A “lifestyle blogger” is trying to explain her actions after facing a backlash online for having a photographer friend document her motorcycle accident. The images drew particular criticism for appearing to have product placement with bottles of branded water placed in shot.
Instagram appears to be in the process of rolling out a surprising change to its platform: hiding the number of times that a post has been liked. While the internet giant claims that it’s making the change in to help us focus on the thing we love, the truth is different. If it really wants to improve things, it should go one step further and hide follower counts too. You can be sure, however, that it never will.
In a move that makes you want to check the calendar, it’s reported that Facebook is about to change the name of Instagram to “Instagram From Facebook.” Why is Facebook suddenly so keen to remind users of the app who is in control, and is it a mistake?
A Californian street photographer awoke to find himself the subject of a vicious, viral Facebook post filled with accusations that contained photos of his face. The post referred to him as a “P.O.S.” and insinuated he was a pedophile after he spent the afternoon documenting strangers, including families, at a county fair the day previous.
I'm an obsessive Instagram user and, as I run an account in the fashion niche, I'm often looking at the pages of big brands. Something has been bothering me for a long while, and it's this: why don't designers tag their models?
Instagram is the fodder for many complaints straining from what many say are tactics to make money. My problem with these complaints is that they never speak to the business side. They only talk about why Instagram is at fault, but never why they might have had to make these decisions
Tesla and SpaceX entrepreneur Elon Musk has been outed for blocking anyone who calls him out for posting photographers’ images without permission or credit. Numerous photographers have jumped in to defend Richard Angle, who took the photo that Musk tweeted to his 27 million followers.
I remember my first post to Instagram. As an Android user, I had to wait until April 3, 2012 before I could get the app, but when I did, I excitedly uploaded my first photo, the Nashville skyline with the seemingly appropriate Nashville filter. I was hooked.
Instagram recently deleted dozens of accounts, some with up to 13 million followers, in a mass purge that focused on meme accounts. The company did not give any explanation for the suspensions beyond "violations of terms of service," but there are several theories as to why the accounts were removed.
Let's really be honest here, Facebook and Instagram have changed the rules enough times now that it's driven most of the fun out of the social media platforms and it's long been time for a change. Instagram used to be great for photographers but has since become an almost pointless endeavor for anyone that doesn't already have 100,000 followers or more.
Photographer Marcus Hyde, who has worked with such celebrities as Kim Kardashian and Ariana Grande, has been the subject of several allegations of sexual misconduct in the wake of an Instagram post by a model claiming he attempted to bribe her with a free photoshoot in exchange for nude photos of herself.
Love it or hate it, Donald Trump’s salute to America was clearly a spectacle, one that provided for ample excellent photo opportunities. Which makes it completely perplexing is that the only photos the president chose to share of the event for more than two days after were grainy cell phone photos.
A lake popular with Instagrammers due to its bright turquoise colors has been revealed as a highly toxic artificial pond used to dump ash from a nearby coal plant. Officials have now issued a warning for people to avoid taking pictures in it due to it being filled with chemicals.
Instagram has announced two new features aimed at reducing bullying on the platform in what the company claims is a step toward “leading the industry in the fight against online bullying.”
A pair of British wedding photographers have found themselves called “unprofessional” and “appalling” after declining to work for an influencer for free. A PR rep of the influencer had requested 1,000 photos and two videos, and in return would offer their followers a 25% off the photographers’ services — a discount the photographers don’t even offer.
Recently, there has been a viral story going around about an ice cream truck doubling the cost for influencers. The anti-influencer perspective is real and understandable, but I wanted to write about the other perspective. Can influencers be useful for you and your business?
With so many images being created and pushed out into the internet it’s starting to look like the Pacific garbage patch. Instagram had so much promise in the early part of its evolution, but hashtags are watered down or filled with ads and mis-labeled images that don’t belong. Where do we go now to look at a tight collection of great photography? Even if I took out the axe and started pruning the people I follow on Instagram the ads and sponsored images would infiltrate my feed and my feed would look no better.
Social media influencers are known for drawing the ire of photographers and other businesses when they request free products and services in exchange for that ever-nebulous thing known as "exposure." Fed up with the ridiculous requests he has received, the owner of a famous L.A. ice cream truck has made it his new policy that influencers pay double.
In what is not the first instance of its kind, 500px has banned a user whose work the photo-sharing site decided wasn’t “photography” enough. The decision is even more surprising given that the artist in question was once spotlighted by 500px when they featured him, labeling him a “Photoshop master.”
Nowadays, the majority of photographers have an Instagram account to showcase their work, while some even use it as their primary portfolio. But while the platform is certainly a great tool to get your work in front of the masses, it's not perfect, and this thought-provoking video essay explores one of the subtler reasons why.
There seems to be endless lawsuits between celebrities and photographers at the moment. Most rulings seems to fall in the photographer’s favor, however, model Gigi Hadid is challenging the case against her by claiming the image was “fair use” because she contributed to it by smiling.
What seemed like a dream wedding proposal-gone-viral is now thought to be little more than a publicity stunt manufactured by an Instagram fashion influencer and her soon-to-be husband.
A Canadian woman is warning other models of the dangers of risky shoots, after she was left with both 1st and 2nd degree burns across her body during a shoot that involved fire. The incident occurred after she responded to an online advert appealing for freelance models in the area. This article contains photos of burn injuries.
As much as social media is about fun, for many of us it is about getting work too. Here are some quick tips to help you along the way.
A construction worker dad has shown how easy it is to become an Instagram star after racking up over half a million followers by posting pictures of himself mocking typical influencers on the platform. It has since been revealed the stunt was the result of a brainstorm for new promo tactics for a small coffee shop.
In today’s social media, followers have become currency with the most popular Instagrammers wielding a lot of power. It’s no surprise that many unscrupulous users have been tempted into buying their prominence rather than earning it. Fortunately, there are now quick and easy ways to spot those who are trying to cheat their way to social media success.
In a frank new interview, Madonna has voiced her concerns about the effects of Instagram. The 60-year-old says she feels bad for upcoming artists who have to constantly compare themselves to others, and says the photo-sharing app is designed to “make you feel bad.”
An underwater photographer has captured the dramatic aftermath of a pilot whale having its tail sliced off due to a collision with a boat propellor. Now, the image is being used to highlight the dangers that boating through busy wildlife areas poses.
Hearing photographers talking about creative burnout or feeling in a creative slump is not rare anymore. It seems like everyone is dealing with it on a regular basis. What if I told you there are easy techniques to get more productive and creative at the same time?
It has been a year since I deleted my Facebook account. Here is why I think other photographers should do the same.
Last week Fstoppers published my opinion piece on photographer Brendan van Son’s suggestion that he would give his images to Starbucks for free. Van Son has just produced a very classy response to the article in this short video and looks into the complexities of how images are shared on Instagram.
On Wednesday, June 5th 2019, the National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC) announced that Facebook would reconsider its controversial policy on nude images posted to its social network. As it stands, nudity on Facebook may only be depicted in paintings or sculptures, not in photographs, artistic or otherwise.
A photographer and influencer has been heavily fined by authorities after driving his car into a protected geothermal area of Iceland before getting the vehicle stuck. Following the incident, he uploaded photos of himself posing in front of the car to his Instagram page.
Photography is a very secretive industry at times, but a few years ago I decided to share everything and answer any questions via instagram.
A backlash from photographers has this week seen Facebook agree to reconsider its policy on nudity within images hosted on the social network site. The furore followed Facebook’s decision to ban “artistic nudity” in photos. (NSFW).
A successful travel photographer recently announced that he would willingly give his photos to Starbucks to use on Instagram for free, as long as they weren’t marketing a product. I was so shocked that I almost spat out my coffee.
YouTube influencers can have a huge impact on shaping the buying public’s perception of a certain camera. Content marketing on social media is an opaque and murky world, and just because an influencer says that their content is not sponsored doesn’t mean that they’re not getting paid — especially if the gear they're promoting was given to them for free.
North Face demonstrated some serious hubris recently when they hired an ad agency to questionably get their gear all over the front page of Google search results, then shared a video outlining how they did it.
In newly released screenshots, Canon UK’s official Instagram has been caught messaging photographers in an attempt to use their images free of charge. The verified account admitted that Canon “regularly gathers images to potentially use on [their] social accounts.”
A new 49-minute documentary has been released with the aim of exposing the “shocking” goings-on that happen beneath the surface of Instagram. The film promises to delve into the “lawless economics” of the social media site.
What's the most important thing to master in photography? I asked this question to ten photographers and eight gave the same answer: composition. More than gear or technical know-how, understanding composition and avoiding common errors that many people make will help you improve your photography more than anything else.
National Geographic is receiving criticism online after posting images of some of the world’s oldest trees under the stars. One of the photos featured within the gallery is being called fake, namely due to a number of the stars in the Milky Way appearing to have been cloned.
Exporting photos and videos for use on different platforms is a pain, but unfortunately, it's a necessary one for now.
In a Facebook Newsroom post, the company announced that both Facebook and Instagram have filed a lawsuit against a company and related individuals for selling "fake engagement services to Instagram users." The lawsuit is an escalation in the ongoing battle against fake followers and likes.
Instagram isn't for everyone, this is true, but if you are looking grow your social media account with viable and engaged followers then this one is for you.
There is no denying that we live in a selfie-obsessed culture; just go, well, anywhere, and you'll see selfies being taken. A recent study in the Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care found over 250 verified "deaths by selfie" from October 2011 to November 2017, with a mean age of almost 23 years old. Has the fascination with recording ourselves wherever we go gone too far?
How many of you have ever been to a national park or hiking trail only to find people disregarding the rules and trails all in pursuit of an ever better selfie or photo for Instagram? Then check out this Instagram account that's getting traction right now for calling out those very people and their bad behavior.
I recently read an insightful Instagram post, made by Outside magazine. In this post, creative director Emma Sheffer spoke of a loss of originality and the current saturation of homogeneity in Instagram feeds. With her comments, I couldn't agree more.
It’s well known that many Instagram influencers will do anything — including buying fake followers — in order to increase their appeal to potential brands for partnership. Now photographer Trey Ratcliff is exposing the “cunning tricks” used to do so, proving how easy it is to have companies pay you for sponsored posts.
Wedding photographers have been discussing what they describe as the biggest “red flags” when shooting a couple on their big day that signify the marriage is unlikely to last. Taking place on a Reddit thread (where else?), many of the contributors agreed on tell-tale signs of a doomed partnership.
