Likes
I won't lie - it feels really good to get recognition for my photos. Like...really good. Even at the tiny scale of my IG account, I won't pretend that I don't look at likes on a photo. The few times other accounts have shared my photo I've gone to see how it performs compared to others on their accounts. Sometimes I've been happy to see my photo do really well! Other times I'm shocked, then realize people might visit that account for an entirely different reason. What can be done...there's a lot of really great photos out there. But we all know, it's not a good thing to obsess over.
The competition
Work has a photo club where there's a monthly theme to submit photos about! A couple winners are chosen based on different criteria. On the first, I saw a call for the "water" theme and immediately submitted a movement in the waves photo. Then over the month watch the likes every so slowly come in. By the end of the month...I had the most! Was the the best photo? debateable? What else could have factored in?
- people just like to see Hawaii
- I was the first to reply, so more people would have seen my entry
- and more.
The winnings
I have not been invited to any ceremonies, but I do now have A PHOTO, THAT I TOOK AND EDITED, HANGING ON THE WALL IN A RANDOM OFFICE (I don't know which one...). Looking at the other photos up there, it feels really good to have something I made up there - there's some very talented people and some incredible shots. Even on a tiny scale, I'm proud to see this hanging there.
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Thoughts
While like counts, shares, and winning this is all very cool - there's two things I've reflected on that really matter
- When friends and acquaintances on IG say something like "your photos are great" unprompted. It's really nice to get that person recognition and hear it from someone personally, knowing that they really appreciate something that I did. I've been looking to level up my photo skills for years...hearing from people that they see it is awesome.
- Knowing how much it affects me...I should do more to boost up others! Lots on their journey looking to build/improve, sometimes that little boost makes all the difference.
