Why Peter McKinnon Is BAD For Film Photography

This was cathartic, glad somebody else was thinking it. Echoing what you said at the end, he's in it for the views and the novelty. Him and his two-second- attention-span audience will soon realize film photography is hard and there are no shortcuts. That moat is what I selfishly love about the medium.

We can only hope that a small amount of his influence could go towards keeping film companies making film

I agree, I felt the same excitement when he bought a Leica SL2-S since that’s the camera I use and create content around (along with film). Then he jumps in, has the best lenses for it immediately and says “I don’t think this is a viable professional camera” shocking because of his relationship with canon that he would say that.

Hey man! Really appreciate the shout and kind words, glad you’ve enjoyed the channel. 🤝

As a female film photographer, and as a photographer in general, I do not get the bro attitude lol, thus not watching those type of channels anyways 😂 Yeah, Peter can sit on top of the search, but there are other creators that will get pushed by the algorithm anyways if their video is relevant no matter the sub count. Another thought, when big youtuber promotes film photography it might spark an interest in their audience to try it as well, thus exposing other film photography channels to that said audience (not many probably will stay because film photography is not easy), and that actually can be good

As an amateur photographer, Peter used to be a must-watch content. But, recently, his content has moved to the out orbit. Maybe I sensed, without knowing, some of the things you mentioned. I am gravitating to film because I inherited my mom's Brownie Reflex. A few repairs and I ready to go :)

The sad truth is that the online photography community is mostly occupied with mere picture taking and gear, not PHOTOGRAPHY. There are some incredible channels I watch that cover more than just surface level, yet they are tiny in size. I recently, after years of waiting, got into film photography. I adore it, truly. But I don't make enough money to shoot it a lot, and gear purchases are sparse. Sadly, saving for a particular lens or camera sees that gear appreciating in price faster than I can save for it. It is difficult not to over stretch myself and panic buy equipment that I know will only go up in price. :(

His best friend Matti was just gifted an x100v by fujifilm. He reviewed it and declared it the best camera he owns after 1 week. I used to love these guys, but now I just want them to stay away from the photography communities I love.

I get were you coming from but sheeeesh. yall didn't even give him a chance, the man just started his new hobby and yall already on him lol, but photography in general is subjective so it is what it is

This video came up when I was looking into film photography. I am a digital landscape photographer, and your video resonated to me. Especially your exhaustion with photography influencers. Photography was always a hobby for me, but I really started taking it seriously 5 years ago ( still consider myself new ). I am a student of youtube university, and learned from several youtube landscape photographers. It seems that I am not the only one though, because the platform is now being flooded by "landscape YouTubers" who churn out videos of the same subjects. They literally all look the same, hiking b-roll, stop, this is my composition, "if this is good, here is my final image", cue gentle unrecognizable melody, zoom out photo effect, then "subscribe and share". The only way to tell if they are established is by follower count, and if they are pitching MPB or Squarespace. The worst is the Luminar ad campaigns. It is really getting bad, and I don't see an end to it. Landscape photography is notoriously hard to make money from, so it quickly becomes the plan to "blow up" on youtube. (we all know how that goes) So even the "established" landscape photographers will jump on the sponsorships for $, so get ready for 2 or 3 minutes of a video vomiting "squarespace" praise. So sorry for the vent, but film photographers are not the only one feeling pain right now. Even though I suspect that your pain may be a little more chronic.

Interesting take. I think you've shared some legitimate concerns with YouTube in general, such as videos getting stuck at the top of search despite not containing the best (let's call it "experience-tested information"). At the same time there is always space for a more technically accurate or thorough video on any given photography topic. I've found this to be true with some of my Lightroom editing tutorials. When I first started making tutorials I was very unimpressed with the quality and technical accuracy of many of the Lightroom tutorials that would appear in search. So I made my own. And guess what... They flopped at first because I was outranked by other larger channels with dedicated audiences who didn't care about technical accuracy. But I knew if I kept making videos, eventually they would find an audience of their own. I'm still new to all of this, and still trying to figure out the "system" (which is something Peter understands and has capitalized on very well) Hopefully one day I'll get there and the quality of my videos will speak on their own. The reality is that there are a lot of small niches on YouTube that have been dominated by larger creators coming in and adding their voice. I think the most we can hope for is that this drives new viewers to the existing smaller creators, or challenges the smaller channels to be innovative and capitalize on this newfound interest in their niche. ❤

After some years I see more people consuming (or just flipping) film and cameras but it's still pretty rare to see people pick up photozines, photobooks, pay for an exhibition, commission work... it's also difficult to have conversations nowadays with all the "vibes", "tones" and general results-oriented lingo (if one more person tells me to start a film photography podcast I might lose it). I guess it's that time in the cycle of a hobby where it's trickling back into the mainstream and influencers are trying to intercept it or insert themselves into its community, repackage it as one more lifestyle commodity, get the bag and hop onto the next thing; we're just gonna have to ride it out with patience and persistence.

I agree that his videos could start to dominate somewhat over those of smaller film-oriented creators, but I don't see it as a big problem. Many enthusiasts will actively look past the largest creators, if only to seek out other opinions. Smaller creators come across as more genuine, more creative, and more trustworthy, largely since they are less beholden to sponsors. Also, using Google Trends as a measure, Peter's popularity peaked in 2018-2019 and has been on a steady decline since then. This tells us that while he is still popular, people are viewing their photography-related content elsewhere.

Peter’s channel has long since transitioned from a photography channel to a Peter McKinnon channel where he’s he brand. Not sure I agree with you 100% on your video, I feel it will be the gateway for people to find more creators online by seeing him do film photography. He’s not making any Film Photography 101 videos, so I doubt it will be blind leading the blind. Not defending Pete, but he isn’t making videos about photography, but just him, who happens to do photography.

This is why I stopped making videos on my own channel. I started to realize people just wanted me to talk about gear or see the beautiful models etc.. and I knew that this was not what I supported or wanted to turn into. So, I get where you are coming from and took some balls to come out in the open and lay it all out there. But, as someone who (before the pandemic) was "rocking and rolling" on my way.. I stopped believing in my own "message" and had to stop to re-think how I wanted to continue (if at all). Here I am, still 3 almost 4 years later still thinking, lol.

I get what you’re saying, but I don’t think I agree 100%. When I first started watching film videos in the early days of Vuhlandes, Grainydays, etc - it was so light and fun. I watched the recent Peter ones where he only got a couple shots and I thought that was very realistic of what film was like just getting into it. I got the m11 and been shooting it for a year…got the film bug and bought an m6. Ended up missing a roll, missing shots, etc and could relate to that video. Nowadays, I see film makers making videos bashing other film makers, people saying what you can’t take pictures of…no more gas stations, no more old buildings, no more NY street….in the near future seems we can’t take a picture of anything 😂... things seem so heavy now…that’s the best I can describe it… — yes his video might be at the top, but he’s one of one. Everyone else will still be there for anyone that wants to dive deeper. I think it’s ok to have a little candy every now and then. Just my two cents.

Hey Isaac, neat video, you make some good points. I must admit that I haven’t yet watched any of Peter’s film photography videos, but I can imagine what they’re like. Peter actually has a special place in my heart, because back in the days he was the one who inspired me to become a photographer and I’m deeply grateful for the videos he was making back then. Nowadays my interests and taste in videos has shifted and so I haven’t been following his stuff too much, but what I want to point out in regard to your points is that I don’t think that too much will change. I completely understand this sense of fear, but as far as my observations have gone, it seems to me that audiences on YouTube have become very niche and tasteful. E.g. most film photographers in the YouTube space make rather chill if not even calming videos but everyone in their own way such as Grainydays being the dry yet funny guy. Peter is so different to what we have so that I don’t think it’ll be too damaging because viewers who like his stuff will stick to those videos and probably find mine way too downbeat and boring. Whereas someone like me doesn’t particularly enjoy upbeat fast paced videos so I will not be tuning into those too much🤷🏻‍♂️ Just sharing some thoughts off the top of my head, I hope that made sense😅🫶🏼

I started in 1983 processing and printing film at a one hour photo lab, also did b/w in the dark room. And we were the first lab south of Atlanta metro to offer same day slide film processing. I learned to print before I learned to shoot. Started shooting weddings in late 1985, and we have shot over 1,000 since then. I'm old now, lol. Digital has came a long way! I now use a Canon R6 and it's awesome. I do miss film sometimes, but I priced a roll of 36 exposure film the other day for $20 omg... we used to sell it for $3.99! Gotta keep up with the times to keep the money flowing! The albums brides wanted in the 80's are not near as popular nowadays, they just want their digitals to put on Facebook or instagram! But, if they are buying I'm selling! I've always done photography for the money, I do love my job, but it's always been my income source for 40 years!

My initial reaction when reading the title is "what?". Peter McKinnon is a very well known portrait photographer, a big fan of Pentax 67. How come he's bad for film photography? Ahh... wrong Peter, then. That's Peter Hurley. Ehehehe...

I love the “dark colors, pirate skulls and whhbbatts up every bodies” 🤣🤣 - great video on a hot take!