TikTok gives pride of place to clichés. In the first sense of the term, that of the lexical field of photography. Many creators of content, equipped with their cameras, share on the application behind the scenes of their shooting. Among them, some stand out thanks to a particular style whose scope has become global with the power of the social network.
They bang their fists on puddles of water, throw dozens of leaves in the air and use fruits and vegetables to take photos that try to be more original than the others. The “creative photographers” accumulate millions of followers on TikTok, like Jordi Koalitic and his 20 million subscribers or Olivier Wong, more than 4 million fans to his counter.
A style “easy to reproduce”
The definition of “TikTok style”? “Have creative ideas and show how to achieve original effects with everyday objects or just with your phone,” says Nic van der Coelen, German photographer with 360,000 subscribers on the application. In short videos, content creators capture the privacy of their photos taken. A few seconds later, the final image appears. “Behind the scenes is crucial for this style so that people can learn something,” says the German photographer.
“The very concept of ‘creative ideas’ usually boils down to copying a somewhat easy effect, which is pretty much the opposite of creativity. These are just effects ideas, often with a bit of a DIY side [« Do It Yourself » – à faire soi-même], testifies Laurent Breillat, founder of the site Learn-the-photo. But at the same time it’s quite natural for amateurs to just want to reproduce a cool look without going any further, ”he tempers.
Nic van der Coelen sees just a few of his followers trying to copy his effects every day. Most of the time, these are simple ideas: use two books to surround the camera lens, lock yourself behind a clothes rack to mimic prison bars, or put your phone on the grass. for a country effect are among its most popular contents. “Other creative ideas that require certain equipment or a special location are not often used but still highly valued,” adds the photographer.
A risk of homogenization?
If this style of shots is not necessarily new (photographers already used mirrors in the context of their work before the birth of TikTok), the narrative device that surrounds them is specific to the Chinese application. “We can even see it now on Instagram which is no longer defined as a photo platform but as a video platform”, specifies Victor Bodar, videographer and professional photographer. In less than thirty seconds, or even fifteen most of the time, Internet users discover a few shots of the shoot and then the final photo.
By dint of seeing so many videos using the same codes, will instantaneity kill creativity? “At the beginning, it was a creative content and today, it has become standardized with very precise codes: things that fart, light, a lot of colors”, enumerates Victor Bodar. A bit like the posts of influencers traveling to Santorini on Instagram, TikTok’s “creative photos” invade the platform. The homogenization would therefore be the fault of social networks which generally push Internet users to reproduce what works, whether on TikTok, Instagram or YouTube.
For the two professional photographers interviewed by 20 minutes, there is still good to the multiplication of this type of content. “It always uses fundamentally photographic things, especially perspective, so I hope that it will make some people want to go a little further to explore the medium,” notes Laurent Breillat. Victor Bodar, he presumes that these videos could make some people want to take pictures “and perhaps, behind, discover a passion. “
Reach virality quickly
When you open your childhood photo albums, tucked away in the attic, you will probably find a layer of dust. By passing your hand over it, no matter how hard you look, there won’t be any like on the horizon. Unlike TikTok which feeds on it. “The goal of these video formats is to be impactful in a minimum of time”, summarizes Victor Bodar. For this, it is therefore necessary to catch the attention of the Internet user in a few seconds, even if it means reproducing what we have already seen in the past.
“The goal is above all to make viral video content, the final photo being almost a pretext,” remarks Laurent Breillat. For me, it’s in the same spirit as the kitchen tips videos with slow motion and knives that cut very well. “A culinary comparison that Victor Bodar also makes without even the two colleagues having consulted each other:” TikTok is to photography what sweet and colorful recipes are to the kitchen “, launches the one who has 12,000 subscribers to his YouTube channel.
There is one type of content that is more appreciated and liked than others, testifies Nic van der Coelen, “the one where you provide knowledge to your audience, when they learn something from your videos. Although the videos look more and more similar, the German photographer believes that originality remains the best magnet for followers. “The best combination would be a video that shows a new trick that no one has seen before and that is easy to replicate,” he sums up. By bringing all of these qualities together, content creators can dream of the best possible exposure.