Why I Quit Instagram...

I’m hardly the first person, photographer even, to quit Instagram. The platform has seemed to be heading steadily downhill since 2018 or so, when algorithms and ads began replacing connectivity and exploration as the driving engines of the medium. These issues became even worse in 2020 with the rise of TikTok and subsequent surge-from-behind as Instagram attempted to remain the most viable social media platform around. Videos and viral trends became the name of the game, and users were forced to play the game or risk losing out.

Many photographers have left Instagram in favor of more photo-friendly platforms such as Twitter, VSCO, or other third-party apps that have come and gone such as 500PX, or recently Grainery. 

I’m sure clicking on this blog, you probably think that’s where I’m going too. How many times have we seen one of our favorite creators grandiosely announce they are ‘leaving Instagram forever’ and to follow them to these other apps, which almost always fail to replicate the incredible atmosphere that once was Instagram. 

And all of that is true, Instagram used to feel like the American Dream, now it feels more like lottery ticket. Maybe you’ll win someday if you keep trying, but there has to be a more satisfying and productive way of being an artist right?

In the end, what really broke me was watching Craig Whitehead, or @sixstreetunder, post on his story about how much he hated reels, but felt like he needed to start making them to maintain his brand. It suddenly occurred to me how absurd the whole situation really was. We all hate what Instagram has become, and yet we will force ourselves to create things WE DON’T EVEN LIKE, for what? So 150 people can look at my photos for half a second and then forget it exists? It doesn’t make any sense, I mean think about it - if we really want to change Instagram, why do we buy into this? Why do we acquiesce to their new formats and styles when we don’t even like doing it? 

I love sharing my artwork because it is the only thing in this world that is uniquely mine. It comes from somewhere inside of me, whether that is my heart, my soul, my brain, my being, my lifeforce, or wherever else on my body. Sharing that little bit of me with the world leaves a mark on this world that will probably never remember who I was. I share my artwork because it is all I have to leave myself behind. 

But neither Instagram nor Twitter nor any other social media is invested in this process. They don’t care about me or my art or my legacy. They don’t care about the magic that is the creative process. They don’t care about the stories I tell. They care about keeping people on their app, teasing them with the smallest chance of significance in exchange for screen time and contribution to the black hole that is their program. And that trade-off is simply not worth it to me. 

When I looked at my Photography heroes - Kertész, Cartier-Bresson, Maier - I realized that they didn’t dump photos out every day to the general public in hope someone would shower them in fame and fortune. They built up bodies of work over the course of decades so that when they were gone, the collection of stories left behind would be greater than them. They captured moments and made them immortal. I can’t think of anything that is more polar opposite to that sentiment, than posting a photo to Instagram where even my friends and family, or fellow photographers who actively enjoy my work will look at them on a 6-inch screen (and in my case another layer of grubby fingerprints on top) for less than 5 seconds. That is not immortality.

Building on that point, I realized Instagram was affecting the way I shoot, always chasing ‘bangers’ or single images that might get shared. I don’t want that to be my work flow, I want to do as my idols did and build bodies of work that you can hold and feel. I think photography books or zines, even photo albums, are more meaningful than single images with no context. I want to keep this in mind when I am out shooting, I want to remember than not every photo needs to be a 10/10, because they may become much stronger when paired with other photos. Instagram stops me from doing this, no matter how hard I try I always seem to get sucked back into the banger-trap.

That being said, even I still feel like the internet itself can and should be used to share art. But if I’m going to do it, I’m going to do it on my own terms. That’s why this blog and my Projects page will be the new homes of my photography. Here I can post images full-size and enable zoom. I can post long-term projects in their entirety to tell a more complete story, as opposed to bite-size snippets that will get lost in the ether.

Now I will admit, I have the privilege of not depending on freelance creative work for a living, and not everyone has that luck, but I have to ask, is Instagram really getting you the jobs you need? In my experience, it is networking and connecting in-person that has brought me virtually every photography and videography job I’ve ever had. 

So if you’re still reading this, here is my challenge for you: take a look at your Instagram screen-time for the last week or even month. Now think about how many shoots you could have done, how many networking events or meetups you could have attended in that time. Now ask yourself “am I really taking the best road to success, or am I just chasing a dream of success without actually moving?” Even if you aren’t looking for work, what could you have done in that time to add longevity and significance to your work? Things like printing it, reaching out to galleries (or other venues that might let you hang your art). Are the likes and comments you get more meaningful than those things? 

At the end of the day, I know most of this blog is self-affirming my own decision, but I do hope that others will come to realize their work is more valuable than Instagram would tell you, and though it may seem like there are no other options - there are and always have been. 

Happy shooting, and thanks for reading!