I HATE how social media has forced photography to become videography. This is what I think of the "3-second rule"…

I don’t think there was ever a time that social media truly worked for photographers. From the horrible portrait-only viewing to the rapid-fire uploading needed to keep up with the algorithm, it’s always been a slog.

But I do believe there was a time when social media worked for photography consumers; people who wanted to look at stills on a screen with the same critical, curious and creative eye they would a print.

I’m talking about, of course, the early days of social media. This was the time before Vine, Instagram Reels and TikTok were unleashed to the ungodly benefit of their creators and detriment of photography. Not to mention to the brains of youngsters, and many others for that matter.

These platforms thrust short-form video onto us faster than we could’ve imagined. And in an even shorter time they did away with the mantle of responsibility for upholding the artistic values of the still image.

Nowadays, we see more videos about photography rather than photography itself.

Instead of Instagram profiles filled with carefully curated stills, we get action-packed Reels of the photographer holding their camera at an interesting yet totally impractical angle, striking a powerful pose, all while looking at their subject with the piercing gaze of a Vogue model.

This is all great for mindless consumption, but not so great for those of us who want to take a slow moment to appreciate a good composition. “A slow moment on social media?” I hear you ask…

It’s even more grueling for photographers, or ‘creators’ as they’re now known, who have to actually produce these short-form videos. These poor souls are the ones having to twist and deform their beautiful stills into 15-second splurges, praying that the hook works its magic.

And what if it doesn’t? What if the hook fails miserably to grab the attention of the viewer, which experts claim “must happen within the first three seconds”?

Then the video is resigned to the icy cold black hole of viewless content, leaving the photographer who invested hours into it worse off – but the platform owners better off, as always, as they were still able to run ads.

For the photographer, it’s more work for less reward. And for the consumers, it’s something they never asked for but now have to put up with to enjoy their passion. “Look elsewhere”, you might claim. But let’s face it, social media is the ingredient for success as a photographer in this day and age.

But it’s never been about doing what’s best for photographers and their followers. All these technoligarch misers care about is squeezing every ounce of attention from viewers and converting this into astronomical sums of ad revenue.

They don’t care that photography and videography are separate crafts. And they certainly don’t appreciate the unique artistic properties of each.

Believe it or not, I’m not anti-video. In fact, I love how short-form video has opened the door to all sorts of creativity. It’s just that those of us who do care about photography want to be able to look at the same image for more than three seconds.

You might also like…

Our guide to the best video cameras for your need and the best cameras for creating Instagram content. And of course, if you happen to love short-form content, you can check out DCW on TikTok!