Keeping it Real - Why I share mostly personal work

Personal work & Professional work

The purpose of this post is to debunk the common misconception that some people (especially those who I am new to or just know be through instagram) have, which is that I only take pictures of landscapes.

I've got this question quite a few times (and don't worry its not your fault for not knowing the answer): "Oh hey Ricardo, I really like your pictures on Instagram! I was wondering if you take pictures of people/events/weddings too?" 

And well.. the answer is YES, of course I do and always have been :) 

The problem I suppose is that I usually only share my personal work on social media which is often travel and landscape photographs. It's a personal choice that I don't share any/much of my professional work that I do for clients and I'm sure some other photographers out there share my philosophy.

Heres a little break down of my philosophy on why I choose to share mostly personal work instead of professional work that clients pay me for:

I think personal work is important. (Alright hear me out cuz ur probably going oh well duh of course it is) It's not that I think professional work is unimportant, it's more a sense of self regulating the creative juices. Now let me explain what I mean by that. I think it is important not to let what you love doing especially if it is a creative thing turn into something you feel is just a job/work/a chore. By making it a point to put aside time to exercise your creative vision as a photographer and do the shots you want to do instead of constantly doing what clients want you to take, you mitigate the risk of losing passion for what you do. And because I love the personal projects I do, I feel that by sharing it, I'm letting you into the way I see the world as a photographer.

I treasure my professional work that I do for clients. I respect the work I do for my clients and that includes their privacy and allowing them to share the work I deliver to them on their own terms. And this is the reason that the media platforms I'm on rarely do any free marketing for people. For one, I don't wana be seen as some sell out who posts stuff for companies and secondly they can market themselves; thats what the pictures I deliver to them are for. "Keeping it real" is the way I see it, you gotta separate personal work from professional work and that's why I have a dedicated instagram account featuring my personal work. I'm currently thinking of setting up another account for professional work... but I'll let you know about that when the time comes.


Oh well who knows.. maybe this opinion of mine might change maybe it might not.. And maybe I'll create platforms that strictly feature professional work.. Only time will tell..

Till next time, Keep shooting and have fun!