There’s a strange feeling creeping into wildlife photography circles online – one that’s hard to articulate but easy to recognise. Scroll through your social feed, and you’ll see it: technically polished images, similar compositions, familiar species, all blurring into a kind of beautiful sameness. Sterile. Safe. Saturated.
As more and more people take up wildlife photography – especially post-lockdown – the field has expanded, but something intimate seems to be getting lost in the algorithm.
📸 The Rise of “Samey” Wildlife Imagery
The explosion of interest in nature and photography is, in many ways, a wonderful thing. More eyes on wildlife. More cameras capturing its beauty. But with it has come a kind of visual homogenisation.
- Trendy angles and post-processing styles dominate.
- Popular subjects – owls, foxes, deer – repeat endlessly.
- Safe shots that work well on Instagram but tell us little new about the animal’s world.
Why is this happening?
🧠 Competing for Attention
Social media rewards content that performs well with fast-paced engagement:
- High contrast.
- Cute or dramatic expressions.
- Clean, minimalist backgrounds.
These traits often have less to do with ecology or storytelling and more to do with standing out in a crowded feed.
The result?
Many wildlife photographers feel like they’re producing images for other photographers – or for algorithms – rather than for people who might actually fall in love with nature.
💬 Where’s the Public?
This is where my own unease started to grow. I realised that the audience seeing my photos were, for the most part, fellow photographers. Wonderful peers, supportive and skilled – but not the people I originally hoped to reach.
I want families, youngster, urban dwellers – anyone who doesn’t normally get close to wild creatures – to feel something. Curiosity. Connection. Compassion.
And yet, chasing likes online began to feel like shouting into a room full of mirrors.
🕊️ Slowing Down
That’s why I’m thinking about stepping back from social media. Not completely. But enough to:
- Reconnect with storytelling, not trends.
- Photograph for feeling, not performance.
- Focus on impact, not just reach.
Maybe this means printing work, sharing locally, or collaborating with educators. Maybe it just means creating without uploading for a while.
Because sometimes, to really see the wild world – and help others see it – we need to stop looking for validation and start listening to the silence between the clicks.
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