Portrait, fashion, and documentary photography get a lot of attention on most of the social media platforms I use outside of my own domain. Sometimes I look at the grants and exhibit opportunities those photographers get and think I need to change my focus, even though those forms of photography are not my passion. In moments like that I have to refocus.
Just because other artists do those forms of photography and get a lot of attention for doing so does not mean I must. Street photography as art is equally valid as a genre. Even more important, it is what I am passionate about. I would dishonor myself by putting it aside just because I don’t (yet) get the kind of attention for it I would like.
A few years ago I told a fellow artist who was struggling to find an audience for his art, “If I never sell another photo, I am happy because I am doing what I love.” I still feel that way.
