I Stopped Looking at Social Media, my Photography Boomed

"Social media was once the backbone of marketing for photography businesses. However, we now have strong reasons to leave it behind and adopt a different approach to photography. Why did my recent behavior change prove this to be true? There are lessons we learn all the time in photography. Some of those could be discovered through new ways of taking photos. Alternatively, it could be finding hidden features of our cameras. However, sometimes we learn something unexpected that can significantly affect our photography."

"A Brief History of Likes In February 2004, there were two major launches. On the 4th, Facebook was launched. Ten days later, Flickr came online. The former became a fabulous way to keep in touch with friends around the world, and the latter became a way to share photos with other photographers. Despite Rupert Murdoch's reported attacks and threats, Facebook overtook what was then News Corporation's site, Myspace. Then, in July 2006, Twitter became available to the public, and four years later, Instagram followed suit."

"The rise of fast-moving social media platforms saw the demise of many friendly, leisurely-paced online forums: SnapMyLife, Elements Village, and Radar, to name but three. Getting friends and followers on these platforms became the thing to do. People made connections with people they had never met, giving strangers insights into their private lives. The drive for ever more Likes became imperative. The more friends you had, the more likes you got. More Likes made it more likely your posts would be seen."

Social media was once the backbone of marketing for photography businesses, but current dynamics make relying on it risky. The launch and growth of platforms such as Facebook, Flickr, Twitter, and Instagram shifted how photographers share work and pursue attention, driving a culture of Likes, followers, and short-form content. Smartphones amplified casual imagery—selfies, meals, and pets—and platforms prioritized short videos over stills. Fast-moving social platforms displaced slower forums, and algorithms using user data began optimizing content for engagement and advertising. These incentives change photographic practice, visibility, and creative control, prompting reconsideration of platform-dependent marketing.

Read at PetaPixel