We Asked Photographers: “How Is Instagram A Creative Tool?”
Instagram is an incredibly valuable platform that has positives and negatives, especially as a creative. For photographers we’ve talked to, they also believe it is a great creative tool.
If you’re a creative – a photographer, a model, or any other role in between – you know that Instagram is a great place to connect. You can meet complete strangers from the other side of the world or people who just so happen to live in the next city over. It’s the perfect place to showcase your work and invite potential job offers and experiences into your life.
Charlotte Rea says, “I’ve gotten a lot of shoots out of Instagram. People have reached out to me directly…total strangers.”
Though Instagram was specifically designed for sharing photos, commenting and direct messaging has been so much more used, knowing it’s the perfect way to reach out about potential jobs.
Willem Verbeeck talks about moments at networking events when people asked to see his Instagram and he thought, “My Instagram is not how I want my work to be seen. It’s just a journal or a process log of what I’m making.”
I mean, let’s be real here: companies are looking at Instagram accounts more than anything else.
In some ways, your Instagram page is your portfolio. It’s a place where you should showcase your work, but only if it’s done correctly. You don’t want to post photos in chronological order of when they were shot, but more so as a brief introduction of what’s to be expected from you as a photographer.
Unfortunately, because Instagram is designed as a platform to share moments of your life (along with your portfolio), it forces a self-doubting and negative side of us. We begin to compare ourselves and our work to others.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BtO6NJAg4O5/
Sean Davidson is big in the design world on Instagram and he says that “it’s designed to be addicting. It’s designed to subjugate what we’re all bad at…which is, looking into other people’s lives.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/BrNvZ0PArWm/
“I will naturally compare myself to other people. That will hinder my work and the way I view my work,” Andrew Blumenthal admits.
Humans always want something more. We are always looking for the next best thing, the next best photo, trend, fashion statement, everything in between. There are so many new trends that are appearing on Instagram and you can either do what they’re doing or do your own thing when you shoot.
Claudia Saimbert believes that it has “changed how people value images.”
Instagram is the perfect place for comparison. We post photos of our life – whether or not they are staged, doesn’t matter – and we question our talents and capabilities.
This app, though a creative tool, is a necessary evil. And we can’t help but love it.
