2026/04/20 – Since when did photographers have to be in front of the camera?

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Here’s this week’s letter and question:

This week I’ve been feeling the pressure to be more visible than I want to be. I mean, there’s a reason I’m usually behind the camera. If anyone says they feel awkward having their photo taken, I see your awkwardness and raise you by about 100. But now there’s this growing pressure for all of us to become our own content, and it sort of feels unavoidable.

As you read this, artists everywhere are feeling the gentle nudge (read: relentless push) from the Tech Bro algorithms to step in front of the camera. Spare a thought for those of us who would rather stick a fork in our eye than appear in our own social media videos for “branding purposes.”

One of the biggest issues is that the goalposts keep moving. One minute it’s behind-the-scenes videos, the next it’s talking heads, then hot takes, no wait, now it’s carousels. And all of it takes up time.

“Welcome to my podcast where we will discuss the pitfalls of lens-shaped coffee cups…”

Not only are we expected to do the actual work (you know, lighting, take photos), we also have to produce a mini-series about the making of it and generously share all our “secrets” (which, let’s be honest, aren’t that secret anyway).

I’m actually pretty good at doing this for other people. But when it comes to creating content for myself my mind goes blank and I start overthinking everything.

So what did I do? I went to a workshop for content creators and enlisted the help of some Gen Zers, naturally.

She takes the photos. He take the photos of her taking the photos. Or something

This generation are true social media natives and have never known a world without Facebook, etc. (I do slightly pity them). After getting over my initial reaction (mostly along the lines of “wow, I feel old” ), I found their approach surprisingly refreshing.

They were in their early 20s, completely at ease talking to the camera, editing on their phones, and posting without overthinking it. Their advice was simple:

Just start. Don’t chase perfection. Put something out there and adjust as you go.

Apparently, you just get used to the sound of your own voice and the way your face looks (jury’s still out on that one).

But honestly, they were kind, supportive, and completely non-judgemental. Which made me realise something: all the judgment was coming from myself, and that was probably the biggest takeaway of all.

Please don’t make me start making videos about V-mount batteries…

This week, we have a team at NAB in Las Vegas covering all the latest industry news and tempting you with new gear (I actually dreamt last night about buying an expensive new camera, yes, my dreams are that exciting!). So keep checking back on the site for more updates and news!

As for me, I’m going to try stepping in front of the lens a bit more this week. It won’t be perfect and it’ll probably be awkward, but I’ll be making a start.

How do you feel about being in your own content rather than staying behind the camera?

Have a good one!

Alex

• This topic was modified 1 month, 3 weeks ago by John Aldred.
• This topic was modified 1 month, 3 weeks ago by John Aldred.
• This topic was modified 1 month, 3 weeks ago by John Aldred.