A game where the rules are made up and the points don’t matter

Social media has provided a platform for creatives from all artistic outlets to be able to share their work with the world. Long gone are the days of needing a publicist, agent, record label, or art gallery to get your work out to the masses. A simple click of the share button and your work is on display for the world to read, watch, see, or listen to. The ease with which a person can become an artist is at an all time high. It seems that now more than ever, anyone can take a seat at the table.

But like any good thing, it can eventually become overly used and abused. In the photography world, the current trends seem to be ironclad proof of this. Everyone is copying everyone one else. Once someone finds a style that gains a massive amount of likes, others come behind and copy it, hoping for the same results. Chasing likes, clout, and that coveted blue check mark has become a new sport. You mix this with the old school photographers screaming about the rules of photography, lighting, and business and you have a sure fire receipt for art being removed from photography

LOUD NOISES!!!!!

This noise has taken the art out of photography. It seems that photography has become just a way to chase the bag or gain clout and likes. People begin to lose the purpose of art because of the noise. Paul O’Neil of the Trans Siberian Orchestra once said 

“The purpose of art — any form of art, be it a painting, a movie, a song, a comic book — is to make the person exposed to it feel emotion.”

I believe this goes for the person creating the art too, the person who is exposed to their own work on a constant basis. Photographers have sacrificed getting an emotional feeling from their own work in exchange for creating something that will get likes and exposures.

For me, I took a two month break away from photography and that noise. I wanted to ensure that I was creating for the right reasons and that the photos that I was creating were good enough for me. Because of this, I have become a firm believer that photography is a “made up game where the rules don’t matter and the points do not mean a thing.” So I used that time away from the camera to figure out my next steps. So I patiently waited until the right opportunity came along.

And that is where the rambunctious personality known as Shelby came crashing through the door.

I’ve known Shelby for a little over 3 years. I was there for the start of her brother’s military career and their family has kind of adopted me because of that. Shelby has always been willing to jump in front of the camera as a test subject for me to practice learning new things and this time was no different. I wanted to try my hand at studio lighting and fitness photography is a great way to do that. Since Shelby is big into physical fitness and competing, we wanted to capture that. We kept it very simple. And as they say, there is beauty in the basics. 

Being unhinged from the desire to please others, we were able to create photos that we could both be proud of. I’m sure I broke all the rules of lighting and composition but If it looks good, I say go with it. Shelby has put in countless hours to be able to compete on stage. I wanted to capture that hard work for her to see as well as experiment with playing in the shadows. This was my first time shooting in a studio and I had no idea what I was doing. But in the end it all worked out.

So what’s the point???

Stop playing the game!!! Social media is just a delivery tool. A tool for the artist to deliver their work to the masses. It should be used as a tool and not played as a game that can be won. I’m extremely grateful for this shoot because I was able to create art that created an emotional response in a person. Shelby fell completely in love with the photos. They gave her a sense of confidence and empowerment that she hadn’t felt before. That’s a huge statement coming from her. Because anyone that knows Shelby know’s that she bleeds confidence and empowerment. She’s super energetic but will quickly bite your head off if you step over the line. So for a photo to move her in such a way is a far better reward than any amount of likes or engagement.

It was the epitome of creating art just for the sake of creating art. Check out the rest of the art we created from this shoot in the photos below. And I want to hear from you photographers, models, and creatives. Has the noise of social media negatively impacted the way you created art?