Are you chasing likes, comments and follows on your social media? Why?

#inspiration #instagram #instagramlikes #leethirkellson #likes #socialmedia

Like, Comment, Follow: Thoughts on Social Media as a Photographer

One of the most frequent questions I am asked is about social media likes and followers and how to ‘boost’ those numbers.

There are a few questions I will always ask:

1. Why? Simple first question. What is your goal? Why do you want more likes or followers? Is it for personal reasons (for example an ego boost or a feeling of validation) or is it about making a living (you are looking to sell your brand and need those numbers to maximize potential sales)?

2. What are you currently doing to work towards this goal? This could be a simple question such as, "how often are you on social media ?" because we all know Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, etc. are businesses and a business wants to make money. They need to see you as a bankable asset, and engagement by you equals return.

Also when you are online how are you interacting with others, are you just spamming on images, or are you making meaningful connections? Think about if you were to pass someone in the street and mutter "hi" (the equivalent of a like) or you were to stop and talk to them about their day or compliment them on an item of clothing they were wearing (the equivalent of a comment)? Which do you think would mean more to that other person and which could potentially lead to a deeper friendship?

3. Finally, depending on your goal, how are you managing your content, and is it "good enough" to reach your goal? Now ‘good enough’ is very subjective. However, I have seen people who have sent me images that would be categorized more as ‘snapshots’, with little consideration to composition or subject, and have asked me why they aren’t getting attention.

Now you need to remember you are in a sea of millions upon millions of images, so you need to be doing something to stand out -- the image needs to grab you in some way. There does come a point when you have ‘loyal fans’ (which I will touch on later) when the support becomes more personal, but initially, looks do matter. It's like that first date -- you need to attract the opposite person.

Do ‘Likes’ Matter?

We all want to be liked as individuals, going back to those childhood days of being in the playground and having that awkward feeling of trying to join a new group and make new friends, feeling that joy if you are accepted, or worse the disappointment to find that your friendship is not wanted. It can be a tough time and that feeling never really disappears.

We are social creatures. We want to mix and share our lives, our hobbies, and interests with others. We also put a lot of time into our art, so we want to know that people are liking what we are doing. Therefore, I understand completely why people want to see a high number of likes against their work, it brings a sense of achievement (but is that achievement of value? More on that later).

But the question needs to be, what does being ‘liked’ more offer to you as a photographer? Does it make you a better photographer if you have 500 likes on an image? Do you think, "Well, 500 people like this, therefore I am an amazing photographer"? Because to be brutally honest, it does not mean what you feel it may. Likes are not a resource you can use to measure quality.

Now if we focus for the rest of this article on Instagram, as this is the only platform I am active on, let's discuss something that a lot of people forget when it comes to the number of likes an image gets, and that is reach.

Instagram has something called reach, which is the number of accounts that have seen your image. You have the functionality in Instagram to see what the reach of your posts are and if you look at this it is very obvious to see a correlation between the number of likes an image gets and the reach it hits.

Remember when I said Instagram is a business? This is exactly where this comes into play, because if your image is generating initial interest then Instagram is going to put it out there in front of a lot of people.

Let's create a scenario where you have taken a photograph and you print it out. You then hang it in your hallway. Over the next two weeks you have 30 visitors (your reach) and from those visitors 26 said they liked the photograph. Now you take the same image and put it in the middle of a high street for 4 hours and over that time it is seen by 3,000 people. Statistically, there is much more chance of more people liking the image because more people have seen it.

For ease, let's say that 1,000 people from the high street like the image. More likes. However another way to look at it is that from the 3,000 only 1,000 liked it (33%) however from the 30 that saw it in your hallway, 26 liked it (87%), so which is the most successful? It is the same image, yet the size of the audience has dictated the number of likes because of its reach.

My own images work exactly the same as this. I have images that have had a reach of over 18,000 accounts and received say 3,000 likes (what a talented fella), yet some images receive 500 likes but only reach just over 1500 accounts (having a bad day). But again, the ratio of likes to reach would say that actually the image with the lower number of likes is liked by more who saw it.

You also need to consider the ease with which people ‘like’ an image and the reason why they click that little heart. Maybe they just follow the photographer and want to support anything they produce, or maybe they are just trying to show Instagram they are engaging on the platform to help boost their own images and just ‘spam like’ anything posted on a hashtag over the past 20 minutes without even looking at the image.

Roll all of this together, reach and if a ‘like’ is genuine or not, and really think how much weight that number actually has.

Follow Me… PLEASE

The flip side of likes is followers. Again it is another quantitative measure that people put a lot of focus on. Similar to likes, it can be seen as being popular. "400,000 people have chosen to follow me! They are all sitting, waiting for me to upload my next image, they idolize me… I am a genius."

Well, hold that thought.

First of all, how many of those followers are genuine? How many are bots or people who made an account, followed a bunch of people, and then never returned to Instagram again? How many of those people are following you for a totally different reason to you being a photographer? Maybe they like you as an individual, maybe you have a YouTube channel, or you are a famous person and you drum up followers because of you, not your photography.

Also just because you have 400,000 followers doesn't mean that every image you post will be seen by each and every one of those followers. If you head into your Instagram feed now and look within the ‘least interacted with’ section you will see a bunch of people who you follow but may not have seen their posts for months and there are even more than this within the account list of who you follow. The reason? Again, Instagram is a business and they will show you the content from the creators who you interact with most, also increasingly space is being taken up by advertising, promotions, etc. (got to keep the money coming in somehow) so that space is limited even more on your feed.

Now if you are a brand or selling a product, of course there are more benefits to having a large following. You could be seen as an ‘influencer’ (I hate that word) and you may get opportunities to try out products for reviews (usually biased in some way, or stated to be unbiased but then bias to keep the companies on board), and this, in turn, generates money or more companies to take interest and it could snowball.

Follower count can equate to positives. However, outside of the money side of things, how important is a follower count really?

When I first started on Instagram, I really wanted 1,000 followers. I have no idea why I chose that number -- I just thought it sounded cool to be able to say 1,000 people follow me. Fast forward to when I hit 1,000 followers, and I remember waking up and seeing I had 1002 or 1003 or something like that and thought "YES!! I have 1000 followers… Ok, now what?" It was a totally empty celebration.

I hadn’t suddenly become a great photographer, the emails weren’t suddenly pouring in offering me sponsorships and book deals. It was a great eye-opener for me to see that actually what I had been chasing over those months was something that ultimately didn’t really matter if I thought long and hard about it. Actually, what had mattered over those months were the friendships I was making and seeing my work grow and my own style developing. This led me to realize two important things: the importance of loyal fans and that of value.

Loyal Fans

I mentioned earlier the concept of loyal fans. These are followers you have who love your work, they like your style, your ethics, maybe they have spoken to you a few times and a connection has been built up, they want to see you do well. There is an article online about how in order to make enough money to survive within photography (or any art form), you just need 1,000 genuine fans -- 1,000 people who will buy whatever you create because they are invested in you.

Loyal fans play a huge role in, say, a YouTuber's Instagram account and there is a feeling that a large YouTuber could post a photograph on their feed of a dog turd on a pavement and it would generate thousands of likes and receive multiple comments of "wow this is great" or "deep photography man, really made me think about life", and that is because they love that person for who they are. It will be those people who buy every photobook they release or watch every video on their channel, and that is the fan base or following that (from a money-generating point of view) you want.

However, what about from a personal point of view? Let's take money out of the equation. I love an analogy, so imagine you had a dinner party (because I am old and I don’t hold raves anymore). Imagine you had a dinner party and it was open door, during this dinner party you had 500 random people show up and they came, ate your food, and left. They didn’t really speak to you or to each other and just came, took for themselves, and left.

Now imagine the next evening you had a dinner party and hand-selected 30 of your friends or people you had come to know and you all sat and ate and talked about your interests and what was going on in your life and then they all left. Now for me, that smaller dinner party where I was making connections with people would hold so much more value than the party where I had more people show up but fewer people take any interest. I see followers in the exact same way.

I have people on my Instagram I speak to almost daily, we talk about photography, life, movies, Netflix recommendations, music, and even use each other as a sounding board to bounce ideas off or get advice from. I would say this core group is my loyal fans (actually I would say they are my friends and 95% of them I have never met in person, yet I love having them in my life).

I don’t want this to come across as ungrateful, as I am grateful for the following I have and I am grateful that so many people have chosen to add me to their own following. However, I would say that when choosing who you personally follow, focus on the quality they will bring in return be it in terms of friendship, inspiration, motivation, support, etc. and try to mold your following to your own needs.

It is nice to have a large following, but just as in the case of likes, it can be an empty number and interaction levels have much more value.

Value

I mentioned earlier the value of likes (and I suppose followers too). I have a few photographers who follow my work who I aspire to be like and to reach their level is definitely an ambition of mine. If one of those people takes the time to like and comment on an image of mine I am genuinely humbled. High value.

Beyond that, I also hold value in a lot of the comments and likes I receive when you know they are coming from a good place. It can be tough without the relationship to know if it is a ‘spam like’ or a genuine one, but you quickly become accustomed to those other accounts who start to see past your images and see something in you and your body of work that is inspiring them. This then builds value.

Also, any comment that is beyond the usual ‘great shot’ or a smiling emoji is also valuable as someone has taken the time to stop their day and make that comment about how your image has made them feel. I receive direct messages, very supportive and encouraging direct messages, that hold value again in that someone has taken the time to send me those kind words. Those moments have so much power and carry so much more weight than any others on Instagram.

I would try and think more about the value of the likes, comments, and followers you have rather than the quantity. If you lose 100 followers who never interact with you and you have never seen their work either is that such a loss? Chances are they are only there for the wrong reasons.

A Few Quick Points

A couple of other quick thoughts regarding a few topics that always come up;

1. Follow / Unfollow. Unfortunately, a lot of people feel that quantity outweighs quality and therefore are in it just for the numbers. Personally, I find that shallow and very unfulfilling but each to their own. To that end, there will be people who will follow you and then either unfollow you because you didn’t do the same or unfollow you as soon as you follow back. It is a side effect of the platform and for many it is frustrating but again think about the value that person was bringing to you anyway. Is it as big a loss as you think?

2. Why don’t you follow me back? I receive messages almost daily from people wanting to know why I won’t follow them back. Now first of all having my account and managing a different account, not to brag, but I receive hundreds of notifications an hour on Instagram and I have zero chance of checking through each and every one of them. Therefore I do not see every notification for every comment or every follow so I don’t always get a chance to check them out.

I have actually recently found accounts that have been following me for months and I have loved them and returned the follow. It can be tough to keep up. Another reason could simply be the type of photography you shoot is not for me, not that it is bad or whatever (I controversially believe there isn’t bad photography if an image is presented as it was meant to be by the photographer, just not to your taste photography). And in order to ensure I am seeing work from photographers who shoot what I am looking for, I don’t want to fill up my feed with other work. It 100% isn’t a personal thing, just a subjective art thing.

3. Should I buy followers and likes? Just no. Why? That is like entering a photography competition and winning because you are the only participant. As much as I don’t believe all likes are from genuine people saying ‘I love this,’ a majority of them will come from a good place, so earn that love and trust me it is much more satisfying.

Conclusion

If you made it this far I commend your stamina and I hope that this has given you some insight into my thoughts on the topic of likes, comments, and followers. If you are just an ordinary photographer picking up your camera and going out into the world to share your vision then focus on that, focus on the enjoyment of pressing that shutter and freezing time. Focus on coming home and uploading your latest work to your little corner of the internet where you have your own loyal fans who love to see what you have been shooting, no matter how big or small that audience is.

The numbers really don’t matter if what you are doing you are getting pleasure from. The best feeling I believe you can get is from sitting in front of that computer at the end of a shoot and being proud of the images you have taken.

In summary:

1. Don’t equate the number of likes to the quality of an image.

2. Don’t focus on having a large, faceless following (unless you are looking to grow your following for possible financial benefits).

3. Build a valuable community with people who respect and support you and want you to succeed.

4. Interact with others, don’t just spam that like button or drop generic emoji comments, and take the time to connect.

5. Finally, don’t put too much pressure on that side of photography, your enjoyment is far more important and the satisfaction with your images should always outweigh the numbers.

About the author : Lee Thirkellson is a photographer and writer. The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author. Thirkellson is the founder of The Northern Street Collective. You can find more of Thirkellson's work on his website and Instagram. This article was also published here.

Image credits: Stock photos licensed from Depositphotos

#editorial #tips #instagram #leethirkellson #oped #opinion #socialmedia

Be True to Yourself as a Photographer

I was reading an interview with William Eggleston and he recalled a time when he met Henri Cartier-Bresson, who was his idol, at a party in Lyon. Eggleston described that he was sat with Cartier-Bresson and a few other guests and his idol leaned across to him and said ‘William, color is bulls**t’.

After hearing this, Eggleston got up, left that table, and found another guest at the party to spend the evening with. He jokingly recalls "she never told me color was bulls**t."

I find this encounter funny as well as empowering. We all have our idols -- photographers we look up to as we find something in their work that speaks to us, and to be told by that person your work is essentially bulls**t would be a bitter pill to swallow. But what Eggleston did, and has done throughout his career, is stay true to the mantra of doing what he loves, regardless of public opinion.

In a separate interview, he stated the best photographs he had seen were his own, which I love.

Photography is now accessible to pretty much everyone thanks to the introduction of a camera on your mobile phone or tablet. The quality of these cameras has also grown massively over the past 5 years or so and now it is easier than ever to take an image and have it in front of hundreds, if not thousands of people within minutes via social media.

I know many photographers who see this as "lowering the art form." For me, however, I see it as a good thing. It is great to see so many people using cameras and enjoying photography, regardless of the quality of the final image. However, what this also means is getting your head above the crowd is much more difficult as your single image can be quickly swept up in the sea of images put out there every day.

The question is, though, should you care?

For the rest of this article, I will use Instagram as my example ‘platform’, as it is the most accessible for us all and one you can probably all relate to in some way.

We are social creatures and we like it when people notice us. As photographers, it is a great feeling for a group of people to provide feedback on your work and say "this is great, I like this." That small massage to the ego, that reassurance that what we are doing is good, we love it.

However, on the flip side of that, it can be damaging if we are used to that praise to suddenly find an image or two that we share receiving little to no feedback. "Was it rubbish?", "Should I remove it from my feed?", "Am I not as good as I thought?" Negative thoughts creep in and engulf you and it is a downward spiral that I have seen many go through during my time on social media.

It can be easy then to say, "Right, this image received a lot of praise and this one did not, so I will only capture images from now on in the same vein as the one that was ‘successful’." This then leads to a generic feed with no creativity and a copy and paste image each day. The photographer stagnates and eventually the passion will dwindle.

The reason is simply that you are not being creative -- you are being a slave to the crowd.

I think the truth is that you need to start shooting for yourself. Ignore the crowds, ignore what you see as being successful on the Internet (because being truthfully honest, what succeeds on the Internet is not always indicative of great photography, trends, influencers, whatever else is behind the image is usually what drives those numbers and that ‘success’).

Also, remember that not everyone will like your work. Eggleston mentioned in a different interview that if he met Ansel Adams, he would tell Adams that he ‘hated his work’. Does it mean Ansel Adams is not a great photographer because of one opinion? No. It just means that his body of work was not attractive to Eggleston, just like my work may not be interesting to you and yours to me and so on.

It does not take away from you as a photographer if one person or even a group of people (no matter how large) do not like your work. We pressure ourselves too much to be "liked."

This need to get attention can get in the way of our creativity. If you shoot and post images purely for attention, you can often be left unfulfilled creatively due to your focus being on what sells and not what you want to say as a photographer. Individuality is lost.

Of course, perhaps you do feel that satisfaction from shooting what is trendy and what sells. If that is the case, then by all means continue. But again, take a second to think: are you trying to push the trend? Are you expanding on that style of shooting or are you just shooting in the same vein again? Even if you shoot something as trendy as, say, "light and shadow photography," are you still trying to be creative with it and not just taking the easy option to get that attention?

Another side could be that you just do not care about the creative side and you just want the attention -- you want to get your name out there, your numbers up, and want people to flock to see your images and the attention is more important than the creativity. Again, I would say nothing wrong with that at all if that is your intention. There are very few photographers I know who are in that mindset though and are much more creative-focused than audience-focused, but only you truly know what matters.

My belief is the same as Eggleston’s: focus on you and your photography and try to block out the noise of the Internet. This is the best way to grow and truly see your vision in a frame. It is not easy. I have felt it too, scrolling through Instagram and seeing image after image gathering praise and thinking, "Why is that image doing well and my images suck?" However, to go down this road is more damaging than helpful to your photographic path.

I have learned over time to ignore what number sits underneath an image on Instagram (to be honest I have trained myself to not even look and take it in anymore) and to look at the image and think about how that image can teach me something that I can add to my arsenal. How is that photographer using the frame through composition, light, color, subject choice, etc.? How are they doing it differently than me, and what can I learn from it to improve my photography? Notice that is all about me growing and developing.

Now I use Instagram much more as a purely social platform and not a contest of who can be the "biggest." I love connecting with other photographers, sharing tips, advice, and stories, and really pushing each other to be better and to try new things. When I say it should all be about you, Instagram should be a place you take for yourself and for your knowledge and skill base, but also for you to give it back through supporting others and passing on any advice or knowledge you have.

You need to see other photographers as colleagues and not as competition.

William Eggleston getting up and walking away from the table, regardless of his idol sitting there, is a life lesson for everybody. We should only surround ourselves with those who can bring something of value to us and we should be strong in our own beliefs to know what it is we want to say with our photography. Even if it is not trendy or "popular", that does not matter if it is fulfilling you as a creative.

You are better being true to your vision than cruising by as an imitation of a bunch of popular Instagram accounts.

About the author : Lee Thirkellson is a photographer and writer. The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author. Thirkellson is the founder of The Northern Street Collective. You can find more of Thirkellson's work on his website and Instagram.

Image credits: Stock photos licensed from Depositphotos

#inspiration #tips #encouragement #instagram #leethirkellson #popularitycontest #trendy

It’s Okay to Love Cameras and Ignore Negative Photographers

I have always been interested in technology. When I was a kid, I had a computer very early and I was writing and learning code at around the age of 7 or 8 years old, simple stuff such as making the screen flash different colors -- important skills I have since forgotten. However, from computers to phones to TV systems, I have always embraced technology and I love playing with gadgets.

When it comes to cameras, I have owned one, be it a point and shoot, DSLR, or mirrorless, for probably the past 20+ years. However, my first ‘proper’ camera away from the point-and-shoot systems was bought for me by my now-wife back in 2014, and it was a Nikon D5200.

I remember telling Louise (my wife) of my love of photography and the fact that I had never really gotten into it properly due to a lack of confidence and also a lack of encouragement and support, so she marched me down to Currys (a British electronics retailer) and said: "let’s choose you a camera." I love that she did that.

I had zero clue what I was looking for and my decision was purely based on budget at that point -- I had no idea what I wanted to shoot or how seriously I would take it, I knew I enjoyed it but saw it more as an "as and when" thing, so after what seemed like an entire afternoon staring at a handful of systems, I opted for the Nikon D5200.

There was no factor that pulled me in -- I just liked the look of it, the feel, and it was in budget. There was zero consideration to specs or end use. It was a totally blind purchase. Ironically I have kind of come full circle and returned back to more innocent purchases like this.

I was hooked from the moment I mounted the kit lens that came with the camera. Having a DSLR opened up so many more opportunities to be creative, be it with different focal lengths, the use of depth of field, or even in editing with having the ability to alter your images in many more ways than I had previously known. Here are a few images I took through my first few months;

As time has gone on, my love for picking up a camera hasn’t changed. I am just as excited now to go out and try and ‘create’ as I was back in 2014 when I first loaded up my camera bag for that beginner trip out. However, what has changed, a multitude of times, is the system that is in my hands.

My Journey

I went from the D5200 to a small Fujifilm X100T for my day to day shooting, but for my main camera system I moved from the D5200 to the D750 (due to venturing into wedding photography and I needed a much more capable system for that), and the jump was huge.

From crop sensor to full-frame alone was a big difference, but my system was now also bulkier and much heavier (that Sigma 135mm prime still appears in jokes I have with other photographers).

Did my photographic skill go up? I would say yes. I was shooting more, with much more capable equipment, and also in much more varied conditions and scenarios and so I was having to push myself more. And naturally, the more you do something the better you become.

However, I then found the joy of mirrorless (with my X100T and having been tempted by seeing a Fujifilm X-T2 in action), and suddenly my thought process while shooting had changed. I had access to many more focal points across the whole frame and also an EVF, IBIS, much quicker autofocus speeds (I bought a Sony a7 III).

Did my photography improve? Yes again. The mirrorless system meant I could now see my exposures and I didn’t have to worry as much about focus acquisition and I could focus my attention on composition and framing and also my subjects. Gear changes did not improve the images I was taking from an interest point of view or a compositional point of view, but what it did improve was the ease of which I could nail exposure or ensure images were at least in focus.

The better systems meant I could focus more attention on the actual image and less on the camera. Therefore through being able to do this, it did improve my photography. Since my Sony, I have jumped around quite a bit from Fuji, Ricoh, and back to Nikon and I have owned multiple systems for each. I know the reason for this though, and that was frustration , all to do with user experience.

Cameras today are very capable. Any system is capable of probably 95% of what most photographers will shoot. Then what is the only factor you can use to decide them apart? Well, I would say usability is the main one for me -- how the camera feels to use and whether it makes me want to go out and shoot.

So what is G.A.S.?

G.A.S.

G.A.S. (Gear Acquisition Syndrome) is a term often used in photography for people who buy a lot of gear, but I personally think it is often misinterpreted. There is nothing wrong with wanting many different cameras. I currently own 8 different video game consoles and the reason being they all give me something different to experience and enjoy, and I see cameras in exactly the same way, or at least now I do.

I think when I first started out, my jumping around was all based on wanting those latest features. I wanted the Eye AF, I wanted the quicker autofocus speed, I wanted the smaller body. However, when using them I found that yes I had Eye AF on the Sony system but the experience of actually shooting felt less ‘photographic’ than when I owned my D5200.

Yes, I had a smaller body with the Ricoh but now my screen was fixed and I couldn’t see my framing when changing perspectives (which I often do). I was not thinking about what I was losing with switching and I was focusing on what I thought I was gaining through looking at a specification sheet.

I think we can all agree that 2020 was a reflective year for most of us and I have had my fair share of ups and downs through it too, and a huge difference for me is that I have been working from home since March 2020. I work in the same room as where I store my photography equipment and one day I opened my drawer to see 7 different systems with a bunch of different lenses and I realized that half of them I couldn’t see myself picking up if I was to go out because the love for them had gone. So why did I even own them? I had a clear out, 7 became 2, and wow did that feel good.

Sir, I Feel You Could Have a Bad Case of G.A.S.

Do I feel I have G.A.S.? Well, it depends on how you look at it.

I see G.A.S. as someone who buys camera equipment because they feel it will make them a better photographer. Even though I knew that gear wouldn’t make me produce better images, I did at some point feel that having access to various, ‘better’ features would make it easier to shoot and therefore speed up my skill growth. However, I do not see G.A.S. as being the process of buying cameras on the basis that you want a different experience or just because you like the look of a camera.

For example, this year I will (hopefully) be adding a Leica Q2 to my collection. Do I need a Leica Q2? No. Will it improve my photography? No. So why drop serious money on it? The reason being it is a camera I like. I wanted to own the original Q but at the time didn’t have the finances, but now I feel the Q2 will give me something more in that I will have the extra resolution. If the 28mm is too wide (a worry I had with the original Q), I can now crop with less worry of losing quality.

I think where I am now with my gear buying is totally different to a couple of years ago when I bought a camera because it had a .01 second faster autofocus. Now it is purely me satisfying one of two simple questions: 1) "What gap does this system fill?" or 2) "Is this a camera I really want to have as part of my collection?"

That’s it.

So the Leica Q2 isn’t going to fill a gap, but it is one I would really like to own as part of my collection so it gets onto the yes list. However, let’s consider the new Fujifilm GFX 100S (a camera I have been asked a number of times if I would be purchasing), a system I have no interest in. Pros: it looks like a decent camera, it has a 100MP sensor and that detail would be nice, but I rarely print my work and usually display it on screens, so what’s the point? People who stress about megapixels and then share their work predominately through social media have always baffled me.

What's more, I have no interest in dealing with those file sizes. The camera also doesn’t suit my type of photography and it is a big camera. I know it is much smaller than other GFX systems, but it is still the size of a larger full-frame mirrorless camera. I have my Nikon Z6 II in that category and honestly, I would choose it over the GFX any day of the week for what I need a camera to do. That camera doesn’t fill a gap in my collection and it isn’t a camera I am interested in owning, so it is on the no list.

Laying my cards completely on the table, and in no way trying to be disrespectful, I really don’t care what people shoot with. Be it a phone, point and shoot, mirrorless, medium format camera, blah blah blah, it really does not matter. You know what matters? The image.

I know that sounds cliché but it really is all that you are judged on in terms of your photographic ability.

I get that people may have an interest in equipment and gear, but it doesn’t matter what took the image, what matters is that shot, that moment. I have had conversations with people determined to prove a Fuji camera is better than a Sony camera or a Nikon camera is a terrible choice and really it does not matter. I do not care. Use that energy to take whatever camera you have and go out and take some photographs.

Yes, my skill did improve as my gear improved, but nowhere near the pace it improved because of practice, watching videos, talking to other photographers, and generally just learning the craft. Gear does not make the photographer.

Conclusion

So what are my final thoughts? Well first of all, if you are someone who buys a lot of camera equipment because you think that is the way to improve, then rethink. If you are someone who buys a lot of camera equipment because it is your hobby and passion and you genuinely just like having different cameras for different purposes or just because you want to own something, then go for it.

If anybody has any negativity to throw at you because you buy cameras for your own pleasure, then that says more about them and their own insecurities than it does about you as a photographer. You don’t owe anybody anything and are free to spend your money how you see fit. Just think about the reason why that little bit more. Otherwise, you may end up as I have on a number of occasions with a purchase that really offered no extra benefit.

About the author : Lee Thirkellson is a photographer and writer. The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author. Thirkellson is the founder of The Northern Street Collective. You can find more of Thirkellson's work on his website and Instagram. This article was also published here.

Image credits: Header illustration based on stock photo licensed from Depositphotos

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How Fujifilm Changed My Photography

I am not brand loyal. I merely see a camera as a piece of technology that enables me to push my creative process. However, that being said, it doesn’t mean that all cameras are the same. Each system from the various companies out there brings with them both pros and cons against one another and it is down to you, as a photographer, to find out which works best.

Essentially when it comes to a camera there are two questions you want to answer;

1. Is the camera fit for purpose?

2. Do you enjoy using the camera that is in your hand?

These two questions are fundamentally all that you need an answer to.

The camera has to be fit for purpose. If you are a photographer who captures birds in flight, it is no good owning a Ricoh GR III with a fixed 28mm lens, and you will probably be drawn to systems with higher-end autofocus and a range of interchangeable lenses.

The second question is probably the most important for me, and that is: do you enjoy using the camera you own? If you enjoy shooting with the camera in your hand, it will only help motivate you to want to go out and shoot and more shooting means more practice and ultimately the better photographer you will become.

Fujifilm

So how did Fujifilm change my photography?

Around 4 years ago I picked up a cheap Fujifilm X100T. I was shooting with a Nikon D5200 (for personal photography) at the time and a 35mm lens (I was shooting mainly street/general life photography). The reason I opted for the X100T was both cosmetic (that camera is still my favorite X100 series camera) but also because it made me feel much more invisible on the street.

The Nikon D5200 isn’t a huge camera by any stretch but there was something about having that small, chunky black box in front of my face that made me feel I was attracting attention and a little too self-aware. The X100T was small with a slimmer form factor and also my first real experience (beyond small point and shoots and my phone) with a camera EVF. I was won over.

Captured on the Fujifilm X100T

I felt, for the first time, that I was using a capable, yet almost pocketable camera that I could carry with me more to capture everyday events. It was this that led to a complete change in my photography.

First of all, I loved (and still love) using the Fujifilm X100T. I have used many Fujifilm systems and apart from maybe the X-S10 I would say the X100T is my favorite system to use. Now the X100F and X100V are very similar in handling etc however there was always a sense of familiarity and although very capable systems the X100T was my first and that experience of using this system for the first time can never be replicated regardless of updates in specifications.

So I found that I was taking my camera out more and shooting more and naturally I started to capture better images, I found myself improving not only with my compositions but also my instinct for a shot. I also learned exposure settings very quickly with the Fujifilm system and having that EVF and being able to see the impact of my changes to settings leveled up my skills with exposure settings much quicker than any book or YouTube tutorial.

Above all else, though, I was enjoying photography so much more than I had been with my Nikon D5200 and that was mainly down to the ease of having one camera with one fixed lens instead of a camera and a bag of lenses.

Captured on the Fujifilm X100T

That being said, it wasn’t all happy times. I would often get frustrated by the fixed focal length and find myself in the wrong position (being honest this was probably down to me having to learn the 35mm focal length without using the camera and not being prepared). I craved a different ‘look’ to my images at times and felt not every image suited the 35mm ‘look’. I started to want that look I used to get with the Nikon D5200 and my Sigma 35mm Art lens (roughly a 50mm crop sensor equivalent). I wanted options.

So I started to look at moving to an interchangeable system and considered many brands Fuji, Sony, Nikon, Canon, the choices are endless. However I still had that enjoyment with using Fujifilm systems, there really is a joy in having such a small camera, which looks damn good, yet is as capable as the big guns. Therefore I opted for the Fujifilm X-T20 with the 18-55mm kit lens as well as the 23mm f/2 and 35mm f/2 primes.

Captured on the Fujifilm X-T20

Now if the X100T was when my love began for Fujifilm, the X-T20 was when I asked for its hand in marriage. Everything I loved about the user experience of the X100T but with the added bonus of small interchangeable lenses. Fantastic image quality from that sensor, quick autofocus, great low light performance (I was shooting ISO 12800 in near pitch black and this little thing kept up), I absolutely loved it.

The X-T20 went on every trip with me, be it days out or holidays and it performed again and again. I was shooting even more than I was with my X100T because I couldn’t put it down and again naturally my photography improved due to shooting more.

I found myself reaching less for the X100T purely because the X-T20 gave me that experience but with the added bonus of being able to shift my focal lengths. Yes, the size was a little larger but not massively so, and to have all of that power and capability in a system body that size was amazing.

I have been a huge fan of Fujifilm systems since then and currently own a few systems from Fujifilm, each giving me something different in terms of experience.

Fujifilm systems ignited my passion for photography much quicker than any other tool or piece of equipment I picked up and that was purely down to experience and output. Fujifilm changed my photography in that their systems motivated me through sheer pleasure of use to get out and shoot.

Captured on the Fujifilm X-T20

Today

So where am I today? I own a few Fujifilm systems as well as a Nikon Z6 II and also a Ricoh GR III. Both the Nikon and Ricoh again give me something different when it comes to experience and each fits a different purpose that I feel I do not get with the Fujifilm systems. However, as I said at the beginning, I see cameras as technology to help push my creative process and I look for systems that give me that enjoyment.

There is a famous Chase Jarvis quote, which is ‘the best camera is the one that’s with you,’ and yes it is obvious that is true -- I mean the best coat in cold weather is the one that’s with you as something is always better than nothing. However, for me, the best camera for you and your creativity and growth is the one that motivates you to get out and shoot more.

About the author : Lee Thirkellson is a photographer and writer. The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author. Thirkellson is the founder of The Northern Street Collective. You can find more of Thirkellson's work on his website and Instagram. This article was also published here.

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