Creative: Trend Analysis

Let me preface this entire post by saying I DO NOT CARE WHAT YOU USE. What camera you use, how you use it, is none of my business. The purpose of this post is to share the observation of a trend I’ve been watching for over a decade.

I recently had a chat with a photographer friend. At one point during the conversation, I asked about another photographer, a mutual friend and colleague. “She’s out,” he said. “She’s selling X now, and entirely gone from photography.” Although this is now a common experience for me, I still felt a bit of a pang when my friend shared the information. I knew this mutual photographer as a very successful editorial, commercial photographer and someone I looked up to even though she is younger than me. But in my heart I knew it was coming. How did I know? Because I had a bit of foreshadowing. Two years prior this same photographer had uttered these now telltale words to me. “I’m doing a project with my iPhone.”

More than anything else, I’m an observer. I look around and I pay attention. I might not always be right or accurate in my assumptions, but I believe I am right more often than wrong. I see something that peaks my interest and I file it away for a later date. I see the same thing again, I add the note to my mental folder and keep going. When I see something a third, fourth, or fifth time I devote the observation to its own mental hard drive because now I’ve witnessed a trend. Trends are where I see shifts in human behavior, and as an outsider to the trend I can remain impartial, immune actually, for better or worse.

I record trends all the time. Some explode on the scene in violent fashion while others percolate like lava below the bulge. I estimate I am impartial to the trend about half the time. An impartial trend is easy to observe and document, while an infuriating trend is so very difficult to dismiss. (America’s acceptance of disinformation for example.) You might like my observations, or you might disagree with me, but at the very least I hope my observations help inform to whatever degree possible.

So yes, the trend I want to discuss is what happens when a photographer begins to substitute a mobile phone for their primary camera system. Let me remind you, this is an impartial trend for me. I don’t care what you do. If you are a hobbyist and you use your phone in addition to your primary system, and you have fun doing so, all good. Where things get dicey is when we enter the professional field. When a professional photographer begins using a mobile phone to substitute for imagery they would have previously made with their primary camera system it does not end well. In fact, it often signals the beginning of the end of their professional career.

And before we go any further, social is social.

For the most part, the industry has been dumbed down to such a degree that social media photography has become far more of the conversation than it ever should have. There is no going back. But social, as even the popularity kings and queens know, is complete and total bullshit. A facade at best. A fabricated narrative built to create a palatable version of the offender so the offender can be loved by strangers and bots thus convincing mindless clients that the offender has value. Photography, actual photography, is no longer even a part of this conversation. This, my friends, is about metrics.

The trend I’m discussing isn’t the social trend. The trend I’m discussing is when the photographer puts down their primary camera and instead reaches for the phone. Smaller, lighter, easier to distribute. In other words, the slippery slope. Good enough. Quick. Easy. Lazy. Like any addiction, it starts small and slowly builds. Why carry a camera around? I’ll just take my phone. Smaller, lighter, easier. “The cameras are getting so good,” they say to reassure themselves, but like the photographer I mentioned above, they KNOW what they saying. They KNOW the holes in this story.

Over the past year I’ve been photographing next to photographers who chose this route. Me with my camera and they with their phone. When it came time to look at the work they were embarrassed. Admitted their choice was built on laziness. And here is where things get complicated. Clients notice this. If you are using your mobile phone why on Earth do I need to hire you?

Some of these photographers have gone all in on being “Mobile Phone Photographers,” but these people are mostly gone from the industry, choosing instead to sell workshops, filters, apps, actions, etc. They are now teaching mobile phone photography to consumers. If I’m a commercial client why would I hire someone like this? My intern has the same phone, same apps, same filters and isn’t even being paid. So what if their work isn’t great, we are only going to use the image for a short time. Send him out again. And for those of you thinking your mobile phone imagery blends perfectly with your “other” work. Sometimes it does, but sometimes it doesn’t. Again, I’ve seen this first hand numerous times in the past year. When it’s off, it’s WAY off.

But perhaps more than anything else, this is about perception. And in our increasingly phony world, perception is key. If you have taken a step back, how does that not influence my opinion of you? I have met so many photographers who have chosen this path, and none of them are the photographer they were two years ago. They show me images and say “iPhone, can you believe it?” and I say “Yes, it looks like a phone picture.” The effect is similar to looking at footage from action cams which always seems to be a little bit too wide. The phones are getting better but the zoom still looks like a digital zoom.

A few weeks ago I recorded a film titled “How to Win Friends and Dominate Holiday Parties.” I never released the film. Nor did I release any of the other films I recorded. You might call this a crisis, and you would be correct. Even though the title might sound like a joke, I was serious in my intention with the film. Parties are fun but are also some of the most important events for your career. Parties are goldmines, but you need a strategy. I won’t share all my strategies here, just two. One, find the oldest person at the party, pull up a chair, and have a real talk with them. They are far more intelligent than you, and they have far more experience. Your life will be better for it, and hopefully their’s will be too. (At both of my recent parties, this was the highlight for me.) And two, always carry your camera.

Yes, carry your camera. Do not EVER touch your phone at a party. First, this puts you in the same class as everyone else. Mindlessly recording every single moment. No, no, no. If you are a photographer this is a complete no-go zone for you. Leave your phone at home, or in your bag in the room where everyone drops their coats, hats, and bags. Carrying your camera immediately puts you in the one percent. Carrying your camera will illicit snide comments from other photographers. F%$# em. And besides, if you are cornering other photographers, or photo industy people, you are missing the boat. Corner interesting, non-photography related people. Corner the people who make decisions. Corner the people with careers. Corner the diplomats, heads of finance, or NGO runners. Corner the people who will expand your life.

You will get asked about your camera and why you would be carrying it at a party. This is good. Most people will assume you would just take your phone because…wait for it…it’s SO MUCH EASIER. If you don’t take a stand no one will take a stand for you. If you don’t take a stand, you might already be on your way out. If you follow the path of least resistance in photography you are dead man walking. You MUST create your own perception backed by the absolute best work you can possible make. Otherwise, you have no chance of being around a decade from now. I really wish I didn’t feel this way but I certainly do.

At the last party I attended I dropped my bag but kept my camera on my arm. I got several puzzled looks and several questions about why I was carrying it. I also made images of the host’s mother who was the oldest person at the party, and an absolute pleasure to speak with. I spent at least forty five minutes speaking with her and came out a better man. And guess what, I also made several portraits of her that I would guess are the best images anyone has made of her in years. Just because I had my primary camera. And now when I write to thank the host I can attach the images with “Loved speaking with your mother.”

I’m watching. All the time. I see so many photographers making the same mistakes. One of the most important things I ever learned as a photographer was learning to say “No.” I remember exactly where and when I learned this lesson. Sitting in a friend’s house in Bluebird Canyon in Laguna. In discussion with a designer friend. He was teaching me, and I finally understood what he was trying to get across. “What you say “No” to is more important than what you say “Yes,” to, he said. He was spot on.

You could counter this post with “People accept my mobile pictures all the time.” Sure, they do. Photography’s technical quality is increasing all the time, but its impact is not. You can join that race if you want. Again, I don’t care. But that is not a race you can win. I recently swapped out my iPhone 15, a total piece of shit, for the iPhone 16 Pro. I lease my phones because of so many quality control issues over the years. A friend asked “How is that new camera?” I said “I don’t know.” Have I used the new camera? Yes. For what? No idea. Those images were most likely snaps of my shoes for the shoe repair guy, a snap of a driveway issue or a photograph of my leg to show my brother how his compression sleeve birthday gift fit me. When it comes to making my work with this device, I have no feeling for it whatsoever because I’ve seen what this device has done to so many other photographers. No thanks.

My work will remain in the world of my primary system. My work lives in a special place for me, where it must reside before becoming something for someone else, otherwise it’s not my work. There is no shortage of work for mercenaries in this world of ours, but mercenaries tend to not live long. I see it as simply holding the line. Your line and my line will vary, but it’s healthy to at least know where your line is, so when you are asked to cross it, or feel the pressure to do so, you can easily reply “No.”

This post only scratched the surface of what I’ve witnessed when it comes to this trend. I was being polite, and I only told you a tiny fraction of my observations. I first witnessed this trend back in the days when the first photography apps appeared, apps that did little more than apply garish filters and film borders. I started to see all sorts of photographers toss out their ethics and standards for the quick fix of being cool. The vast majority of these photographers are no longer photographers. Once it goes, it goes.

I think photography has truly damaged itself and its credibility by being so dominated by the technology. Like modern engines with computer chips and electronics and infotainment screens, but with faulty, poorly designed transmissions designed to last for 30,000 miles. If you think I’ve escaped this situation you would be incorrect. I’ve been compromised at times. The last time was a year ago today, actually. And when that shoot was over I said “Never again.” I won’t do it. I’d rather NOT do the shoot or make the trip. It’s that simple.

And for those of you who will counter with “I love my phone,” again, I don’t care. Use it. To end on a positive note here, I will describe an iPhone user who I feel has the situation figured out. A painter, artist, designer who never had a “real” camera. I watched her work on a long-term project with her phone. She knew light, timing, composition, had a true sense of style, design and purpose. The phone fit her perfectly. Her images were stunning, but her images were the blueprint for her subsequent works. And when she produced a small book it was beautiful. Her images were perfectly crafted. They were not grab shots. Her phone was her only camera, but she was not an “iphone photographer,” and if I had to guess I don’t think she would have even described herself as a photographer. The idea of the technology entering the conversation about her work would be distracting and frankly a bit insulting.

Perhaps this speaks to the deterioration of the arts. Not total destruction by any means, but there has been both incredible developments in the arts, and a deterioration of the foundation including the level of professionalism, or lack thereof. This is for another post, another conversation. Just be careful. That’s all I’m saying. Your casual flow into quick and easy will be noted, especially by the best clients. (The few remaining.) Your aura and perception should be front and center in your mind. Make it real. Make it true.