The Art of Photography YouTube channel produces some quality content, but a recent video by producer Ted Forbes has some stark advice for photographers: “Nobody cares about your photography.”
During the video, Ted posits that the world is now over-saturated with photographers and creatives of all stripes, and that rather than aiming to simply do creative work, we should be striving to do work that is valuable and makes a difference.
“Nobody is interested in seeing your photographs. Nobody cares about the work that you’re doing as a photographer,” says Forbes, “but the world’s survival is completely dependent on work that matters.”
Rather than getting caught up in the “popularity contest” of social media, we should all be striving to create “something that means something,” he says during the course of the seven-minute video. He is clearly impassioned, but also seems a tad jaded with his profession.
The barrier to entry for photography has certainly been lowered over the past decade, and the craft has become easier to practice and hone, to the point where 80% of consumers think that their photography skills are ‘excellent’. Clearly, Ted Forbes doesn’t agree.
What do you think of the video? Is Forbes correct? Are there too many photographers in the world today, or is he just being a tad over-cynical? Let us know in the comments or on Facebook.