Social networking for photographers

For the photographer, the modern age has opened the door to a world of exposure through online networking platforms. Showcasing an individual’s work, online interaction and recognition can be attained through the marvels of social networking. There is no denying that social media is revolutionising the photography industry. Below is a shortlist of our favourite social networking platforms that will hopefully, get you on your way to receiving a wide and powerful audience.

Facebook
With over 1 billion members, Facebook is the largest social networking site in the world, and an obvious choice for many photographers wanting to post images, share links, and connect with family, friends, and co-workers. Being able to engage with other photographers, learning about their lives and what inspires them, can often instil inspiration in your own work, and in turn, make you into a better photographer.

For commercial photographers, having the option to set up individual pages, advertise, boost posts, link blog entries, announce events, upload inspiring images and show interesting content – Facebook is a great tool for client engagement. Why not like our Israel Photography Tour Facebook page here or our sister company, Barcelona Photography Tours Facebook page here and interact with us!

Instagram
Unlike other social platforms, Instagram is specifically designed for photographs. The benefit of this is that photographers won’t have to scroll through piles of uploads that are not relevant to them. This makes it more likely that other photographers will like and comment on your images, in turn having your images viewed more often. Using hashtags on Instagram is key to generating a larger audience. Hashtags can also be a great way to scout locations. Being largely mobile based, many users end up using this platform with their cell phones.

One of the main reasons Instagram became so popular, was for the filters feature. It is hard to deny that it can be quite addictive to use. For professional photographers, showcasing new work, ongoing projects as well as old projects, all add up to expanding ones brand presence and showing who you are as an artist through sharing images, techniques and behind-the-scenes information. Please click here if you have an Instagram account and would like to follow us.

Google +
Since the introduction of Google +, photographers will likely see more interaction on this social networking platform than any other. The amount of comments given from fellow photographers can be astounding when feeds are uploaded in real time. Google Hangouts are also a welcome addition to network with other photographers, discuss gear, give tips, portfolio reviews, critiques and more.

Many photographers using Facebook have complained about the low image quality due to poor colour management and limited pixel size when uploaded there – not so with Google +. With a maximum width of 20149 px wide, images look fabulous when viewed on large monitors. Users galleries look slick and uncluttered – perfect for viewing an artists work without distractions. Finally, Google Circles are a great way to select who views your uploads, and uploads that you view.

500px
With one of the best interfaces available, 500px is well designed, unobtrusive and simple. Without encouraging any advertisements or other distractions, it does what it is designed to do – display amazing photographs through it’s unique algorithms dependant on the number of likes, favourites, views and comments from fellow photographers. You may very well end up in the “Editor’s Choice” category, allowing you even higher exposure.