My social media is geared towards photography, and after looking at a lot of it, I’ve realised that there are some themes which are so over-done that it’s very, very unusual to see an original, interesting or different take on them. Few examples:
Sunrises / sunsets. I mean, there must be hundreds of thousands of these taken every day, and most people seem to think that “there’s no such thing as too much saturation”. Genuinely can’t remember the last time I saw one that made me stop and look at it and think “this photographer has managed to make this stand out”, other than in the wrong way.
Long exposure night shots. Stopped being interesting after about the 5th one with the whirly stars and single tree. Similarly, long exposures of cars with the trailing lines. Last time I saw that done well was by an entire team who were using the best medium format digital cameras of the era, AND a drone. They put a ton of effort into it and it was actually pretty awesome. But that’s very much the exception.
Conversely, I still see the odd portrait which manages to stand out, be it as a result of exceptional composition, clever lighting, good posing, unusual props or background, etc.
What are the themes that you think are getting harder and harder to do with any level of novelty?
You must log in or register to comment.
Big area, small person
I love big area small person though
Me too, but there’s a lot of it about.
Anything with a drone.
So many car photographers shoot literally the exact same shots. Same exact angles of the car, same focal lengths, same editing style.
I’ve worked on car shoots. The trouble is, clients want something which shows the front grille, something which shows all the car, something which shows the car motoring along etc. Same old set. But you still try and give them something different
Same with motorbikes. We used to joke “front on, side on, going round a corner, wheelie… done!”
If you look for others doing the same thing that’s what you’re going to get. The same thing.
Keep in mind that the people who will care about your work may never see another person’s interpretation. So I don’t think you need to be all that concerned about doing the same thing as others.
Bird pics.
It’s like Pokemon
There’s very little that hasn’t been done, and been done well.
Shifting gears and creating images that you yourself enjoy is far more rewarding that chasing recognition online. If that recognition comes, cool. If not, no biggie.
I’ve been so much happier since I stopped posting on social media and focused on darkroom work and printing. Watching people view your work or having someone want to buy it is so much more rewarding than shouting into the void that is social media. I’m not trying to make a living off of photography so there’s no need to subject my work to the uncaring algorithms.
One of the problems with social media is that the algorithms are designed, among other things, to show you more of what you’ve already seen/liked; the best predictor of future behavior is past behavior.
Originality will do well as a flash-in-the-pan occasionally, only to be followed by more of the same.
This can even be an issue with independent platforms and artists that are Patreon supported. Someone I know recently lamented that all their crowd wants to see is “more and more film soup”, the other projects be damned.
Just one of many reasons why I don’t chase likes on social media (and in fact, aren’t on it).
Everything is overdone. You have to be like an abstract fine art photographer to do anything unique.
The solitary wooden dock jutting out on a calm lake.
I think you find novelty in the mundane typical events of the day, and you’ve got to be there when it happens.
You’re right, so many overly planned posed and processed images are just so done. We’re so inundated with images capturing literally everything in the human experience, so much so that being original is hard. Like comedians…they’ve got to come up with original jokes to keep their career going. If they don’t, they’re done.
You just have to be out there shooting. I shoot a lot of events, and something amazing happens at each event, and I try like hell to be there when it happens. Add unusual angles and perspectives to your technique and you get close to an original style…I’m getting close to that every event.
My advice is stop worrying about being boring and get out there and shoot…anything! And maybe you’ll find it.
Don’t bother trying to take an original photo at the Grand Canyon or Sedona!
That really depends
Some people are more drawn to certain themes of photos more than other
What themes most catch your eye op?