Social Media

The rise of social media over the past few years is undeniable. It’s come to shape our habits and behavioral patterns, as well as redefine social norms. So, it’s inevitable that the creative industry has been influenced too; but in a world where our brand’s worth is often dictated by our follower count, just how important is mastering social media to any creative trying to make it in the industry in 2015?

We live in a world of shared experience. It is no longer enough to simply enjoy a moment; it must be documented so that others know you were there and that in fact you did have a good time. This is more so popular with the younger crowd and as a result concerts have become one of the most popular venues to find the selfie and the Snapchat. Filmmaker Woody Roseland has put together a hilarious video to help you achieve a clean, simple, and effective result. That is of course if you'll even bother.

Enough already. I feel like the past year has been a repeating loop of the song "Nookie," where "nookie" is replaced with "Instagram" and Fred Durst is replaced with people who are somehow more stupid than Fred Durst. Internet points are not worth breaking the law or risking your life for; they just aren't. But try telling that to the woman who decided to do a handstand on the DC Metro tracks.

A 17 year-old Russian teenager died recently after attempting to capture a photo of himself that would make it look as though he was falling from the top of a building. After Andrey Retrovesky secured himself with a rope that was used to help with the special effect, in a grim turn of events, the rope snapped, leaving Retrovesky in a free fall. Although some brush reportedly helped to break his fall, sadly, it wasn't enough to keep him from succumbing to his injuries just a couple hours after the incident.

One of the biggest questions I get when photographers consult with me about managing their brand on Instagram is: "Should I create a business page separate from my personal page?" This discussion was started on the Instagram for Business group by Martin Bonden, who asked what I thought about creating a business page on top of a personal page, as opposed to having just the one. Here are a few reasons why I like to keep mine all in one page as a professional photographer.

In the continuing saga of musicians complaining about others stealing their work or not getting paid enough for their work and then ripping off hard-working photographers, the rapper T.I. has joined the pack. T.I., most famous for hits "Rubberband Man" and "Whatever You Like" has stolen a Trinidadian photographer's work for use in an invitation to a party he's hosting. The photographer has called him out!

It’s been almost 3 years since I moved to London to pursue photography as a career. I’ve learnt that there are many misconceptions about those who take photos for a living - so here I’m setting the record straight about what day-to-day life is really like for a portrait photographer in one of the world’s biggest cities.

Australian wedding photographer Edwina Robertson has donated $15,000 to Tie Up The Black Dog charity; she pledged $3 for every share of her photo of a wedding couple who has been affected by the drought stricken Western Queensland.

We've all seen it and we've all judged it. Maybe you've even used it. You know what I'm talking about, the dreaded "#nofilter." It's all over in Instagram, to the tune of 135,251,455 posts at the time I wrote this sentence (and that number jumped by 20k after checking it again just a few minutes later). If you hate your life enough to actually click on this hashtag, you will be inundated with thousands, nay, MILLIONS of photos claiming to be filter-free when they are quite obviously everything but. Well I hate to break it to you, but the #nofilter crowd might just be onto something.

Going on an adventure this weekend? Maybe a hike or a cool concert? You're probably going to Instagram it too, aren't you? Well, put your iPhone down, because Barbie (yes, the Hasbro toy) is killing it on Instagram better than you ever could.

The day has finally come in which we are no longer bound to the square crop within Instagram. The ability to post horizontal and vertical images has been requested by users since the beginning of the app. In the past, you would have to open your image in another app, add borders, and then export the new image to Instagram. Since this is the process I follow, I know it’s a huge pain. But even with this new cropping ability, I’m sticking with my old ways.

There has been a disturbance. Have you felt it? Some astute photophiles (not a word I just made up) have noticed a change in quality in their posts when Instagram pushed a photo to Facebook after the most recent update, 7.5. So I decided to run a few comparison tests of my own to see if the quality really was different, and why my photos suddenly started to look so gritty.

We never thought this day would come, but Instagram now allows you to natively post portrait and landscape oriented photos and video. The days of cropping, white backgrounds, and 640x640 pixel photos and videos are over (unless you don't want them to be).

Big news comes out of Instagram this week as they open their advertising API to the masses of potential clients around the world. The third-party partners are now plugging their information and creative campaigns into the API making this weekend the most ads I have seen in years. Though the quality of the imagery doesn't seem to stray too far away from what I am used to seeing its interesting to see where this goes for Instagram, I believe it could be the next big advertising company.

Building a business is a tedious thing as most of us know. Everyone uses a different approach and some of us fail and some of us succeed, it's the nature of the beast. In my free time I do some Olympic lifting and I found myself searching for new and better techniques online. What I ended up with is not only finding some great videos for my Olympic lifting, but also a different way of building a business.

It is nothing new for celebrities to call on their fans to have a little fun with Photoshop. Our own Lee Morris challenged all of you a few months back with his many stages of beardedness. But when you are movie star Chris Pratt and you are known for your quirky, fast, often in-your-face style of humor, you should probably expect the internet to get a little weird with your request.

The number one questions I receive when talking about Instagram is "How do I build a huge following like you?" and I usually laugh and reply "I honestly have no idea." Though this is true in some sense, there must something attracting these people to follow me by the masses. Whether that be by liking, commenting or even reaching out to collaborate it's still a bit of a mystery to me. Beginning today I am going to break down the various ways to use Instagram for business but first I want to give you all 3 comprehensive steps to building a huge following.

Photographers often get worked up into a frenzy when they feel their business has been abused or taken advantage of. This isn’t more true than when it comes to discussing the improper use of images that are proofed online or shared via social media.

According to a group of Italian security researchers roughly 8% of all Instagram accounts are actually fake. Not a huge shock and slightly lower than other social networks like Twitter from their research. The real question is if it truly matters or effects engagement on an individuals account, that is where their data shows real value.

Controlling your image is a valid quest for any photographer, as we all want to protect our brand. Seeing one’s work altered without permission can be frustrating, as can discovering your work on blogs that are void of any credit. The first response for most photographers is to watermark their images, ensuring that their logo or website graces every image that hits the internet. In today’s landscape, is watermarking your photographs the best way to protect them? Let's review both sides of this debate, and explore the current state of the watermark in photography.

If you're not familiar, Instagram released their web-based platform for the popular app back in 2012. With an odd place to announce the update, Instagram revealed via Twitter that they have redesigned their profiles for web to have simple yet strong search capabilities. The search bar located at the top of your profile page can be used to find people and hashtags quickly.

Hearing the name Casey Neistat gives mixed reactions from people when I bring him up in conversation. Some people think his work is a gimmick, or can't get over that he smashed a perfectly good Canon with an axe. Personally, I am a huge fan of Neistat, because whatever he's doing, it's working. Throughout his daily vlog, Neistat has hinted at a new app that he and his team have been working on for the past year, and today is the day it went live. Meet Beme.

I’m outdoors a lot and I post images and video of my adventures to social media all the time. But one of the biggest problems I have is if it’s anything more than a snapshot on my iPhone, or a video on my GoPro I can pull over to my phone via WiFi, I have to wait till I get home to edit on my laptop, slowing down the time it takes from getting the shot to sharing it with my followers.

Going through a breakup can be hard. Especially when your significant other leaves you nothing but the dog. That’s exactly what happened to Rafael Mantesso. On his 30th birthday, his wife walked out leaving him with nothing else besides their bull terrier, Jimmy, whom the wife named after her favorite shoe designer, Jimmy Choo.

Melbourne photographer Bryce Wilson, who called himself "Spiderman" after risking his life to climb skyscrapers from the tops of which he photographed, shot to Internet fame in the last few years because of his stunts and unique perspective on the world. However, The Daily Mail reports that all of his photographs were taken rather unapologetically with stolen equipment. Naturally, it was the failure to remove metadata copyright information within the camera settings that led to proof to serve a search warrant.

Instagram is a fantastic tool for photographers. It has almost single-handedly ushered in the age of the mobile photographer, and has served as a creative platform for millions of people who want to share their images with the world. Unfortunately, there has never really been an easy and intuitive way to get your non-mobile photos onto Instagram; until now.

With the trend of using train tracks in photographs continuing seemingly unabated, we hear of another avoidable tragedy far too often. One railroad has had enough.

Finally, it seems Instagram has pushed past its original 640x640 image resolution and made way in almost doubling that to 1080x1080 this week. First noticed a few days ago when posting over the July 4th weekend my iPhone 6 Plus had not left my images soft when hitting the 'share' button but rather closely maintained its original image quality. It took me a few days and some digging in the source code but I had noticed my photos breaking a much larger resolution by surprise.

With the advent of self-publishing and digital magazines, the landscape of print media has evolved. With many fashion magazines and communities that feature the work of many involved in the industry, the debate over the value of being published has been a hot topic in fashion circles. So what exactly is the value of being a published photographer in the digital age?

First Lady Michelle Obama just announced via her Instagram that the longstanding ban on cameras and photos during public tours in the White House has been lifted.

Many photographers begin their careers out of a hobby or simple interest in the field then eventually go part time as they continue to go to school or work another job in an unrelated field. I myself do this as a designer full time for an ad agency while also putting 40-50 additional hours into freelance photography and social media consulting on top of that. Only select few, such as famed photographer Eelco Roos, aka @Croyable on Instagram, get a chance to quit comfortable day jobs such as as an IBM Engineer to take on Intagramming full time.

There has been a lot of fan fare about the recent legislation that allows nationwide marriage for gay couples in the USA but not everyone is happy or excited. One photography business has been the target of this intolerance when their support of gay marriage resulted in a cancellation request from a wedding client. The response they provided was perfect.

The brain-trust that is Instagram over at Facebook HQ in California recently released two major updates to their photo-sharing social media app that will help users connect with more photos and photographers. The two new updates include a redesigned Explore page with trending Tags and Places and a more powerful search tool that makes it easier to find people, places and tags relevant to you.

As you build up your clientele, you will undoubtedly encounter a host of requests that can blindside you. Many photographers will learn quickly how being a good salesmen is just as vital to their business as the quality of their photographs. Below I have compiled a list of the most common customer concerns, and how to best overcome them while building value in yourself and in your brand.

In the often collaborative world of fashion and commercial photography, there are many who contribute to the final product. From the styling of the model and the brands involved, to your crew and retoucher. No fashion image is a solo act, yet there are many who will never credit those that were a part of the production. This phenomenon is not exclusive to photographers, but to models and other creative professionals. Before you post up your next photograph without credits, give the following reasons some consideration.

One of the great things that Instagram does is bring the social of social media to life. Known amongst the Instagram community as InstaMeets, these real life meetup groups promote a collaborative and inspiring atmosphere for attendees. InstaMeets are held worldwide and Instagram holds an annual World Wide InstaMeet every year, with this year's meet culminating in 124,141 photos as of this post. Users are encourage to hold their own InstaMeets, and Instagram has an entire page dedicated community page for them. So what's all the fuss about? Let's look at five reasons you should attend an InstaMeet.

Social currency is an exceedingly important metric when it comes to promoting your brand. Your likes, followers, pins, and posts all say a lot about your success, and the more engagement on your social platforms, the more likely you are to pull in clients. But how do you maximize engagement and get the most people to see your content? While there is no perfect answer, there are a few things you can do to optimize your social media strategy.

It seems that a nasty little rumor has suddenly taken the world by storm. Namely that once you upload a photo to Facebook, according to their terms of service, it becomes their property. Thanks to an official message from Facebook we can rest assured that this is not the case.

When I saw this wedding shoot I was stunned into silence for a few moments. I really didn't know what to think of it! In my mind, when I think of wedding photography, I think of a world of immaculate white dresses, expensive shoes, thoughtful furnishings and of course, smiling wedding couples and their guests.

This month I'll be traveling to 5 European cities with Vincent Laforet to shoot and edit video for him as part of Project AIR, his new night aerial stills project. We have been working hard to offer something pretty unique – a totally free, direct first hand social event open to anyone who is interested in photography, video or the creative process, where we can share skills, technique and project support for your own projects as a result of what we’ve learnt with AIR. If you live in London, Barcelona, Berlin, Paris or Venice, we are throwing the doors open to you all.

This ingenious video has gone viral as the true level of photoshopping to manufactures 'beauty' is exposed. In this clip, we see 6 hours of photoshopping sped up to fit into a 90 second clip. All of these hours of work has gone into creating just one perfected image of a model.

Who are you? Ok, now who are you? You know that name you've decided to call yourself and now have x amount of people calling you that? How often have you stopped to think about how important your social media name — your brand — is? It's something that, many times, I myself have come to revamp, change the style of, market differently, and so on.

We all knew that this day would come and it may change the way we look at cinematography forever. It is pretty amazing to think that this entire feature length movie was created on nothing more than a humble iPhone.

I was reading this extract on Reuters earlier and was blown away. It is fantastic to see how creatively camera apps are being used for the peoples' benefit for once, especially in the wake of the Walter Scott case.

With over 300 million users, Instagram is easily the best way of getting your images across to the world. Aside from its massive user base, Instagram's hashtag ability is one of the best ways of getting your images seen by the right people if used correctly. In its most recent update, along with three new filters, the social media giant has included the ability to hashtag emoji.

As I type this, Baltimore, Maryland is on lock down. After the suspicious death of Freddie Gray in police custody, and the ensuing civil unrest and rioting, photojournalists have been flocking to the scene. But it is the work of a young local, a so-called 'amateur', whose work has garnered international attention. If there is one thing that is a clear positive about the situation of Baltimore right now, it is that the democratization of photography has given rise to the likes of photographers like Devin Allen.

A new filtered camera app that allows groups of mobile photographers to share in a timed shootout was released for iOS last week by app developer Hipstamatic. The free app, called DSPO, creates a collaboration of images via gallery or slideshow that none of the contributors can view until the session expires. But in a mobile photography world ruled by Instagram, Snapchat, and VSCO Cam, does DSPO stand a chance?

Visual Supply Co., the Oakland-based photography software company best known for their film presets and photo app VSCO Cam, raised an impressive $30 million in a new round of funding less than a year after raising $40 million last May.