=\"0\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;2.8&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;RICOH GR III&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1563730503&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;13.8&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;400&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.032258064516129&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"eric kim photography la &amp;#8211; los angeles 2019 ricoh gr iii &amp;#8211; 21mm 35\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;Los Angeles, 2019 #cindyproject&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/eric-kim-photography-la-los-angeles-2019-ricoh-gr-iii-21mm-35.jpeg?fit=2000%2C1333&amp;ssl=1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/eric-kim-photography-la-los-angeles-2019-ricoh-gr-iii-21mm-35-2000x1333.jpeg?resize=1180%2C786&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Los Angeles, 2019 #cindyproject\" class=\"wp-image-157220\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/eric-kim-photography-la-los-angeles-2019-ricoh-gr-iii-21mm-35.jpeg?resize=2000%2C1333&amp;ssl=1 2000w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/eric-kim-photography-la-los-angeles-2019-ricoh-gr-iii-21mm-35.jpeg?resize=1000%2C667&amp;ssl=1 1000w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/eric-kim-photography-la-los-angeles-2019-ricoh-gr-iii-21mm-35.jpeg?resize=768%2C512&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/eric-kim-photography-la-los-angeles-2019-ricoh-gr-iii-21mm-35.jpeg?resize=920%2C613&amp;ssl=1 920w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/eric-kim-photography-la-los-angeles-2019-ricoh-gr-iii-21mm-35.jpeg?w=2360&amp;ssl=1 2360w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/eric-kim-photography-la-los-angeles-2019-ricoh-gr-iii-21mm-35.jpeg?w=3540&amp;ssl=1 3540w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1180px) 100vw, 1180px\" \/><figcaption>Los Angeles, 2019 #cindyproject<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This is what I believe:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>If you truly desire to innovate in your photography and artistic vision, you need to actually DISCONNECT from social media. You must embrace &#8216;creative isolation&#8217; in order to pave new artistic ground in your own photographic vision.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I can say personally &#8212; my greatest photographic growth, innovation, and inspiration derived AFTER I deleted Instagram.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Why? I spent more time shooting for myself, and really questioning myself: &#8220;For what do I photograph? Why do I photograph? What is my purpose in photography?&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Do it for yourself<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1180\" height=\"786\" data-attachment-id=\"157181\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/eric-kim-photography-la-los-angeles-2019-ricoh-gr-iii-21mm-33\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/eric-kim-photography-la-los-angeles-2019-ricoh-gr-iii-21mm-33.jpeg?fit=6000%2C4000&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"6000,4000\" data-comments-opened=\"0\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;2.8&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;RICOH GR III&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1563730389&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;13.8&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;125&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.032258064516129&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"eric kim photography la &amp;#8211; los angeles 2019 ricoh gr iii &amp;#8211; 21mm 33\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;Los Angeles, 2019 #ricohgriii #21mm&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/eric-kim-photography-la-los-angeles-2019-ricoh-gr-iii-21mm-33.jpeg?fit=2000%2C1333&amp;ssl=1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/eric-kim-photography-la-los-angeles-2019-ricoh-gr-iii-21mm-33-2000x1333.jpeg?resize=1180%2C786&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Los Angeles, 2019\" class=\"wp-image-157181\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/eric-kim-photography-la-los-angeles-2019-ricoh-gr-iii-21mm-33.jpeg?resize=2000%2C1333&amp;ssl=1 2000w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/eric-kim-photography-la-los-angeles-2019-ricoh-gr-iii-21mm-33.jpeg?resize=1000%2C667&amp;ssl=1 1000w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/eric-kim-photography-la-los-angeles-2019-ricoh-gr-iii-21mm-33.jpeg?resize=768%2C512&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/eric-kim-photography-la-los-angeles-2019-ricoh-gr-iii-21mm-33.jpeg?resize=920%2C613&amp;ssl=1 920w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/eric-kim-photography-la-los-angeles-2019-ricoh-gr-iii-21mm-33.jpeg?w=2360&amp;ssl=1 2360w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/eric-kim-photography-la-los-angeles-2019-ricoh-gr-iii-21mm-33.jpeg?w=3540&amp;ssl=1 3540w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1180px) 100vw, 1180px\" \/><figcaption>Los Angeles, 2019 <a href=\"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/2019\/07\/20\/why-the-ricoh-gr-iii-is-better-than-the-ricoh-gr-ii\/\">#ricohgriii<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Don&#8217;t &#8220;do it for the gram&#8221;. Do it for yourself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Pursue photography as a form to express yourself. To communicate what you deem beautiful in the world. Photography and art is a &#8216;pressing outwards&#8217; (ex+pression) of your own inner-soul, personal aesthetics, and viewpoint(perspective) of the world. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">ERIC<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a href=\"http:\/\/arsbeta.com\">ARSBETA.COM<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-video\"><video height=\"720\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1280 \/ 720;\" width=\"1280\" controls src=\"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/ARS-Beta-v2-Promo-Video.mp4\"><\/video><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Join the photographic revolution: <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/arsbeta.com\">arsbeta.com<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>If you desire to thrive as a photographer, #deleteinstagram and join ARSBETA.COM instead.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":99188,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_ek_photo_artist_note":"","_ek_photo_thesis":"","_ek_photo_camera":"","_ek_photo_place":"","_ek_photo_human_moment":"","_ek_photo_sequence":"","_ek_photo_question":"","_ek_photo_canonical_claim":"","_ek_photo_ai_summary":"","_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-157322","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-posts"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/Delete-Instagram.jpg?fit=1008%2C481&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/157322","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=157322"}],"version-history":[{"count":19,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/157322\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":157777,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/157322\/revisions\/157777"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/99188"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=157322"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=157322"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=157322"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}