How to Embrace YouTube and Social Media (as a photographer)
It’s 2023 and people are still asking: “Is starting a Youtube channel worth it?”
The short answer is yes. I’ve been active on youtube for about 4.5 years and back then, people were still asking the same question. In 4 more years, people will still be asking the same question. So although this is a blog post and I’m not talking to you directly through the camera this time (you can find the video version down below) - yes, youtube is worth it.
But today, we’ll be looking at the topic specifically from the context of a small independent artist who views youtube as a potential way to grow one’s presence on social media.
“Violet Sun - H”
2023
Youtube WONT Replace Your Art (if you don’t let it)
This is something I see a lot of young artists worry about. Because of the positives, but also negatives surrounding social media, they worry that social media will somehow take over and ruin the art for them. However, that doesn’t have to be the case. There’s plenty of in-betweens where you can allow social media to work for you - and not ruin your art in the process.
Youtube is a journey. Back when I started, I wasn’t doing what I do now. Back then, youtube was my main creative outlet. My interests lay in video editing and storytelling through that medium. But as I continued to dive deeper and deeper into photography, visual art started taking precendence in my life, and youtube became a supplementary. This was a result of several things, one of them being my “creative burnout” nearly a year and a half ago. I had a mix-up of not entirely understanding what my main focus was - art or youtube? They were so intricately linked. It wasn’t until I took a significant time away from youtube that I now place art and photography as a priority focus. It was only then that youtube began to work for me, drawing content from my real life experiences and learnings. Now this may seem obvious to most, but my exploration into art begun after I started youtube, not vice-versa so the orders were mixed.
So this is a standard you have to set for yourself. Youtube IS time consuming. It takes a long time to learn and it WILL fight for your creative and mental resources. Knowing so, it’s important to distinguish between youtube and your art. If you wish for youtube to be the main thing, do so. However, I found it much more sustainable to place my own life first. Doing so, social media simply became an extension of my life experiences and journey. It allows me to prioritize accordingly - instead of making content to fit towards trends or whatever, you can “do you” and your content will follow. It’s natural, seamless, and non-invasive when done correctly.
“Beyond - V”
2023
Youtube Will Allow You to Share Your Journey (and make money doing so)
This is probably the biggest reason why most artists consider starting a youtube channel. As a longer format type content there’s a lot of creative flexibility.
And here’s the best part:
You DON’T need to be a good artist.
A lot of people seem to have the impression they have to be the “best” or good at something to be able to talk about it. It’s not true. Personally, I think of youtube as a documentary form of content. I use it to share my learnings and experiences, whether big or small. People can find and take interest in the things you create regardless of your skill level. Similarly, those more experienced can share their tips and learnings with you as you build your own community. Naturally, the better you are, the better you’ll do, but it’s important to understand that Youtube is a long term growth medium - it’s not about being “good”. You can achieve success on youtube without being the best artist out there.
In general, I think there’s an over emphasis in art on “being good”.
It’s not about being good. It’s about making art. The doing. The creation. The exploration.
These things bring much more satisfaction and fulfillment when walking through the creative process.
It’s Social Media. Enjoy It. It Doesn’t Have to Be a Bad Thing.
The greatest part about social media besides the outreach, growth, etc, is that you can make of it whatever you want it to be. Often, people are so fixated on creating what everyone else is creating. There’s a presumption that you have to follow trends and capitalize on the moment. It’s just not ture. The power of social media is that you can do whatever you want. Your content can literally be you sitting in your room speed painting for an hour. It can be you and your friends meeting up together for a 3 hour jam session. It doesn’t matter. Someone might find it interesting. You don’t have to talk in front of the camera like everyone else if you don’t want to. Find a means of content enjoyable to you and begin there.
I like to think about content like I do with art: do whatever you want.
So hopefully I was able to give some insight and clarity on youtube and social media as a whole. If you’re an artist considering starting youtube, reflect on these three points:
youtube won’t replace your art (unless you want it to)
treat youtube like a journal, documenting your journey along the way
social media doesn’t have to be a bad thing. find a way to enjoy it
YOU are ultimately the deciding factor of how social media is used - it’s up to you.
