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Comment by alvarlagerlof | Hacker News Reader

Yeah for sure. I'm sad it took me so long to realize what was happening. Still have a very hard time picking up my camera. Taking pictures with my phone is easier. Maybe I should post more unsplash. Those that are there are just for testing, hundreds more on instagram, but I like the idea of sharing for free with the world.

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Sharing widely is great, but to develop as a photographer, it can be a lot more rewarding to take an in-person workshop class. In a well-run workshop, you can get thoughtful critiques, find fellow students whose opinions you value, and learn about your own priorities by contrast with the other students' styles. For me, it also helps keep the emphasis on developing your own craft -- just launching images into the internet can't help but feel like participating in an awful global popularity contest.

I've noticed Instagram users develop anxiety about posting (including a full-time Instagrammer who started turning down lucrative offers and gave it up).

I'll sound like a shill after mentioning it in another comment, but you could try Later.com as a way to insulate yourself from that process. Take photos. Throw them into the queue. Let Later post them, and just ignore the metrics unless you want to be responding to comments.

I take loads of photos and then hardly share them for fear of a shot not being good enough. It's definitely a thing that grew noticeably with Instagram.

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