Roast My Photography, Actually...Don't

A perfect example of the biggest online problem

Covered Car Shot on Kodak Pro Image 100 from a very early YouTube video. Print available on my shop.

Housekeeping

Things I want you to know this week.

• I finally saw Kinds Of Kindness at the cinema and I’m not sure I liked it? I need more time to think and talk it over with fellow cinema lovers but I do know that I LOVED the way it looked. It was shot on film and you can see it here on the Kodak website.

• A restaurant I shot has been awarded best restaurant in Queensland (QLD is massive btw) and two of my photos will be featured in an upcoming print magazine to announce the award. How exciting!

• A huge thank you to everyone who has enquired about the upcoming merch! The design is finalised and will be on a tote bag so very soon! I’m excited to bring this exciting LIFE LOOKS BETTER ON FILM bag to film shooters all over the world!

• I’m getting so many DM’s from people who are struggling with socials right now and so much of that is to do with not knowing how to show up online. It’s a bit daunting and things change all the time so keep reading for more on that…

• A reminder to use the rest of the year wisely in terms of what you want to achieve with your work. Wrap up a project, submit your work, make that zine or start building your online presence as an artist so doors can open for you! You got this!

The problem with the Chat GPT Roast trend

Okay, I almost didn’t write this but then I did, because I thought it was important to share.

Trends - they occur all the time and the online space is rife with them.

Something I have noticed in fashion, as well as in social media, is that the life cycle of a trend is getting shorter and shorter! This to me makes the choice to opt out of a trend even easier, so I guess it’s a good thing if you take that road.

So let’s talk about the “Roast My Feed” or “Roast My Photography” trend that you have likely seen circulating if you own a smartphone and are into visual arts.

Is it funny?

Yeah…for like a second.

Have a little chuckle at what the robot says about your art and pretend like you aren’t bothered. No harm done and hey, you finally had something to post that you felt might be received well because it’s got the stamp of approval from the internet.

Despite not really being a person that takes socials seriously or posts with any cadence or strategy, you felt the urge to get involved in this one because

A. It was popular, which made you feel safe and validated in posting it

B. It was easy because it was already thought out for you

The problem is, it’s low hanging fruit…low hanging fruit can be okay if it’s timeless low hanging fruit, but when that fruit lives and dies in one day it’s not really worth your time, energy or grid space, so why bother?

Maybe you are thinking…man this girl need to live a little! Geez it’s only a fun little social media trend!

Yes, it is and in the grand scheme of things it’s neither here nor there if you do or don’t get AI to roast you, or your art, but it is something worth analysing and learning from at least.

The Real Problem With Trends

Social media is draining because you always have to come up with something seemingly new to say.

When an idea gets presented to you that is already formulated (roast my feed with Chat GPT) you get on board because half the work has been done for you, the idea is there, you have seen it in action, and all you have to do is replicate this and apply it to your own feed.

It’s like a microwaved meal ready to go, but would it taste better and be worth it to make a meal from scratch…100%.

It’s so easy! Well it’s so easy that everyone is doing it and the problem with something that everyone is doing is it doesn’t stand out…

You are merely just another cog in the machine that is trends, and Meta are stoked that they live to see another day where everyone jumped on a trend madly following along, making their posts so they could be seen as someone who was a part of it all.

It’s totally fine to have fun online of course, but if you are someone who doesn’t post that often or doesn’t really value socials, or someone who complains about not getting any traction online, then this trend participating behaviour could be part of the problem.

By the time you make this post it’s already been done a thousand times and you just melt into the void that is everyone else.

Wouldn’t it be better to use that energy elsewhere by coming up with a post that is going to live forever, something that actually came from you and is authentic.

It’s fine to have your spin on a trend or pepper in posts/content that you think is going to speak to a current hot topic etc. but it’s got to have some form of unique quality that makes it yours so you can ensure your content stands out from the rest.

It’s not about fitting in - it’s about standing out.

It takes a lot more courage (especially online) to come up with a fresh idea and show up in a way that is new, different or your own.

Trends are safe and in my opinion, boring.

You are a creative! Creatives are born to push boundaries, challenge the status quo and show up as themselves to pave the way for others to do the same, in their own way.

The thing with socials is, it can be whatever you want it to be and that is kind of the daunting part. You are free to post whatever you please and choose to, into the universe, and this kind of freedom is often forgotten about, instead replaced with negative comments about the algorithm and reach being throttled.

I get it…but I also think it should push you to come up with ideas that you think might break through, even just in your community or with your core audience.

If you complain about the lack of engagement, reach, likes or appreciation for your work then why don’t you channel that energy into an idea that will revolutionise the content space and show people the true capability of your creative self?!?

Frustration always leads to invention and I channel my frustration with trends and the blind following of them, into coming up with original content ideas and putting my efforts into creating for the people that get it, not for the algorithm that wants you to buy into the trend!

Don’t let the internet stifle your creativity because it truly is a gift that we are able to share our work on such a large scale and connect with each other like never before. So don’t squander it.

Find your people online and then create with them in mind first - not the trends!

Create for those people and what you think they would enjoy or resonate with and I bet you more of those people will come.

Stop making “sharing my photography everyday until i reach 10k followers” videos or whatever it is…it tells me nothing about you or your work and it’s a lazy trend that everyone jumps on hoping it will be the magic bullet to more followers online without even knowing why you want those followers in the first place!

In this AI, fast moving world we need more individuality, we need your authentic self, we need ideas that are born from experience and actual human life.

We need YOU and all that makes you unique.

So dig deep and come up with some cool content ideas to share cause I’m super sick of seeing the same shit everyday.

If you need some ideas I have 52 of them here that are ready to be augmented to fit your specific self. These aren’t trends, they are core evergreen content ideas that won’t go out of fashion or favour and serve to build connection, tell stories and share you and your creative pursuits online in a sustainable way.

Thanks for reading everyone and feel free to roast my advice below (as long it’s you doing it and not Chat GPT haha) or share how you feel in this regard so we can chat more about it.

Love Lucy xx