Cross-pollination photography and content-creators causing confusion

What is the problem

The purpose of fine art photography is to express one’s unique and individual experience to eventually have a printed, physical, and tangible result, ready to be hung and shown to the world. The essence is in the process, the journey of creation, expression, and manifestation of unique individual experiences. 

The purpose of content creation is to draw attention with striking imagery for commercial purposes like endorsing a product or a brand, often using photography and videography but not exclusively. The process, the journey, and the expression of one’s unique individuality are not important. The focus is on drawing attention to a product or a brand not on individuals and their artistic expressions. It is irrelevant. And the brand can even be the content creators themselves.

Therefore, the main objective of content creators is to have a large audience to be valuable for the brand or product. The larger the better. On the other hand, fine art photographers have the main objective of creating the art they believe in, and their related activities and education reflect that. 

It helps if they also have a large following to get their art out in the world. And that’s where the problem starts. They look at content creators and see how they easily draw large numbers of views and followers and try to adopt the same strategy and unfortunately, sometimes also the same content. 

At the same time, content creators see how they can use the beauty of fine art photography for their content and draw attention. This then results in an increasing group who are content creators who call themselves fine art photographers and fine art photographers who employ content creators’ activities. Both groups don’t know who they are anymore or what they need and have the wrong expectations.

The lack of clarity and cross-pollination explain why the only objective and determining factor in choosing an educator amidst the flood of educators, tutorials, and workshops, is someone’s popularity based on the number of views and likes, followers, and subscribers. Popularity gives the educator authority and credibility but due to the obfuscation, not always the right match.

Over time, this has resulted in a complete misunderstanding and devaluation of what B&W photography is and what fine art is. Furthermore, content creators, whether they are ‘pure content creators’ or content creators profiling themselves as fine art photographers, will usually teach you quick hacks and parlor tricks to draw viewers effectively. And unfortunately, fine art photographers will do the same and are on the wrong track. 

And there’s nothing wrong with teaching quick hacks if you’re a content creator. The problem is not only that those hacks and parlor tricks are difficult to unlearn, but even worse: the foundational skills of what makes photography the discipline it is, are lost and forgotten in an ocean of popular tricks for quickly creating content. 

Fine art photographers trying to learn the fastest way to draw attention and a large audience, at the expense of creating authentic art, are missing the point. Or perhaps they should call themselves content creators instead.

I cannot speak for the ‘pure’ content creators but I can give suggestions as to how to find the right match for you as a photographer if it is fine art you want to create. And if you’re a potential client of a fine art or professional photographer then I have a few suggestions as well.

Here is a list of indicators to look for when choosing an educator for fine art photography or finding the right person for your work as a client:

1. The first, and most important and most obvious indicator: it should make sense that an educator who teaches photography should have given evidence that it has resulted in successful results with their art. Check their portfolios on their website. If they don’t have a website and are only visible on social media, then this might be an indication they’re actually content creators.
2. If a photography educator can articulate what fine art is for them and that view is visible in their work, then that’s another good indication that it is a fine art photographer and educator.
3. History plays a role: if the photography educator is only active for a few years, then this might also be an indication you’re dealing with someone who knows how to create content but not necessarily know what fine art is. 
4. Look at their content. If it’s ubiquitous and all over the Internet then you’re likely dealing with a content creator. But not always! People like me or Julia Anna Gospodarou for example created a fine art architecture genre that has been copied for more than a decade and is now ubiquitous. The fine art minimal seascapes from Michael Levin are another example that has been copied by thousands over the years.

For clients looking for the right match for commissioned work, for example, the list above will be very useful as well if you’re looking for an artist to elevate and celebrate your products like architectural objects. On the other hand, if you just need attention and the artistic value of the products is less important, then clients are better off with the content creators.

When you want to increase your understanding and proficiency in fine art, being educated by a content creator puts you on the wrong path. When you want to progress as an effective content creator then being educated by a fine art educator will teach you things you might not need for content creation or will even have the opposite effect on your goals.

Therefore it should be clear who are content creators and who are fine art photographers to find the perfect match as someone who wants to learn or as a client.

A final advice for the fine art photographers

To the fine art photographers amongst us: don’t get discouraged by the abundance of attention for the content creators. Don’t lose your authenticity just for the sake of getting more views/followers/attention. Keep creating what you love. Easier said than done? Perhaps. But I believe strongly in the Jungian concepts and therefore I believe your work will always be part of something greater, and affect all of us, even if we’re not aware of it and even if no one sees your work. Keep listening to your ‘Daemon’. You shouldn’t avoid it anyway.