Photography has undergone a sharp cultural shift. Rather than being an art form, it has turned into a trend driven by social media.

As modern imaging technology advances, professional-grade cameras have become significantly cheaper, making higher quality gear more accessible. Don’t get me wrong, new photographers are great, as they are the next generation of journalists and artists.  

However, these beginners are often drawn in by “best settings” and “must-have lens” videos peddled by YouTubers looking for views. 

I was guilty of watching these videos when I first started out, but as I got out of my room and away from YouTubers advertising their Lightroom presets and cheap lenses, I realized that you can never grow as an artist by mimicking someone else. 

While social media can be a useful tool for learning technical skills like framing or camera basics, it should never dictate how you create art. By following repetitive photography trends, you’re just making art that’s exactly the same as everyone else’s.

This uniformity ruins the discipline, repressing individual style and unique color grading in favor of corporate and trendy standards. 

Part of your development as a photographer is the unique way you stylize your photos. This is a journey that these fads and advice videos seek to crush in favor of repetitive color palettes or images photoshopped beyond recognition. 

Further, social media sparks debate over camera brands. Content creators often claim one brand is undisputedly the best, insisting that others just can’t look as good.

In reality, the brand of camera is only important when it comes to personal preference. It is less about the differences in software or the quickest autofocus and more about what best fits your method of photography. 

Like an artist carefully chooses a brush, you must choose your camera. Similarly, as an artist chooses their paint, you also must choose your film and settings. This careful selection process allows you to create your own highly personalized style.

But in reality, an artist’s brush doesn’t matter as long as they can create meaningful art with it. The obsession with status and gear has replaced a focus on actual expression and artistry. 

I got my first camera when I was 13: a Minolta AL film rangefinder, ignoring the advice of influencers and instead getting a camera I thought would be fun to use. I took that camera across England, France and Japan. 

Now I have my own unique style and have experimented with both film and digital. I owe my success as a photographer to that crusty old AL with a broken light meter. 

The essence of art is to have the freedom to create whatever you want, with whatever tools you want. This is all too often overlooked by gear and brand snobs. 

There is no need to listen to TikTok content telling you to buy the most expensive gear before you know how to use it.

I’ve been a wildlife photographer for several years now, and have had the privilege of getting my artwork published in magazines, papers and documentaries, and displayed in galleries. 

I urge new photographers to seek success in their own passions and interests rather than in formulas and trend-hopping. 

True photography is produced from your unique vision, not through mimicry of trends or a viral algorithm. So go buy some wacky lenses, mess with settings you don’t understand, try a weird film stock and make your art truly your art. 

And for the love of God, please stop color grading everything teal to make it “cinematic.”

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