I love taking photos.

As an Atlanta freelance photographer, I'll take photos of almost anything, though there are a few things I wouldn't want to photograph - even for money!

I'm not a wedding photographer. Nope. Don't want to spend my life going to weddings, thanks. 

The above photo is one I took back in March at Old Car City USA. Now I could wander there for days taking photos.

I love spending time editing my photos too - that's usually as much fun or more as taking them. 

But I'm having an issue with workflow and social media. 

I'm burned out. 

For those of you that follow me on Instagram, you know I usually post once a day.

Or, at least I did.

Up until a few weeks ago, I was posting a photo almost every day because...well, because that's what the "experts" said I should do. 

One photo per day. No big deal, right? 

Wrong. 

I spend a lot of time in post-production for one photo - and that's after I've spent hours out wandering around to capture the photo in the first place. 

I love both of those aspects of producing a finished photo. But, it's impossible for me to get out every day for a photo shoot. And to get the photo, edit the photo, and post the photo is quite a process. 

Somehow, for a long time, I was managing to get enough content to post once a day...until I wasn't. 

And I've never had a love affair with social media. I don't spend lots of time looking at it. I scroll through Facebook a couple of times a day because I belong to a lot of helpful groups there. But it's hard to keep up with all of them. 

I scroll Instagram a few times a day for about 5 minutes each time, which I enjoy. 

But suddenly I felt the pressure of posting every. single. day!

Too much!

Also - I'm so sick of politics and negativity I could scream. The level of rage, anger, and hate that people spew across social media is sad and scary. And totally unnecessary.

It's also bad for people to look at all that stuff all the time.

We're living in an unprecedented age of technology and wealth. The most basic things we take for granted were unheard of only 50 years ago.

Yes - we should be trying much harder to lift everyone out of poverty. We should always fight injustice and evil. 

But the Internet seems to amplify all of our worst tendencies and behaviors. 

Go feed the poor.

Get involved in local politics on a community level.

Doing so makes you feel better. It's immensely gratifying. And it makes you feel less powerless. 

As much as I'm grateful for the Internet and all it allows me to do, I think it's also become a hugely negative and controlling force.

I'm not suggesting we hide our heads in the sand. But I like to take more of a Tony Robbins approach. Be positive. See the positive in your situation. Don't engage with the negative. 

That doesn't mean hiding our heads in the sand and keeping ourselves ignorant. But for me, it means avoiding mainstream news and social media clickbait. 

Have you ever noticed how the news falls under the "entertainment" category in T.V. guides? That's what it's become. It's all about entertainment, ratings, and shock...money.

Whoa!

I really didn't mean to go there.

What was I talking about? Oh yea... 

It's easier for people to put content on social media when they're not worried about photo quality.

But my high-quality photos are part of my brand and image. I don't like putting images out there that aren't great images.

I felt like my quality was slipping in favor of quantity.  

I stopped. 

I'm setting a new goal for myself. Post on Instagram three times per week. And if I don't have anything to post, I won't post. 

I've fallen behind with updating my website, and I need to get out and shoot more. 

Are you burned out on social media? 

And isn't that cover photo hood ornament kinda creepy? It's like a sci-fi movie where a dude comes through the wall or something. But I thought it made for a cool photo!

I hope you have a wonderful rest of your week. And don't spend too much time on the negatives of social media. Look for the positive! Be the positive!

And while you're looking for the positive, take a look at some restful photos!

See you between the raindrops!

xoxo,
Susan