Social Media

The story behind a photo of an impala a split-second from death has been dispelled as totally false by its photographer Alison Buttigieg. She describes how "a highlight of [her] photography career has turned into a nightmare."

Instagram is known as the consensus favorite app by photographers in today's age, but even with its name implying posting photos instantly, it's still a pain sometimes to post photos on-the-go at times. For Part Three of my Instagram series, I'll be sharing the absolute fastest method any user can adopt to spend less time posting Instagram photos and more time shooting!

Back in July 2016, Kendall Jenner made her editorial debut as a photographer with a 10-page spread in Love magazine. In an attempt to prove her worth in the industry, she's now returned to the print publication with a monster 72-page spread as well as various covers. Has she done it justice?

Is LinkedIn one of the most overlooked social media networks for photographers? With over 460 million users and growing, it’s not something you can just ignore. Yet, that's exactly what a lot of photographers do, myself included. We joined Facebook because everyone was already there, and Instagram just makes sense for visual professionals. LinkedIn started out as a tool for building a resume and finding a new job. As self-employed freelance individuals, do we really have a need for that?

A photographer faces a legal battle with her local child safety department after uploading a photo of her husband cradling their sick son in the shower.

How would you react if you found yourself in the unfortunate predicament of Supermodel Tyra Banks posting several of your images to her legions of followers without credit or permission?

Kim Kardashian West needed to bare her booty in an attempt to "break the internet" for Paper Magazine, but move over Kim, the Queen has just side stepped your attempts in grand fashion. Beyoncé's birth announcement photo, published yesterday, has captured more than 8 million likes on Instagram as of this writing, making it the most liked photo to ever grace the social media platform.

It looks like album uploads will soon be coming to Instagram. The photo sharing app appears to be playing around with a new feature that will allow users to upload multiple images in a single post. The Verge, Droid-Life, and Philip Chang on Twitter have all confirmed the presence of the new (albeit buggy) feature in the latest beta version of the Instagram app for Android devices.

In Part 1 of my Instagram Tips series, three sure-fire tips were shared to grow the right following, the right way on Instagram. One of the methods was to use the correct hashtags for your audience. This week we're diving a little deeper into what specific hashtags will work best for you based on specific genre. Get your notes out and lets go!

Towards the last half of 2016 many people, especially photographers, began to write off Instagram as a lost cause. So much frustration over lost engagement and dropped followers lead many to leave the platform or simply lose interest in posting more. The algorithm that began with a Facebook style feed that did away with chronological order and brought you "what you wanted to see" was the main cause for all of this. Though, with that comes new techniques to grow a following and hack the system if you will; enter "Instagram pods."

Instragram is a great social media platform for photographers. Being primarily focused on images, the popular platform allows for talented photographers to develop a feed that provides their followers a sense of who they are and what they do. So what happens when who you are stays the same, but what you do changes?

Instagram has a very clear policy when it comes to nipples: if they're on a male, they're OK; if they're on a female, they're probably not OK. One account is challenging that, however, by making it impossible to tell which is which.

Many of you are familiar with Ted Forbes and his popular YouTube channel, "The Art of Photography." Personally, I’ve always appreciated his candid nature and helpful attitude towards anyone and everyone on their photographic journeys. From his videos covering various film cameras to the philosophy of certain photographic pioneers, he has produced some incredibly helpful, honest content. Furthering that, his newest video tackles the idea of creating photographs or a body of work that has lasting importance.

I came across a talk in my Facebook feed (of all places) the other day, and I have to admit that it struck a particular chord with me and raised a few questions. As photographers and videographers, we're mostly married to our computers, we have necessary if not uneasy relationships with social media, and many of us are part of the millennial generation. So, how do we find happiness in all this?

Instagram has always been a tricky one where nudity is concerned; “Free the Nipple” movement, anyone? But Los Angeles-based photographer Magdalena Wosinka has garnered much attention after posing naked in a series of snaps taken across California.

Earning the right followers, the right way. In this article I'm excited to share three easy "techniques" that I've used to drive engagement and a stronger following on Instagram. These steps have stood the test of time while trying out different ideas through trial and error. You may know one of these techniques, you may know all of them. Nevertheless, let's get started!

I’ll admit that I’m in a creative rut. And like any photographer that feels frustrated, there’s only one thing to do: go in a different direction. For well over a year I’ve been shooting hardly anything besides studio portraits. While I love that genre and the work that I’ve created in that time, I feel like my work has hit a wall creatively. After watching several photographers and filmmakers doing these a-photo-a-day projects, I decided to give it a go in 2017.

You heard it all across the internet last week as YouTube legend Casey Neistat ended his daily vlogs after nearly a year and half and sold his company Beme for an outstanding amount of money. Jumping to a new project of this scale can only be described as scary and empowering. With many articles and stories being told around the world right now its easy to get caught up in the news and speculation as to why he moved and what brought it on. Here is the story from the man himself, Casey Neistat.

It’s simply impossible to ignore the change our industry is undergoing. The wide availability of industry-standard equipment has seen an uprise of people pursuing photography as a career. Photographers are battling against many threats to their careers; increasingly, celebrities who are trying their luck behind the camera. Be it models, socialites, or the rich and famous, people who are not renown for their photographic skills are increasingly booking jobs ahead of established professionals. So are those of us who work behind the lens full-time being made redundant? Can anyone be a photographer these days? It’s time to discuss.

Just eight days ago we posted an article about the end of Casey Neistat's daily vlog run, where he had amassed billions of views and a huge audience of followers. Now today, news is spreading about his next project: to create a new media brand that creates digital content for millenial audiences for CNN.

The weird thing is that I've actually learned something from Snapchat Spectacles, so much so that I actually want to become the Snapchat of my photography brand and industry. Just like Snapchat captures these random moments of your life and broadcasts them into your story for others to enjoy watching, so too have they gone and made it an experience to wear their glasses.

During the holiday season many find themselves looking for ways to help out in their own local areas. The Professional Photographers of America (PPA) Charities are making it possible for photographers to do it on a global level while simultaneously raising money for charities.

Anyone installing the latest Instagram update will be able to make full use of two brand new features. The first is live streaming, which allows you to broadcast simply by hitting the Start Live Video button when on the camera menu. The other allows for "disappearing" images to be exchanged over Instagram Direct, reminiscent of the format that Snapchat made successful.

Last week we reported on one of the most extreme cases of a photographer having their work ripped off. The story was that of Lauren Bullen, a travel photographer who allegedly discovered one of her followers was quite literally travelling the globe in order to replicate her images. Seem far-fetched? These new clues suggest the whole thing may have been a hoax.

Remember artist Richard Prince? If you don’t know him by name, you’ll know him by scandal. Two years ago, Prince launched a series of photos titled, "New Portraits," which by-and-large consisted of stealing photographers’ work and uploading it to his own Instagram profile, after which he screen-shot the results and printed them out, calling it his own art. Unsurprisingly, his controversial series led to four lawsuits against him. Now, he’s facing a fifth lawsuit involving a photograph of Sonic Youth musician Kim Gordon.

It's finally here: the day Casey Neistat ends his daily YouTube vlogging run, which was easily one of the most epic strings of content creation known to man and one that I will not forget. The man is a legend in the creative community, and I doubt he will be going anywhere anytime soon. Where he goes next is a big mystery, but Neistat's career is one I will continue to follow.

Some of you might not consider what you do as art, but as a photographer, you're an artist. A lot of small pieces and parts come together to make your images what they are, and that process of deciding everything from the model, to the clothing, the lens choice, to the lighting, is an artistic one. Many genres of photography are heavily dependent on other artists; portrait photographers need models and more than likely a makeup artist and stylist to bring their vision to life. Networking is key to our work in order to meet people that we trust to help us craft our images.

As a full time roadtripper, I am constantly in search of amazing landscapes with the hopes of adding a unique take on what is most likely an over-photographed scene already. There are several ways to do this, but I am going to suggest one which is rarely discussed but hard to overlook in today’s social media outlets: the human element.

For as long as there has been business, there has been networking. If you read any book on business or entrepreneurship it's immediately apparent that people and relationships are the cornerstone of success. It will come as no surprise, therefore, that the merit of social media is huge; this is well-trodden ground and tiresome. However, I feel compelled to promote one aspect of online networking that has separated itself from the pack for me.

Snapchat is fun and all, but Instagram is better. Well, in my eyes, Instagram is better for a few reasons, and I quickly deleted the face-filter app that took up just shy of 1 GB of space on my iPhone because I felt Instagram's version of stories had the greater potential. One of the largest reasons I see more potential in Instagram Stories over Snapchat is the virality and reach my Story can have. Today, Instagram announced they will be adding people's public stories to the Explore page, which will essentially let them be seen by more people. If you have not caught on, this means there's more potential for my stuff to go viral.