CONNOR FRANTA

When a moment in front of me appears to be particularly special, whether it be by beauty or experience, I capture it. I usually find a reason to justify taking that photo - symmetry, or color, or contrast - and it's my hope that my photography sheds light onto what I see and do on a daily basis.

The thing about the Internet is we take everything too far. Once something becomes 'popular' in our realm, it's everywhere, and I get sick of hearing about it quickly.

For Instagram, people use cameras ranging from high-end DSLRs, point-and-shoots, classic film cameras, and their smartphones. I personally like to use my iPhone because I know I will always have it with me.

I moved to Los Angeles when I was 20 years old and was absolutely terrified. I grew up in a small town, so the city itself scared me. I initially did not plan on staying but fell in love with it and never went home.

I'm a little bit shy and from the Midwest, so to be so open and honest with millions of people is pretty difficult. To have people constantly having an eye on you and very interested in what you're doing at all times - it can be a little stressful at times.

Coffee has always been a significant part of my life. For me, it's a chance to start my day and gather my thoughts - it's fuel for my creative process.

Public speaking is scary, I think. I've gotten way better at it. If I have to do a speech and be like, 'I'm a YouTuber,' then that's easy, but if I have to get up there and pretend I know something in front of adults, it's never fine. In front of adults, it's like, 'Ahhhh they're going to judge me.'

Music is a huge part of my life and something I enjoy very much. I wanted to use my platform to share and promote the talented, undiscovered artists I listen to every day with a wider audience.

I would love to continue working behind the scenes in music - to produce and manage up-and-coming musical talent would be a dream!

Making YouTube videos while I was in school, I was fortunate enough not to really have any negative repercussions from it. I had a lot of positive feedback from my friends, who thought they were great and thought they were funny and that what I was doing was really cool.

Sometimes, cameras can't capture a scene like your brain does. But the use of apps can help get it just a little closer to reality.

The first time I got recognized in public was at a movie theater. It was at the 'Lord of the Rings' movie premiere. I was at the movie theater, and someone came up, and it was so weird to me, because I had never been recognized by a viewer, so I thought that was scary.

I think good taste is completely subjective. If you enjoy something, that's great! Enjoy it, and don't let anyone tell you not to.

On Common Culture, you'll find coffee, clothing, and compilations. So many C's!

I watched a million coming-out videos, and that was kind of how I accepted it myself.

I'm very into Taylor Swift. From her music to her wardrobe, she is absolutely killing it. Also, she has adorable cats that I would love to pet.

I think it's kind of a scary time we're getting into - like, when you're hanging out with people, they'd rather be on the phone than talk to you.

It always surprises me how much my followers appreciate how candid my photos are - they may not have a particularly unique subject, but it's more about the light you shed on the subject than the subject itself.

Using the correct apps can completely change how your photos look. It's really exciting because once you've already taken a good photo, it can become 10 times better if you use the right combination of apps. My favorites are VSCO Cam, Afterlight, Facetune and SKRWT.

YouTube is so quick and so instant, and you make a video, and you can upload it the same day, whereas with a book, you have to go through a lot of time and a lot of people and a lot of processes. So it was weird to sit down and work with other people on projects, because I'm so independent with YouTube.

I find a lot of up-and-coming musicians I enjoy, present them to my viewers - and hopefully inflate the growth of these artists by putting them in front an audience that wouldn't have been aware of them.

When you're with real people, you don't have to be with virtual people.

I could Photoshop for hours. I spend way too much time making thumbnails. I spend, like, two hours on my thumbnails sometimes just because it's, like, fun.

YouTube is, like, the new reality television.

The work I've done through my Common Culture Music series has enabled me not only to share my joy of music at scale but also promote the artists I love.