Find your tribe!
While social media has made photography more visible than ever, it does little to foster the kind of community that has lasting value. Even though our images and words can now reach thousands of viewers, interactions are often at best superficial and rarely lead to meaningful exchange. Yet without participating in these saturated marketplaces, it can be difficult to gain recognition from the very people who might genuinely connect with your work.
Maintaining a degree of distance from social media can be healthy, helping to prevent the dilution of ideas and allowing a stronger personal perspective to develop. That said, inspiration and connection with others remain essential to personal growth. Engaging with photographers of a similar mindset can spark new ideas or help reframe those that may have been set aside in the past.
It was within this context that I agreed to join a newly formed workgroup, after being invited by a photographer I greatly admire. This is a small, curated collective of individuals united by a shared goal: a commitment to producing images that spark the imagination.
Our first (Zoom) meeting resulted in us getting to know one another and sharing some insights into our work. Afterwards I was left with a clear realization that something had been missing from my life - that something being a community of peers. Not one formed around a single aesthetic or viewpoint, but around the open exchange of ideas and processes that encourage, inspire, and challenge each member to evolve creatively. This is a group comfortable discussing the work they produce, sharing hard-earned insights, and spending real time talking (no scrolling here!) not only about photography, but about life beyond it.
It feels very much like I have found my tribe, or perhaps more accurately, that the tribe found me. A missing piece of the creative jigsaw puzzle that I didn’t even realize was absent until now.
At this point, I should give credit to the instigator of this group, Bob Hills (IG @bobhillsphoto), and to Roxanne Bouché Overton (IG @roxanne_overton_photography) for the invitation to join. And yes, I suppose I also owe a reluctant nod to social media. Without it, my work may never have crossed Roxanne’s radar in the first place.
Finding a community that genuinely aligns with your personal perspective is something I cannot recommend highly enough. Whilst this may take time, another option is to build a group of your own by reaching out to photographers who share similar values and simply agreeing on a time to connect. Believe me, the rewards far outweigh any effort involved.
Photography is intensely personal, and an often isolating, pursuit. Sharing the journey and collaborating with others can make it far more rewarding.
So what are you waiting for? Get out there and find ‘your’ people.