Photography, for ages, has been an art form in and of its self. From composition, to proper exposure, etc. It seems now, more than ever, that it [photography] is evolving. Perhaps in a good way, perhaps for the bad. It seems everyone with a smart phone is now a "photographer" and yes, I know 'one who shoots a photo is technically a photographer'. But you go through instagram and see all these overly processed photos, photos that have undergone drastic alterations, with apps and filters over filters, etc. And as it seems, this is the "go to" style for many companies looking for "stylish" ad photos.

I guess in a sense, this makes it easy for the companies to find IG'ers that "create" the kind of photos they are looking for, kick them a couple bucks, or maybe even just the opportunity to create an ad for a company is enough for them, since they would probably get more followers and "likes".

But is this still "photography"? Is it still "art"? Yes, art is "subjective". Not all art is for everyone. But if all you're doing is snapping a pic, layering it with filters, and add appropriate hashtags, is it still art?

If you look at most of these photos with the mindset of an "old school" photo mentality, the photos are so "wrong" that they would have been thrown in the trash in the days of film. The exposures are through the roof, out of focus, and lets not talk about color correction.

Another problem with this is the fact that now you have millions of IG "photographers" out there potentially taking work from hard working photographers. Photographers that work hard, put in the time it takes to create a great image, and know the rules of photography. Photographers that work as photographers for a living, and don't live in a world full of "likes" and "followers".

Now I know I'm not 100% honest with my photos, as I use Adobe Lightroom to "Process" my images. Key word here is "process". In the day's of film, you didn't just shoot a photo and be done with it. You had to properly develop the film, then go into a dark room, for hours at a time, and properly create an image from the tiny little 35mm negative. Using LR is much like the latter. I take an image I shot in RAW format and then adjust it as needed. And YES LR does have filters and presets that are included, but aside from converting to black and white, I never use them. I use LR to bring out highlights or shadows that I could see with my eye but maybe the camera didn't pick up. Adjust the color to make it look more natural, not blown out as many filters do.

But I guess it all comes down to person style, what YOU like, not what I like. How can "art" be judged if its subjective? In a world of participation ribbons, I guess we all win, right?

Here's a few photo samples. Shot with Nikon d610 and edited with Lightroom. Second images were edited with Snapseed and lens distortions on my iPhone. Which do you prefer?

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