> Both as a cautionary tale to anyone getting into photography, and as an explanation for why I stopped.
I think "cautionary tale" is a bit hyperbolic. It seems to me that the author's motivations for getting into photography and expectations of what it would bring to his life have as much if not more to do with his experience than Instagram.
If you get into photography for the purpose of garnering attention and praise from others, rather than, say, telling stories you find important/interesting or chronicling your experiences visually, your odds of being disappointed are incredibly high. Everyone is a photographer these days thanks the camera we all carry in our pockets and as a result the supply of photos far exceeds the demand.
Note that this is not to say that Instagram hasn't had a negative impact on photography. As an avid traveler, I think it's both sad and amusing that people take basically the same photos of high-profile tourist sites to post on Instagram. But of course that shouldn't discourage anyone from taking photos when they travel if they really enjoy doing it, which is probably the only good reason for the average person to take photos anyway.
I started doing it purely for fun and intrisic interest. Instgram slowly shifted my motivation to something that aligns more with their goals without me realizing.
> What I didn’t know was that for each new like and follow, a little dopamine was sent out into my brain. Every little bit of attention was a hit of a drug I didn't know about. After a while, you get used to it—wanting more and setting ever higher standards for yourself.
The line between agency and no agency is quite blurry. But I would say keeping up a pretense of agency is useful, even if only fictional.
Are you sure about that? From reading your post, I get the impression you made your Instagram account public and started tagging your photos because you wanted larger numbers of people to see your photos.
In any case, I hope you can get back to photography and truly enjoy it. One suggestion is to see if there are local photography groups in your area, or groups for things you like to photograph (i.e. birds, etc.). These can offer great close-knit environments to share your photography and get constructive feedback, and to enjoy the photography of people you can have a connection with. Trying to get random strangers to tap a heart next to your photos is a soul-less pursuit.
Which is why this page where the photographer pointed his camera "the wrong way" is a lot more novel—and dare I say, interesting—than attempts at recreating postcard views.
I think "cautionary tale" is a bit hyperbolic. It seems to me that the author's motivations for getting into photography and expectations of what it would bring to his life have as much if not more to do with his experience than Instagram.
If you get into photography for the purpose of garnering attention and praise from others, rather than, say, telling stories you find important/interesting or chronicling your experiences visually, your odds of being disappointed are incredibly high. Everyone is a photographer these days thanks the camera we all carry in our pockets and as a result the supply of photos far exceeds the demand.
Note that this is not to say that Instagram hasn't had a negative impact on photography. As an avid traveler, I think it's both sad and amusing that people take basically the same photos of high-profile tourist sites to post on Instagram. But of course that shouldn't discourage anyone from taking photos when they travel if they really enjoy doing it, which is probably the only good reason for the average person to take photos anyway.