Making Time To Take Photos Just For You

November 17, 2018

In an over sharing world, making photos comes with pressure. It’s important to step away and focus solely on yourself.

During the summer I wrote a piece that questioned if, in the digital age, any of us truly take photos for ourselves. As many photographers build up their social media following, there is an expectation put on them to deliver in a consistent way. For any artist, playing to the beat of your audiences drum can be very demanding and difficult. Every photo walk becomes a means to an end - and passion becomes work. Does it always have to be like that?

Take Photos Without Expectation

I noticed that I had stopped enjoying my photo walks. I would come home with empty SD cards, or at the most, with a few hack shots that meant nothing to me. I noticed I was working with a mind frame of “people won’t like this so I won’t take it”. I was only looking for images that would be popular to followers, rather than important to me. Instead of feeling light and working fluidly, I was tense and anxious when shooting street photography.

This had to change…

Take Photos of What You Like

I went out with the perspective that I would shoot anything and everything I wanted to. I took photos as if I was a tourist on their jolly holiday. If I liked it, I took it - not really worrying about the golden rules of photography.

I felt so free, liberated in my approach to taking photos. Nothing felt important, nothing had to be deep - it was a whole lot of fun! I felt like the young kid who first got a camera and didn’t have a care in the world. The kid who didn’t care about success, public opinion or how many hearts show up in their notifications. I felt like the kid who loved taking photos just for the sake of taking photos…

I know many people reading this will follow this philosophy already. But, I also know there are photographers who are building a brand, and every detail matters. To those photographers, take time just for you - take photos just for you.

Sorry, for the lack of images in this post - they are all for me.

Thanks for reading

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Photo by Simon Abrams

Removing toxic influence will make you a better artist

September 4, 2018

An artist's mind is a sensitive place. What flows through it will always impact their ability to create. That is why it is important to remove as much toxic influence as possible.

My opinion is that someone who has a creative brain becomes more susceptible to the good and the bad that comes their way. I have developed this way thinking through years of my own experience and through dialogue with other creatives. When things are good they are really good. And when things are bad they are really bad.

I’m learning that the way I live my life has such a huge impact on my ability to do my best work. From the activities I do, the people I allow to be close to me; the way I sleep, eat and drink. And it is is amongst managing all those things that I have had to make difficult, but crucial, decisions in order to achieve what I want to.

Identifying Toxic Influence

There is, of course, a variant of toxic influences one will have in their life. Not all of us experience the same. What is important is that you can identify what your toxic influences are.

Earlier this year I realised the way I was using social media on my smartphone was chewing away at my productivity. The amount of time I was using my phone was eating away at my brain. I had poor focus, anxiety, I couldn’t sleep. How could I possibly be my artistic best with all these toxic factors going through my mind? So, I dumbed down my smartphone. I reclaimed my mental energy by using my smartphone less and instead focused more on positive and rewarding projects.

We become the people we have around us

Okay, so we don’t literally morph into our friends and family. But the people we have around us does impact the way we think and feel about ourselves.

Quite a few people have reached out to me and shared their personal stories of bad friendships, relationships, family members. I tell them all the same thing...

Lake Petén Itzá

30.00

You need people in your life that make you feel like the best version of you. If you have people who put you down, knock your confidence, make you feel insecure - remove them from your life. I know it can be hard, but it is worth it. Anything or anyone that is giving you self doubt will only destroy your path to artistic greatness in the long run

It is equally as important to display extreme ownership. This means taking a look at yourself and your own behaviours in great detail. Maybe you’re a toxic influence, and within a group of friends or just two people, it is also you that is contributing to a toxic energy. You still need to make the same decision - walk away.

Mental Strength

Whether you're a street photographer, a writer, a painter, or any other form of creative; the strength of your mind is important. The way you feel about yourself will reflect on the way you feel about your art.

Let me tell you the changes I have made in 2018 and explain the impact I feel they have had

Rebuilt relationships with people
Quit a job that was unfulfilling
Stopped doing the same patterns and went traveling
Lost 2 stone in weight (13kg, 28lb)
Removed toxic people from my life
Ate better
Worked harder

As we approach the final quarter of the year I feel so much better about myself. I am writing multiple times a day. My readership has increased. The feedback I am getting is becoming more and more positive. I am now getting paid to write about something I am passionate about.

I feel my street photography is getting better, I am seeing more confidence in the way that I am working. I even got featured in The Guardian!

Removing toxic influence, being more healthy, makes me feel lighter and gives me so much more energy. All this energy can be focused into my art and passions, and the rewards are plenty.

This is not an opportunity to gloat, but rather to show you the impact having a less toxic life really does have.

Make Changes Today

Take some time, be honest with yourself and write down what you feel are your toxic influences. Once you have done this, come up with a plan to change them. If you are as passionate about your artistic success as you say you are, you will have no choice but to make changes.

I promise you that once you do make a change, that short-term pain will only give you long-term gain.

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Photo by Jordan Whitt

Breastfeeding: How photography can help shape social ideology

August 30, 2018

Photography records a moment in time. It leaves a mental footprint and can shape the way we think and feel about the world.

I have been thinking a lot about how street and documentary photography can shape the way we feel about certain social norms. The more a certain topic gets covered, the more it becomes a part of our everyday life. I think photography certainly has its place in promoting positive (and negative) attitudes towards everyday subjects.

Breast Feeding

In this piece, I am going to focus on breastfeeding as an example. After coming across the work of Ali Kate Cherkis on her Instagram, I was inspired by the message she was promoting through her photographic work.

She shares images of a mother breastfeeding her child, taking advantage of Instagram’s policy on the topic.

“Yes. We agree that breastfeeding is natural and beautiful, and we understand that it's important for mothers to be able to share their experiences on Instagram. The vast majority of these kinds of posts are following our policies”. (Instagram policy on breastfeeding)

A post shared by Ali Kate Cherkis (@cherkis) on Apr 5, 2018 at 3:14pm PDT

I commend Instagram for taking this stance and think it is great Cherkis is using it to produce work that will help push breastfeeding into the social norm.

Breastfeeding, if not done in the privacy of somebody’s home, still gathers quite a negative response. People feel the process of a child feeding on their mother’s breast is offensive and rude.

One can only suspect this is because they are unable to remove the sexualisation of a woman’s breast. The result of this is they feel uncomfortable when they see them exposed in public.

A post shared by Ali Kate Cherkis (@cherkis) on Mar 7, 2018 at 1:55pm PST

When I was traveling through Central America, breastfeeding in public was here there and everywhere! It was not even considered a topic of conversation. If the baby needs to feed they will be fed.

This is where we need to be in terms of our overall stance on breastfeeding. It should not be up for debate, it should just be what it is - a connection between mother and child, celebrated not scorned.

The power of social media

Today we don’t have to stand in the street shouting our opinions in the hope someone will listen. We can just load up our device and reach a global audience in a matter of seconds. Sharing such images on social media, whilst spreading a positive message, works towards normalising certain actions.

The response to Cherkis work has been mainly positive, but not without rejection. I asked her about the story behind the images...

“Breastfeeding and motherhood are themes that run through my work. I've been ruminating for a while now on how I can expand them into a larger project about womanhood and the transition into motherhood. Most of my friends (in those images) have been harassed for breastfeeding in public at some point, and so while I'm naturally drawn to making images of the deep primal connection between mother and child, I also feel it's important to use the platform of social media to show these images in order to normalise them. I've had all sorts of trolls come after me when I've posted these images, and it only fuels my fire”.

A post shared by Ali Kate Cherkis (@cherkis) on Apr 8, 2018 at 4:08pm PDT

What are you passionate about?

Breastfeeding is just one of the topics that divide certain cultures. If there is something you are passionate about promoting or an ideology you feel needs challenging, then use the power of your photography to spread your message.

A small collection of images can go a long way to making a big difference.

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Do paid portfolio reviews do more harm than good?

August 27, 2018

In the modern era, portfolio reviews have become big business in the photographic world.

In this week’s episode of A Photographic Life United Nations of Photography(UNP) founder and curator, Grant Scott, discussed the business of portfolio reviews. He explored the positive and negatives of paying for a review, and explained his aim to create a free feedback community for photographers.

Overpriced portfolio Reviews

Scott stated how he has seen portfolio reviews being offered for as much as £150 for a 20 minute Skype conversation.

In my opinion, these kind of prices are absolutely damaging to how we view this market within the industry. For £150 I would be expecting an extensive, detailed analysis of my work, something I do not feel can be achieved in 20 minutes.

We also need to think about who is completing the review. A couple of years ago, I entered 5 images to a LensCulture street photography competition as in return I would get a “free” portfolio review. Now the problem with that review was that I never knew who conducted it. I was only told that it was one of the competition judges.

In reality, I learnt nothing from that review. I was also £35 out of pocket and didn't even know if the reviewer was someone who's opinion had any worth.

Free Portfolio Reviews

In the podcast, Scott proposed the idea of having a database of photographers that worked together to give open and honest feedback. The highlight of this community is that the feedback would be free.

It would give photographers who had worked hard over the years the opportunity to give back. It would allow them to give up and coming photographers an opportunity to develop.

On paper, the concept sounds great, right? If someone with experience wants to pass that knowledge down for free, power to them. However, I do not think we ought to aim to eradicate paid reviews (I did not feel that’s what Scott was suggesting).

Portfolio reviews are good to have as an attainable means of income in the photographic world for professional and experienced photographers. Earning money from reviews is something we can all work towards. In an industry that doesn’t always pay well or offer a stable income, it is extremely important for the industry that we try and preserve as many income streams as we can.

In my opinion, a database of respected photographers who offer well-priced reviews would be the better approach.

That way the income stream remains strong, and people are not getting ripped off in the process.

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Photo by Anete Lūsiņa

Do any of us shoot street photography just for ourselves?

August 26, 2018

“It doesn’t matter what others think; I just shoot street photography for myself”.

If you’re somebody who likes to converse about street photography a lot, I am almost certain you have listened to someone make the above statement before. It’s highly possible you have even said it yourself. However, in this digital world, do any of us shoot street photography just for ourselves?

How do we shoot street photography for ourselves?

The most well-known example of shooting street photography solely for your own enjoyment is Vivian Maier. As the now well-known story goes, Vivian kept all of her images to herself, many of which remained undeveloped. She was not interested in success or status, she just enjoyed going out with her Rolleiflex and documenting everyday life.

But times have changed since the days of Vivian Maier. They have even changed dramatically since the discovery of her work back in 2007.

In today’s digital world, images are created instantly. We now have the ability to share them with a mass audience just by making a few clicks with our fingers. So, once that frame has moved from your eye to the SD card; the SD card to the hard drive and the hard drive to social media, does it stop being just for ourselves?

Why do you share photography on social media?

The reality is, as soon as we share our photograph publicly, what we are asking for is validation. We are asking people to validate that the image we have shared is as good as we believe it is.

At that moment the whole set up changes, and we become reliant on others to help shape how we feel about our street photography.

Is there anything wrong with that? No, of course not.

For some reason, it still feels slightly taboo for us to say ‘I think I am really good at something, and I want everyone to know about it and agree with me’. It seems like the old cliche of being all about the art and not the popularity, still has a strong grip around our creative necks.

Reaction shapes action

Comments and likes give us a chemical response in our brains. The reward chemical, Dopamine, is activated when people respond positively to something that we have posted. Not only does it feel good, it’s addictive.

This can impact the way we make our photographs, as trial and error will teach us what our audience likes. The less positive response you receive, the less intense the hit of Dopamine.

Now you crave it. So what do you do?

The likelihood is, you go out at the golden hour and take a picture of someone just walking out of the darkness and into the light. Your Instagram explodes with likes and you feel amazing.

There are many defining factors that will contribute to how we shoot street photography. I do not feel that we can say our motive is purely driven from our own perspective.

Also, being influenced by others isn’t a bad thing. The more open we are, the more we can learn.

So, I am happy to say I shoot for everyone - myself included.

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5 Kickstarter Photography Projects worth backing

August 24, 2018

There is a certain satisfaction in helping someone kick-start their photography project.

Kickstarter is a wonderful website where photographers (amongst other mediums) can use it to help raise money to bring their project to fruition. It's a win for everyone, as in return for your backing, depending on how much you invest you will receive some form of product.

There are many reasons to show your support for a photography project, other than receiving goods because of it. It could be to help a worthwhile cause, support something you are passionate about, or simply to just help a fellow artist out.

To help get your investment juices flowing - here are 5 Kickstarter projects worth backing.

The Dash Between

Known for his images of Liverpool during the 1980s and 90s, Rob Bremner's wonderful work is now being turned into a photo book. Brought to us by Bluecoat Press, you have the chance to help them reach their £8,000 target.

£25 will get you a signed copy of the hardback book. If you are feeling extra generous, back with £175 or more and you will get; A signed copy of the book, acknowledgment, and 8 8x10 signed prints.

Learn more about The Dash Between project here

Camden Camera Cre8ivs

This is a great project to help the future generation to get involved with photography. Launched by the EDM Foundation, the objective is to teach teenagers residing in the Camden area, both digital and analog photography. This will be an after-school programme aiming to start in late 2018.

Prints, postcards and high 5s are on offer in return for your investment. However, this is really something worth doing just to support the local kids!

Learn more about Camden Camera Cre8ivs below

Borderlands

Borderlands, brought to us by Phil Curry, is an exploration of both cultural and national identity. It is an opportunity to see how we recognise a change in location and societal norms.

The photography project will use landscape to identify where two nations become seperated, other than just the geographical border between them.

An interesting project, more so as nationalism is starting rise again throughout Europe.

Learn more about Borderlands and what you can get for your backing below:

47 / A Life With Cystic Fibrosis

This amazingly touching photo book documents the lives and attitudes of people living with Cystic Fibrosis (CF).

Created by Simon Wiffen, the book is made up of beautiful portraits and stories, from a wide range of people diagnosed with CF.

Your investment can bring this project to life. It can also get you a signed copy of the book, selected prints, and even your own personal photo shoot.

Capability - Photography Project

Megan Ogley has worked on this insightful and thought provoking project titled, Capability.

Documenting people with prosthetics or amputations, her work focuses on their strengths and capabilities.

Uncomfortable with the term - disability - the project highlights that those who are faced with perceived physical challenges can achieve many things in life.

The project goal is to turn the work into a photo book.

Support Megan and her work, as she travels the UK, meeting some truly inspiring people along the way.

Find more on Kickstarter

If you liked any of the projects above, then please do show your support. Even the smallest contribution can go along way!

Kickstarter has many more projects that may be of interest to you, so check them out!

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Photo by Jiroe

Consider this before you next take a photo of a homeless person

August 22, 2018

The ethics of street photography are widely debated, and for some, have become a little tired.

One of the oldest and most common discussions is whether or not we should take photos of homeless people. The topic came up at this year’s Street London event.

Some say yes, it’s all fair game. Whilst others suggest it’s taking advantage of a person at their lowest point.

Personally speaking, I no longer take images of homeless people. I see no purpose to it. When we start to make our work ‘socially aware’ we need to be sure we are really making a difference with it. The truth is that your photo won’t change the world, nor should you be using it as a way to show how connected you are to societal issues.

In reality, you will just have an image of a homeless person on your hard drive, doing absolutely nothing. In the process of that you have likely made someone feel like a trophy, some sort of freak show that you have used to create your ‘art’.

Acception to the rule?

There are some exceptions to the rule, however. Sometimes, the photographer is able to keep the dignity of the person whilst also creating a powerful, and meaningful image. Take this street photograph by Matt Stuart for example.

A post shared by Matt Stuart (@mattu1) on Aug 7, 2018 at 6:13am PDT

The shadow casts the image of a cross on the shelter of the person sleeping rough. The image provokes thought, and encourages you to reflect on the deep pain people like this have to face on a daily basis. You can not identify the person, and their dignity remains intact.

However, the truth is, images like this are very few and far between - you could say they are a once in a lifetime kind of photograph.

The likelihood is that if you were to take an image of a homeless person - it is probably going to look more like this…

A post shared by Célio (@celio.ricardi) on Aug 20, 2018 at 5:24pm PDT

The image does not tell us anything we do not already know about the world. It is just another photographer thinking they are edgy, taking advantage of another human being. The dignity of the person has not been kept, and their identity is fully exposed for all to see.

Something to consider

We all take advantage of the law in relation to street photography. The public setting means all systems go in terms of making photos. However, there is one thing I would like you to consider before you next take an image of that person living on the street.

After a long day of asking for money, substance abuse or generally being looked down upon by many people that walk by - rough sleepers have to find somewhere to take comfort. And wherever that place is on the street, it becomes their home. A place to try and relax and rest, before they have to endure their difficult life again the following day.

So, yes it is a public spot for us. But to them, the unfortunate reality is that they have to make it as private and homely as they possibly can. We wouldn’t like people poking their cameras in our house, would we?

And if you still insist your image has purpose and worth - buy them a coffee, give them a couple of pounds, or have a conversation with them.

At the very least give them their humanity; something they are so commonly stripped of.

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