Still a favorite shot of mine with a great story behind it….that I can’t tell publicly. But you can e-mail me to hear.
Something a Little More Editorial
On the Subject of Copyrights
There’s always a lot of discussion about copyrights when it comes to any form of art and its usage; especially when the internet is involved. With sites like Facebook, Twitter, and Flickr having been so popular for so long; and now Pinterest and Instagram becoming very popular social networking sites for sharing photos of virtually anything with anyone, the debate continues to grow.
As artists, we are faced with both an incredible set of tools to promote ourselves to millions of prospective viewers and possible clients around the world; and, faced with having that very same resource pool being used against us to steal our work.
My thoughts on this may be considered quite progressive by some. I tend to fall right in the middle of a generation of artists with very conservative ideas on art and rights; and another generation of highly progressive people who like the idea of easy access to all.
I am in love with the idea of being able to share my work with viewers I could otherwise never reach. I however need to make a living and don’t want to be taken for granted or have my work diminished in value or outright stolen.
So, here’s my solution.
Intelligent sharing.
Simply put, most of the work you can post online is of such low quality, if done correctly, that the most anyone could use it for is a screensaver on their computer or phone. It is a simple matter of learning how to upload your work in a manner that maintains the quality presentation you need to market yourself, without making it very usable. That is where it s up to the artist, in my opinion, to learn the technical aspects of how to save and upload work and even add a copyright to it when necessary. It is a technical world, and that is not going to change and it will never reverse itself unless the Mayans were correct.
It is up to the artist to protect themselves by making it their job to know the technical aspects of the modern world we live in (keep in mind, I am merely speaking from the point of view of the photography and illustration industry).
To me, the risk of people downloading my work to use it as a screen saver on their computer or their phone is far outweighed by the prospect of new clients and increased sales. In other words, don’t sweat the small stuff.
And, the alternative is, if you don’t want to share it with the world, then just don’t upload it. You have the ultimate choice.
Posted in Copyright Issues, Marketing, Social Media
Tagged Copyright Issues, Facebook, Flickr, marketing, Pinterest, Twitter
Leave a comment
101 Things
I recently had the opportunity to photograph a book signing and seminar at Estate of Design with James Swan, author of “101 Things I Hate About Your House” where he also discussed the benefits of modern social media practices in promoting his book and his interior design business.
Posted in Events, Marketing
Leave a comment
I Told 2 Friends, & They Told 2 Friends, & So On.
As a freelance photographer, although I am a sole proprietor, I am basically a small business owner. Only about 40% of what I do is actual photography. Processing photos from photo shoots, and all the other tasks of being in business for myself take more of my time than what I actually do as a business.
That said, marketing is one of the tasks that is most important to any small business owner; myself included.
Given that I actually started out in marketing and branding, it is something that I know quite a bit about. I earned a degree in marketing and ran a branding company for several years; photography was just a part of what we offered.
I have to be honest, I don’t always put all the effort into marketing that I know I should be because of sheer time constraints, and, traditionally, marketing has been quite expensive. Everyone has had to cut back in recent years.
To alleviate some of the expense, I have often utilized social media as a primary way to promote myself. Twitter, Flickr, Facebook, Tumblr, Deviant Art, etc have all been part of my regular practice of updating my profiles with my latest work. And, I have to say, I have done so in fits and starts in recent months due to other distractions from my time and, frankly, limits to my available technology.
However, in recent months, there have been huge leaps forward in technology and subsequently the social media available to any small business owner that cost nothing but a new phone and some time.
I have a tendency to wait until my technology dies before upgrading. So, when my iPhone 3G (yes, no S) finally could do no more in December, I upgraded to the new 4GS.
With it a whole new world opened up for me. Faster speed, new apps, and specifically, new social media I could never use before. Of late, I have set myself up with a Pinterest, Path, and Instagram account, tying them to twitter and Facebook. I also added Google+, although, I am still on the fence with that one.
This, then, got me to be more active in taking photos I already had and “Pinning” them, connecting them to Facebook and Twitter, as well as using Instagram to take some new and pre-existing work and posting it.
Now, as a professional photographer, I recognize the limitations to Instagram and a relatively low resolution phone camera. However, it’s an amazing tool for using at an event or a photo shoot as a behind-the-scenes advertisement or teaser of what is to come; or to post daily snap shots of interest just for fun. I could never do this at the same quality with my old iPhone. I could actually get a decent 6×6 on a printing press out of an Instagram shot if lighting is acceptable and it doesn’t end up too grainy.
So, in 2012, I have decided to have a renewed dedication to social media as a means of promoting myself. And, in the last two weeks alone, I have seen a very noticeable increase in daily activity to my site. And, embracing it as I have, I’ve even added all the respective “like”, “tweet”, “share”, “+1″, and “pin-it” capability so users can feel free to share my work with their followers.
Because social media is a lot like the old commercial said “I liked it so much, I told two friends, and they told two friends, and so on, and so on” (bonus points for the first one to comment on what that ad was for).
Now, before anyone says anything, as an artist I know many worry about copyright issues. And I have my thoughts on that which I will address next time. This is already longer than I feel comfortable writing.
Happy pinning, or whatever it is you do.
Posted in Branding, General Knowledge, Marketing
Tagged branding, Facebook, iPhone, marketing, Path, Pinterest, social media, Twitter
Leave a comment
