Authenticity Matters - Just Be Yourself!

One of the many reasons I have stopped consuming content on Instagram is the similarities of all the images being showcased - it was as if everyone was trying to outdo everyone by copying what everyone else was doing. That is the unhealthy side of social media, it shows you certain expectations, and if you want to play the game you have no choice but to participate and do the same thing - shoot the same kind of images, with the same style and composition and finishing off with exact same post-editing approaches. The typical "film-like" look, or cinematic colors with orange vs teal tinge within a frame, or the expired film look, you get the idea. It is getting increasingly difficult to find original ideas to get inspiration from. Instead of trying to be authentic, many people just chose the easy way out - if you can't beat them, join them!

Image taken by Amir Shariff (IG @amirscamera)
Used with permission. 

I think authenticity is extremely important in photography, any photography. It is fine copying others to learn - we all start by imitating published works, and reverse-engineer the technical execution or workflow to understand the craft a little better. However, as we move pass certain mileage, we may want to consider making original, new work that may not be just a carbon copy of what everyone else is doing out there. I don't find it fun shooting what everyone else is shooting, why don't we ask ourselves what we truly want to shoot? And we can start from there. 

We are all different human beings, and we should celebrate the difference. What makes us unique can be the core strength in our arts and will contribute to the authenticity of your images. You may see things a bit differently from others, or be drawn to different subjects, that is perfectly fine. We don't have to agree on everything and just follow blindly what the "influencers" or celebrity photographers are telling us to do. I find the best parts about photography is the freedom to creatively express ourselves. Why let others tell us and dictate the outcome of what we aim to photograph?

Your photography work should be a reflection of who you are as a person. Whether you like it or not, part of yourself will be imprinted in your work, intentional or not. Art is a very human thing, it has soul, and a huge contributing factor to that is the human artist behind the work. Therefore, consider yourself as a part of your photography workflow and creation process, you will be surprised by how powerful original ideas can be. All you have to do is look within and ask yourself what you want to say through your images. Let them speak. Let yourself out. 

At the end of the day, this short post serves as a reminder to me too - to not be another drone of many out there, copying each other's ideas and cloning the art that has been done to death. There is always a fresh perspective to explore, a different angle to attack from, and a new idea I can derive from. If I truly want to be a better photographer, I must first embrace truly being myself. Then I can let my pain, my life stories and my emotions speak through my work of art. 

Or maybe just consume social media less and shoot more. That can be a healthy change too. 

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