Being a photographer in the digital era is both exciting and challenging at the same time. Modern technology, retouching tools and social media platforms have allowed for better quality images, post-production enhancements and an immediate platform to share images. With this in mind, photographers really do have all they could want at their fingertips.

Although social media allows photographers to share their work with a wider audience, this can sometimes be discouraging if the photographer feels like they are not getting enough engagement on their posts. It is so easy for people to compare their likes and comments to other peoples. This can cause self-doubt and can make the person have unrealistic expectations.

Digital fixes from social media is starting to be researched more and more, documenting the powerful effects it has on the human mind, with some researchers even calling it digital heroin. It is labelled this due to the addictive nature of social media and the dopamine that is released by the brain when you get a like or a comment.

Like most things that make you feel good, you crave them more and more, but what happens when the likes don’t come? Not getting satisfactory amount of likes or comments when you post a photo that you spent your time creating. This can trigger a whole range of negative emotions.

The mind generally starts to run off in all different directions and people start to think things like “my photos aren’t good enough” or “other people’s photos are better than mine because they got more likes”.

There are many reasons why some photos get heaps of likes and its not always because they are great photos from a photography stand point. Take a step back and focus on creating photos that make you happy, and tell your stories. When other people like your photos it’s a bonus, but don’t let it be your primary reason to take photos.

A parting thought

“Don’t shoot to be liked, instead shoot to be heard”

Happy shooting

Stephen Finkel