More than pretty pictures

Sometimes we meet people that set us back onto our path - not that I ever realised I was off-path, or that I actually thought there was a path to be on - I think we rarely do, until something jolts us awake again.

I had found a photo-journalist that I loved the work of online and we met for a coffee by Tower Bridge. Often, I feel intimated by meeting someone for ‘networking’ purposes. It feels to me like there are a bunch of questions i’m supposed to ask, i’m supposed to be very impressive and I should have an outcome in mind.

That day, I had none of these and was not feeling particularly impressive.

We got coffees and sat outside and chatted. Halfway through the conversation I stopped to marvel at how easy this felt. I was sat beside this guy, John, who had done it all, had photographed the royals and the David Beckhams of this world, and felt at ease.

This was a massive testament to John’s outlook on life. He was humble, believing he can learn from anyone and acknowledging the barriers that he has faced as a British-Chinese man in the industry. It takes a lot for someone so accomplished to make you feel on-level with them.

He said that sometimes people don’t expect him to walk through the door when they hire a photographer. He’s wearing jeans and a zip-up hoodie. They expect someone who looks like a high-profile photographer, whatever that looks like. I marvel at the sheer confidence he has to let his work speak for itself, no hiding behind artsy clothing or bravado.

In him I saw someone who enjoys the craft, not the appearance of the craft, or the recognition of it. He just loves taking photos.

It was early-spring and that day it felt as if everything was having a fresh baptism of sun. That’s how I felt, listening to this journalist, like everything was being baptised and being made new before my eyes. Throughout the course of our conversation, I came to see that perhaps my photography mindset had, somewhere along the line, become superficial. It was about looking good on Instagram - it had become about insta feed-consistency, being appreciated online and achieving the look. I wanted to look like a photographer, not believing that I already am one, and my work can speak for itself.

As we chatted, a tourist from South America came to ask John to take a photo of him by the bridge. He had lucked out with his choice of a photographer - perhaps he had somewhat of a sixth sense for it. John ducked and dived and posed said-tourist, speaking a few words of Spanish to him as they went. Safe to say, with John, the craft is the craft, worth crafting regardless of the camera, regardless of the situation, regardless of the subject. He made this photo feel important.

Upon reflecting on my Instagram profile, John says:

‘It’s pretty, you’ve got a good eye, but that’s all it is, it’s pretty pictures’.

…and that was a penny-drop moment for me. It felt like up until now, i’d been choosing who would raise me as a photographer, and up until now, I had been choosing the Instagram parents.

For photographers who have grown up as an ‘Instagram generation’ - it can be counter cultural to remember that Instagram is not the epicentre of photography. In fact, there are plenty of great photographers having a brilliant career in photography without the use of social media, often with a dramatically different outlook on the craft, and more often than not, going about their business quietly.

Despite the well-established fact that social media isn’t the truth, I think i’m continually falling for it. Maybe i’m not the only one. Who can blame us as after all, it does hold the social capital of our generation and can unlock so many doors for those that can use it well. However, something i’m working hard to remember is that social media often isn’t the place that values the good stuff. Authenticity, technical experience, humility and depth of storytelling unfortunately, isn’t a prerequisite of doing well, being taken seriously, or being picked as a photographer on Instagram or outside of it. Ouch. But that doesn’t make these values any less valuable, in fact, it probably makes them more