Photo How To

Do you constantly worry whether your photos are getting enough likes on Instagram and elsewhere on social media? Do you find yourself always trying to create images that appeal more to a general audience than your artistic vision?

Well, there's a way out and the first step begins with you. It's called not caring.

That's what photographer and popular YouTuber Evan Ranft discovered when he recently tried to understand why the photography he was sharing on social media no longer brought him joy. He realized he wasn't making photos for himself but for social media "likes" and that's no way to be a true artist.

In the below video titled, "Why I Don't Care Who Likes My Photography, Ranft explains it all with the hope it will get you to care less about social media approval so you can concentrate on your real work.

"Years and years ago, everything I did on the Internet for YouTube, Instagram, it was all for ya'll," he explains. "I wanted to make sure the audience was never mad at me, I wanted to make sure that every photo I posted on Instagram got a lot of likes, a lot of comments, a lot of engagement. I never want to rock the boat or went against what people expected from me."

What eventually happened was that something he had once done for fun turned into something he hated. And that's no way to live.

Watch the video below to learn how Ranft was able to get out of that trap and back to shooting photos and videos he really cared about. The best part? His audience liked him even more and he was much happier with the work he was sharing.